Washington DC enroute to Dubai

Saturday night I got the “red eye” to Washington DC  Dulles Airport….leaving on schedule and arriving into Dulles at 6 AM. I checked into the USO in the Airport and it is a very nice facility and I proceeded to have breakfast….took a brief nap…and left via the Washington Flyer bus to the West Falls Church Metro station…changed trains and arrived at the East station at 10:30 AM and started walking the mile to the Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, VA.  We were members here at the church for 6 years when we lived in the Wash DC area, and the colonial style church is just as beautiful now as it was then. The service was a traditional service with 40 member choir and orchestra…ad this is the 3rd service that they have each weekend. A very impressive service….and then had a nice visit with the music pastor and others….and had a chance to talk with Gerhard, who played trumpet in our group back in the ’80’s, and is still playing. Had a nice visit with him and his wife and 3 kids…he was one of our favorites as the “eligible bachelor” back then. Fun time and brought back some wonderful memories….
I caught the train and bus back to Dulles…had lunch at the USO…then caught the Shuttle to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum here at Dulles. This was my first visit to this new museum…..and it has a huge indoor display of both old and new airplanes, along with a very impressive display of space exploration and travel. This is definitely worth a visit for all if you like airplanes, air travel, the Air Force….for this is all about planes and air and space travel. Very impressive.
I got the shuttle to Dulles and am taking a little break now as the flight is at 10:30 PM…15-16 hours into Dubai….so should be a long night and day…
A summary of the Washington day….a lot of traffic and a lot of people, and lots of building and construction…giving the impression of a boom economy. The Air and Space is spectacular, and a must for all. Weather today was hot and humid in the morning, and then right after church major thunderstorms for the past 4 hours….raining one moment and sunny the next…very typical of summer in our Capitol.
Ready to head out tonight on a Boeing 777…my first trip on this big plane, which is replacing the 747 on many of the long flights.