Sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve now uploaded the fourth set of pictures to Piwigo without blogging about the trips I took them on. Part of this is because of a special musical project I’ve started that is taking up a lot of my time right now. More about that when it’s time to announce the project. I’ve also got upcoming articles and presentations I’m researching, and they’ve taken precedence. Still, if I don’t post something, the number of scheduled trips only gets worse (BETTER) from here. (YAY!!)
So, I’m going to spend some of this weekend cranking out one or two and see if I can get a third done before October.
Day One: The Odyssey, Valley Forge and Dark Sky
I hadn’t been on the road in a month and felt antsy, so I decided to see the hottest movie of the year, The Odyssey, on a 70mm IMAX screen, for which it was specifically filmed. My timing also coincided with the expected best viewing of the Perseid meteor shower on August 12-13. I had just gotten a new telescope and decided to combine the activities by finding a place where I could see the movie, then drive to a dark-sky site for the meteor shower.
I got up early on the 12th and drove to the Regal United Artists IMAX Theatre in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Even months after the release of The Odyssey, and despite the midday showing, the theater was still about half full. It was definitely worth the effort to go and see it on the IMAX screen.
As I left the theater for the dark sky site at Cherry Springs State Park, I drove past the entrance to Valley Forge Historical Park, which is part of the National Park Service. I didn’t really have time to visit, but I decided to divert and drive through to see what might be visible from SB. As it worked out, there was quite a bit to see, although someone on Facebook later replied to my post about the visit that I really missed out by not going into the visitor center.
I finally reached the dark sky park well after night had fallen, but with the size of the parking area, I had no difficulty finding a space where I could settle. Unfortunately, the site was clearly incredibly popular, and the regular arrival, relocation and departure of vehicles and their headlights pretty much defeated the concept of “dark sky” for the park. Even more so on a highly publicized meteor-watching event. The picture below gives you some idea of what I’m describing:
Days 2 and 3: Space, the Final Frontier and Beethoven’s 9th
I left the dark sky park early enough to get home before morning rush hour and get some sleep before my planned attendance at the AirSpace Live! Star Trek at 60 program at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Since my recollection of riding the city bus to work two decades ago was that the bus route took it by both the museum and the Old Post Office Clock Tower, which I had heard was reopened to the public, I decided to kill both birds with the same stone. Unfortunately, I reached the tower only to find it closed for the day. Worse, the bus route was no more, and I–without SB at hand and dressed in one of my Star Trek T-shirts–was stranded too far from the museum to walk there. Eventually, I had to accept that I would miss the program and head home.
The next morning, though, was far more successful. I had a ticket for the National Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven Ninth Symphony concert at Wolf Trap that evening. I left early enough to add a visit to the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in nearby Chantilly, Virginia. The facility is HUGE, with more than a century of aircraft and spacecraft, primarily from the United States but including historical craft from around the world. I wandered around on my own, rather than choosing to take one of the guided tours, so that I could move at my own speed. And I went a little crazy taking pictures of the vehicles and other displays, especially around the space shuttle Discovery. Below is a panoramic shot of the shuttle:
I also saw and photographed the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, described as the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft, Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, the infamous plane that delivered the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, and Air France’s Concorde, the first supersonic airliner, as well as aircraft from the Wright Brothers to recent times. There was lots for kids to do, and I hope I can bring my young grandniece and nephew out there someday.
Then, the concert that night mostly met my high expectations, since Beethoven’s 9th is one of my favorite works. My only negative thought about the performance was that the soloists didn’t always seem in sync with what was going on. Perhaps one more rehearsal would have made the difference. Anyway, Wolf Trap was packed, and I was again appreciative of the park’s accessibility accommodations.
Overall, it was a wonderful day that was as positively memorable as the day before was a bad memory I would like to soon forget.
Selected pictures from the three days are below, with the rest I’ve uploaded available at https://singin1.click/piwigo/index.php?/category/Three-Days-Out-and-About-August-2026:
As always, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the Silver Bullet (SB) as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzes by my windshield.
SB continues to play a vital role in my travels, as noted by most of the 80K-plus miles and some of the other wear-and-tear her body has taken over the six years we have been together. It’s once again time for preventive maintenance, which I do under the “pay me now, or pay me later” philosophy I learned from a 1970’s auto repair commercial. She should soon be ready for the trips I’m planning for the fall.
As for music for the road, I’m continuously editing both my replays and Mixed Nuts playlists because they both help the miles go by more enjoyably.
