Wengen, Switzerland--hiking in the Alps with friends

Getting there: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

 at Dulles Airport Washington DC  July 19, 2012 

We have a 5-hour layover in Washington, D.C. on the way to Geneva, and so we make tracks to visit the nearby Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

We get the info from the Information kiosk near Door 5 in the Dulles Airport main terminal.

Outside Door 4 of Dulles Airport's main terminal (a really trippie-looking building design) Jim and I wait under the red shade for the Virginia Regional Transit Authority shuttle bus.  For 50 cents each, we take a 15 min. ride in AC to the Nat'l Air & Space Museum--two sprawling hanger-like buildings with two levels to view awesome plane and space vehicle collections. 

 Nose and underbelly of the SR 71 Blackbird, a spyplane built to take photos undetected, while flying really, really fast.

The Enola Gay evokes a strong response from me.  Sad that war, all war, is inevitably cruel.  Two days after visiting here, in Wengen, Switzerland,  I saw an artist display of 1000 paper cranes.  

 The early gliders look like flimsy toys.  This one held only lightweight pilots--up to 126 pounds.




In the wing that houses the restoration area, there's a huge space for space.

I've been watching too much HGTV--the satellites look like light fixtures that the Design Stars contestants would grab up for winning comments on their weekly room designs.

And then...the best.  The Space Shuttle.

 What a sight!  I get chills.  And I think about 'heat tiles' in the news in the early days.

 On the main floor, it's the supersonic Concorde's breadth that amazes us.

 The BD 5 may be tiny compared to the Concorde, but it's fast.




And then there's 'plane' pretty, the Bellanca CF.

Who carves wood into propellers these days?

There was of course a lot more to see and do at the museum.  Favorite kid-stop seemed to be the flight simulators, judging by the crowd and hubbub.  And there's an observation tower at the end of the building, where you can climb up for a great view of the airport.

Thanks for the public-transit ride to and from the museum, Virginia Regional Transit Authority!  We wouldn't have visited the museum without you.

Ireland, Rathlin Island

Awaiting the ferry to Rathlin Island, departing from Ballycastle.

Chilly ride!

 We rode the Puffin Bus 6 miles to the island's end, where the British Royal Society for Protection of Birds provides interpreters to educate about the thousands of birds that nest here.

 Guillemot egg; it had been broken open probably by another bird, and dropped next to the trail.

 I'm still trying to memorize these species.

 If it's white, it's probably a bird.  Or bird droppings.  No baby birds yet that we could see.

 Bird condos.

 We walked the six miles back to the harbor.  Yes, very cold, very strong winds in most places.  But sunny!  What great weather!

 Halfway.  Whoopee.

 We get sweaty on the uphills.  Airing out.

 From Rathlin Island, looking eastward.


Once back on the mainland, in Ballycastle, we order fish and chips to eat in the adjacent park.  One fish serving--about 14 inches long, so big it hung out the sides of the container.  So yummy.

And of course ice cream before driving back to Cullentra House B&B.

Ireland: Navan to Cushendall (Glens of Antrim)

Off the main road, hidden away, is this large portal tomb at Dowth.  Unexcavated--all left to the imagination, aided by the similarity with Knowth.  We stop here before getting on the roadway north, to No. Ireland's east coast.

It is so cool to be in this ancient space.

Also nearby: Monasterboice. Sounds like a spooky site, but it's a quiet cemetery and ancient monastery.

Over the wall and into the grounds.

This is a defensive tower, probably also used for storage.  The round tower's entry used to be 12 or more feet above ground so the inhabitants could get inside if raided and pull in the ladder after themselves, making it harder for invaders to get inside.  The surrounding land has filled in some around the tower as more graves have been added here.

Then we're in the car for a long drive north.
We arrive early evening at our B & B, "Cullentra House," in Cushendall.  Lucky for us, there's a local music festival today in the park in the tiny town.  We enjoy listening to several traditional music groups play, have dinner, and then return to Cullentra House.  The B&B owners are exceptionally hospitable. 

Yes, she sips--and enjoys--her mini-Guinness with a hot meal on a cold day in this small town in Ireland.

Ireland

We arrive Dublin airport in the late afternoon.  It's cold and there's rain in the air.  We are so thrilled to be here again!  We pick up the rental car and drive to Navan to spend 2 nights in the Boyne River area.

Meadow View B & B--generous breakfast fuels us for a day of seeing the neolithic sights around Newgrange.

This well-hidden megalithic portal tomb is down a lane (Boyne valley).  We get the key to open the tomb from a neighbor down the way, and step inside for a spiritual experience.  The tomb is similar to Newgrange, with three principal burial areas arranged around a near-circular section after entering through the portal.

It's thought that the original roof was organic.  It's now a solid roof with grass cover to protect the interior.

 The navigator.

Trim castle.  Lovely tour around the interior.

Town of Trim.

 

Bective Abbey, near Navan.

Bective Abbey