I’m heading back home after two weeks of work and fun here in our Nation’s Capital. I got to see the things I wanted to see most of all: The National Air and Space Museum (both parts!) as well as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Have you read the constitution lately? It’s not long. Read it. Pay particular attention to Article I, Section 9: “The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Just getting some soapbox time in before I go.

Ciao, Cheers and Aloha DC!

I mean, you walk through the entry and the first thing you see is this (click for major geek out):

OMGPONIES!!!!111

The SR-71 Blackbird. The fastest aircraft ever built. Just look at it! Speedy, sexy, awesome. My photos don’t do it justice. Oh and PS, that’s the prototype Space Shuttle back there. You remember The Enterprise, right? Built in the 70′s for approach and landing tests, NASA wanted to name it “Constitution” but Star Trek fans began a write-in campaign to Gerald Ford get the name changed to “Enterprise” and President Ford made it so. (You don’t f*** with Star Trek fans when they start writing in.)

But let’s look at the Blackbird from another angle, shall we?

Dude.

Part of the description on the Wikipedia entry says: “if a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was to simply accelerate.” I love that.

More Udvar-Hazy after the jump…

Click all for bigger images.

After my initial geeky/freaky, I spent time with the Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress.

She dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima. I think this was made more poignant for me since I had just recently watched the documentary called “White Light, Black Rain” on HBO. The airplane is a symbol for the destruction and I was very moved being near her and the world history she represents.

She’s compelling and I couldn’t stop looking at her and taking photos.

Beyond the Enola Gay were more modern aircraft. A Boeing 707, which revolutionized the airline industry, and behind that, a Concorde from Air France. Did anyone reading this ever fly on the Concorde? Please tell if you did, I’m curious to hear what it was like.

There were more war planes:

And sport planes. This is the second Lear Jet ever built. (I took this photo for Jacquie.)

And of course, more space artifacts. The Enterprise is huge, but then it seems not so big when you are walking around it for a while. But in comparison to the Spam In A Can type spacecraft from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, it’s ginormous. (Click to see the size comparison.)

They had computers from the space-race age on display as well. What a hoot.

I took a lot of photos and can’t load them all here. These were some of my highlights. I LOVED going this museum and I really recommend a trip out there if you have even the slightest interest in air and space craft.

The location itself is beautiful:

And best of all, when you are arriving or departing the NASM, you are under the flight path for one of Dulles’ runways.

Coooooooool!

(They moved quickly, sorry for the not so great photo.)

The day before that, my colleague and I were searching for Radio Shack to buy some more equipment. (Luckily, we didn’t need anything made or sold by Hilti.) We need handfulls of LED lights and 3v batteries. Working in the movies is oh so glamorous! While we walked down the street, I looked over and saw this and had to whip out my camera:

Was I excited because I’m a political or news junkie? Sadly, no. I got excited because I’m a movie junkie and All The President’s Men is one of my favorites. (Full disclosure, I have also read the book.) I still love it when I’m actually at a place I’ve only known about or seen in movies.

In another installment of how different it is to shoot outside of LA (WAY outside of LA), as I mentioned we were in/near Annapolis, shooting in someone’s house. Most of the crew and gear take up space on the small roads and driveways. The nearest neighbor and her husband were there, watching. Then she came back a little while later handing out freshly baked ginger cookies.

I’m not kidding, look:

First of all, they were delicious. Second of all, if we were shooting in LA, the neighbor would be standing in her driveway, blasting a radio and honking her horn to try to a) get rid of the shoot or b) get paid a lot of money to go away. It is different out here and how nice.

Found! At Radio Shack on M and Connecticut:

Anyone? Anyone?

What gives? Did the crosswalk countdown programmer get bored setting hundreds of crosstimes and just start putting in funny numbers?

And where did this brick go? (Near 25th and M)

The sunset was beautiful tonight. A nice way to end this day.

First I have to say: nice Metro DC! Carpeted, cell phone reception, AIR CONDITIONING! (It’s really not a dry heat out here.) Plus all the travelers are so polite, standing on the right of the escalators, waiting to the sides of the doors to let folks out before moving all the way into the center of the car. I’m really impressed!

So I got out to Home Depot, which was luckily close to the station, and the item I need is not available for sale because the sales rep is gone for the day. He leaves at 3:00pm (it was about 6:00.) I’m standing there going “Are you FRAKKING kidding me?” I need to spend about $350 on a specific thing (a Hilti Laser Range Meter for crying out loud) And the Hilti sales rep is the only guy with a key to unlock all his miracle treasures to sell to us common people. There was no way for me to part with $350. Crap and damn. So I schlep back to the Metro and exit at my stop: “Foggy Bottom”

Second I have to say: Any city that has a neighborhood called “Foggy Bottom” is okay by me. And that it turns out to be my stop? Even better.

Follow me after the jump for the Shining Beacon…

Well, I was still a bit cranky after my disappointing Home Depot adventure, not to mention very hot and very sticky, and I was about to go back to my hotel and order up some room service. Now, I’m being put at a fab hotel and I’m getting per diem, but the room service is P R I C E Y and I’m trying to save money, so I can’t decide if I just go, have a quick shower, then dress and go out to find a place to eat, or just suck up the cost and stay in. My dogs are barking and I really want to stay in. As I’m debating this in my head, I notice people walking toward me with Trader Joe’s bags. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude! No Way! I stop the the third person I see “WHERE IS THE TRADER JOE’S!?!? I mean, ahem, excuse me Miss, where is the TJ’s?” 25th and M, a mere block and a half from my hotel….heaven. And there it was,

in all its glory. I bought a few snacks, fruit and some wine and a reusable bag to take it to my room with. I felt right at home (we have two TJ’s within about 2 miles of our house in LA) and knew what I wanted and then got in line. Holy cow that was a long line, but it moved quickly and soon I was in my room, drinking a glass of Big House Red and eating Cheese Puffs (1/2 the fat!). Thanks Foggy Bottom Trader Joe’s! Thanks for saving my Friday!

Follow me past the jump for your own tour of the place.

Click all photos to make them bigger…

The War College building itself is about 100 years old, built by Teddy Roosevelt.

Here is the library:

This is a classroom where my friend teaches:

(Nice classroom!)

And here is where Colin Powell used to have meetings with the Joint Chiefs from time to time. (My photo doesn’t do it justice, I’m afraid.)

Fort Lesley J. McNair is one of the oldest in the nation and is where the Lincoln assassination conspirators were tried and hung. (The spot where they were hung is now a tennis court.) The Anacostia and Potomac meet here and you can see the Capital dome and Washington Monument from my friend’s office windows. Nice view!

While my friend had a meeting, I waited in an office down the hall, a very famous office once occupied by George F. Kennan. He wrote “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” (1946), “the single document that best illustrated American anti-communism and general suspicion of Soviet aspirations.”

While I was in there, a Black Hawk (that’s a UH-60 for those of us in the know) landed on the field outside, dropping off some general or other.

I would like to be in that carpool.

It was a nice afternoon full of unexpected history. Thanks David!

There is a guy in LA who has something similar, but this is way wackier and therefore way better. Has anyone seen this car? Does anyone know about it? (Sorry for the crap video, but it was a quick grab before we lost him.)

More about our shoot at Eastern Market yesterday after the fold.

We shot scenes at Eastern Market on (near?) Capitol Hill. It was dressed to look like a huge flower market, then we blew part of it to bits, but dont’ worry, it was only Hollywood style. I wish I could show you photos of it, but I would get fired. However, there was press there (something very rare in LA as people in LA are so over it. No, seriously. I mean, OVER IT.) But there was press there. Here is the Channel 4 news team:

And a photographer from the Washington Times:

I did a cursory search on both websites but didn’t find any stories about our shoot, which would make sense because Russell Crowe wasn’t in that scene. Neither was Leonardo DiCaprio. Ooops! Did I say too much?