One Small Step for Man

The mission was complete. Spot proudly rumbled to a standstill and we simultaneously fell asleep, completely spent. The next day, suffering from cold turkey, neither of us could face the thought of a day without driving, so eased ourselves back into civilian life with a scenic cruise around Washington's famous monuments (note how we've adapted to American culture). We had hit the capital at the perfect time of year - tree lined boulevards burst with vivid red and yellow leaves, which were sent flying in the frequent brisk squalls. Feeling ready to leave the safety of the vehicle, we parked in an underground parking lot right in the centre of the city, and took our first tentative steps into the outside world.

It was a nightmare. With no heaters to protect us from the chilly Washington climate we were freezing. Some of the sidewalks were on a slight incline which put an unacceptable strain on our withered legs and we were out of breath in seconds. Our sat-nav didn't work at puny human speeds, and when we attempted to join the flow of traffic towards our destination, we were furiously beeped at and forced off the road. We were left wondering how people were supposed to survive outside of a car?! 

We somehow survived the 1.5 mile walk to our destination: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Stepping into the huge lobby with legendary space craft and fighter jets hanging above us, we felt in our element. Mike embarked on a mission to gather thousands of reference images to help with his mechanical designs, while Tom attempted to contribute by commenting on the shade of blue the Russians had painted their spacecraft. This met with an unimpressed look. Tom left him to it. 

We spent literally all day exploring the museum's unreasonably large collection of air and spacecraft, culminating in a brilliant 3D iMAX film...all about planes and that. We left the cinema, Mike cleaned himself up, and inspired by legends of epic space travel, we set about preparing for the final stages of our journey.

Traverses: now in 3D!