posted 05-25-2009 10:02 AM               

I picked Saturday, June 20 for a specific reason. I live an easy ten minutes south of NASM's Udvar-Hazy Center (right up Route 28), and that date is their annual Be a Pilot Day. Inside the building there will be all sorts of extras, and you can stroll outside to see airplanes that have been flown in and parked around the building. At least one astronaut, Tom Jones, will be there.

(All of this will make the museum more crowded than usual, but I think the extras will be worth it. The only thing you might need to wait in line for is the elevator leading up to the tower, with its views of airliners coming in for a landing at Dulles pretty much at eye level!)

So let's meet up at my house pretty early (say, 10:30), have lunch around 11:00 from a sandwich spread which I'll be happy to provide, and pack as many people into as few cars as possible to save on the $15-per-car parking fee. We'll enjoy a few hours at the museum, then meet back at my house at an agreed-upon time (I'll have given Mapquest printouts of directions from Udvar-Hazy back to my house) to talk and share as discussed in the first paragraph up there.

I'll tell you of two inconveniences in my plan. First, parking is limited in my nice little townhouse neighborhood, so you'd probably need to stop at my house, say hi and drop off what you want to share, then park a couple of hundred yards away and enjoy a nice stroll. Just so you know. (There will be two parking spaces right in front of my house, which can be reserved by people who might have trouble with that walk.)

Also, while we are at the museum, your stuff would be at my house. Some collectors might not be crazy about that. I promise they'd be shut away in a closet and fiercely guarded by my wife, who has been known to Mace people getting too close to our large print of "Earthrise" inscribed to her by Jim Lovell. OK, that's an exaggeration, but my point is they'd be safe.

Please e-mail me if you are interested in attending, and if you have any suggestions for this event.

posted 05-26-2009 03:47 PM               

Jonathan

posted 05-27-2009 05:01 PM               

I will also put it on my calendar, and many thanks for hosting it!

Steve, I have an annual parking pass for Udvar Hazy so we can laod a bunch in my Highlander (at no additional cost)!

posted 06-16-2009 09:21 PM               

Is there some sort of formal or more likely informal Virginia/MD/DC collectors group? I live near the USN base in Dahlgren and could occasionally host an event, but it's at least a 90 minute drive for folks coming from NOVA and the Richmond/DC/Baltimore/Tidewater area.

Would love the chance to show off my Nick Proach 1/48 Saturn 1B and V, plus Jeff Teel's 1/12 Redstone, and other goodies, plus to oooh and aahh about others good stuff.

Summer school ends next week and I'll have July and August off to catch me breath!