Enterprise Takes Off from Dulles Airport Today

Space Shuttle Enterprise Lifts Off Once More at Dulles IAD

This morning I went to Dulles Airport to watch the Enterprise take off for it's journey to NY.  When we arrived many people were already there including the press.  We took a chance and picked Garage 2 and we got lucky.  IAD decided to take off using runway 30 which was visible only from Garage 2.  20 some years ago I watched Enterprise come to the DC area and was able to see it up close at the Air and Space Museum Annex, now the Udvar-Hazy Center.  I bid it farewell and gave it a wave as it headed off to NY for display at Intrepid.

I spoke with a number of people and the predominant topic was why NASA ended the shuttle program without a replacement ready to go?  While we all feel a great sense of pride to see these orbiters paraded before us, it is with mixed feelings knowing there is nothing to replace them.  Our hopes ride on the prospects of commercial enterprises picking up the pieces to provide the services and the pride these orbiters gave us...yet we know in the back of our minds that nothing this great can be created "for a profit".  The future of space travel will not be written alongside large investment checks.  It will be because we resolve to do it for the sake of science, education, and humanity.

Weather Grounds Enterprise Until Wednesday

Enterprise is now sitting on the tarmac at Dulles International Airport waiting for the weather to improve. Officials are planning for a flyout possibly on Wed morning. I took this today at the airport on top of the garage.

Great Weather for Soccer Last Saturday

The girls have started spring soccer. Last Saturday was their third game. They lost 2 to 1 but not before my daughter scored the only goal of the game. I'm also trying to get caught up on pictures. Here is the link to last Saturday's game. I'll post games 1 and 2 later.

https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/2012SpringSoccer3?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Space Shuttle Discovery Towed into Display Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Museum

Today, a coworker and I decided to visit Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Museum in Chantilly, VA. The shuttle was being exchanged with the Enterprise which will be flown to New York next week. When we arrived, the shuttles were parked nose to nose out on the tarmac what was an awesome sight to see. No where have I seen two shuttles together like that. After a few hours of taking pictures, they began the process of towing Discovery into the display hangar of the museum. The highlight of this trip though was getting two of my Discovery flyover pictures autographed by Astronaut Curtis Brown who flew 6 missions and was the Discovery Commander and Pilot on three of them, STS-85, STS-95, and STS-103.


Here is Curt Brown autographing two of my pictures


Here is Discovery being towed into the display with the press looking on

Enterprise and Discovery nose to nose for the world to view

Here is Discovery being manuevered into position for display

Space Shuttle Discovery Fly Over

Today I packed the family and dog and went to Chantilly, VA to watch the Space Shuttle Discovery fly into Dulles Airport. We were told that the Target parking lot on route 50 was the best spot to be. It was indeed! We were pleased to be able see and photograph 3 low fly overs before landing at the airport. The 1st flyover was so low I swear I could feel the heat from the jet engines. The picture above was the 3rd flyover just before it landed. Next up is the transfer ceremony at the Udvar-Hazy museum where it will replace the shuttle Enterprise in the display hangar.

NASA Finally Launches 5 Rockets Off the Coast of Virginia

Gas Cloud from NASA Atrex Experiment


Rocket decends over the ocean during NASA Atrex Experiment

My daughter and I got up very early on the morning of March 27th to watch NASA launch 5 rockets from Wallops Island, VA which is just off the east coast. The rockets went very high, about 65 to 90 miles and were visible to much of the east coast. I made a time lapse video and will try to post it later. It would not upload to YouTube for some reason. The rockets released a cloud into the upper atmosphere so scientists could study the upper level jet stream near the edge of space. They hope that such information may allow them to better understand our changing weather patterns as well as the flow of charged particles that surround the earth.

National Harbor

Went to National Harbor saturday for dinner but ended up with peeps instead. Fantastic sunset though. Soccer starts soon so stay tuned.

11 Bald Eagles Spotted at Lake Mercer in Fairfax VA

I just got back from Lake Mercer in Fairfax Virginia and spotted no less than 11 Bald Eagles. 5 adults were seen and a number of juveniles. I would bet there were more but I could only see 11 from my vantage point. This is very unusual. I bet it has something to do with the climate right now. This shot was taken a couple of days ago of one of the adults at the lake. NOW is the time to get out and do some eagle watching.

Bald Eagles at Lake Accotink in Springfield, VA

The bald eagles at Lake Accotink have stayed and are nesting in the park. This shot was taken a couple of days ago near the dam. I located the nest, fairly easy to see without the leaves on the trees. Based on all reasonable accounts, they may start the next brood soon starting in January. Disturbing them at the nest site is illegal. I'm searching for vantage points that would give me a better view of the nest while keeping me back beyond the required distance.

These eagles are fairly used to people and noise being at a heavily used park in Fairfax County with a train running through the middle of it. I'll keep you posted of any developments.

Weather Too Good - Storm Loses Game 5 and 6

Storm lost game 5 but it wasn't a shutout. Cassi scored the only goal. The final game (6) was played today. Storm lost 0-1.

The rest of the game pics can be found here:

Game 5
https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/November112011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Final Game 6
https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/November122011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCILioL-CtOv43wE&feat=directlink

Storm Loses Game #3

Storm lost game 3 today. However, the girls played very hard against a pretty good team with many fast players.

To see the rest of the game pictures go here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/StormSoccerGame3?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Our House Guest for 1 Week

Here are my three girls and Tallara at Lake Mercer. We are dog-sitting Tallara for one week mostly to determine if any of us are allergic to dogs. So far so good. We are planning to adopt a lab but they wanted us to make sure we had no allergies first. Tallara is a very sweet 1 1/2 year old Husky Sheppard and is very well behaved and loves to go to the lake.

Storm Wins Game #2

Storm wins second game of the season after many rain cancellations. Storm lives up to their name and plays their best when it's rainy, windy, and cold. Everyone was right at home in the less than perfect conditions. The girls played well and were very aggressive. Here is a link to this weeks game pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/StormSoccerGame2?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The Girls Play Their 1st Game for the Fall 2011 Season

The girls played a tough team today and lost 2 to 1. However they played exceptionally well and every thought it was a very exciting and well played "on-the-edge-of-your-seat" game. For all of the game shots you can visit the following link on Picassa:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mytwinsfather/StormSoccerGame191711?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Trip to Natural Bridge, VA Last Weekend

Last weekend we made a camping trip to Natural Bridge, VA. We stayed at Cave Mountain Lake for two nights and had a great time in spite of the rain. Most of the time it was sunny and hot. Saturday we visited the Natural Bridge and Sunday we went to the Zoo where we got to ride an elephant as well as feed a baby tiger. See the pictures of both below. The tiger's name is Zeus and he was born on April 14th, 2011! I will post more pictures of our trip when I have time.


Cassi and I riding an elephant at the zoo!


My ladies getting to hold and feed a baby bengal tiger.