[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by yorkiefan_

The air and space museum there is spectacular; easily the best I have ever seen, even above the Smithsonian's air and space museum in DC or NASA's museum in the Houston area (though the Saturn V there at NASA is really cool). Last time I was there they had tons of WWI era planes that I had never even heard of, much less seen before (and I practically had Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation memorized as a kid!). They also had MiG 15s, a MiG 21 with a Navy F-4 in pursuit in the atrium (though I think that display changes). The A-12 they have out front is truly amazing. It's the original version of the SR-71 Blackbird, designed as an attack plane instead of the recon the Blackbird ended up doing when put into service. They also have some cool WWII planes like the P-40. Can't remember if they had anything from the Luftwaffe though. They had some cool space vehicles too. Overall it's probably the most impressive museum I have ever seen, though I like planes a lot more than painting and sculptures.

Originally Posted by yorkiefan_

The aircraft carrier is worth a visit too. Not only to see all the awesome planes on deck (I recall seeing an F/A-18 Hornet, F-14 Tomcat, A-6 Intruder, F-8 Crusader, E-2C Hawkeye, F-4 Phantom, F-6F Hellcat, and I could swear a MiG-29), but to see the crazy conditions people had to live in on there. I can't imagine serving on one for months at a time, as I had to walk hunched over half the time. Seems like the entire place was built for people no taller than 5'5".

Thanks so much for this! I bet my hubby would love this too.