Air & Space & Other Fun

D-dock carnage.

This morning we got another Cupcake scare when we found this picture of severely damaged boats on D-dock at our marina. We are at C-dock and our alphabet skills tell us that we are just one dock away from this chaos. Didn’t know what happened overnight, but got nervous all over again.

Best picture we’ve got of Cupcake.

After a few hours, our friends Karen and Paul sent this photo showing Cupcake safe and sound. She looks lonely and bare, stained from the ICW water, but the photo is one of the most beautiful shots of the boat we have ever seen because we at last know for certain she is ok. Now we are done worrying about Cupcake’s safety at the marina and will enjoy our remaining time in DC with Simon and the museums. (Simon and the Museums is not a particularly good name for a rock and roll band).

The plan is to check out of our hotel bright and early on Monday, stop at a West Marine to purchase a new VHF handheld radio to replace the failing VHF we have owned since 2001 and pick up a few hundred feet of line to replace our stressed dock lines. We will also load up on groceries to replace all the perishables we donated to Simon, then head down to New Bern to start putting Cupcake to rights.

Our thought is that the dock lines we used to secure Cupcake were old to begin with, and the repeated shock loading from the storm probably rendered them unreliable. Certainly wouldn’t want to trust them in another storm (which we will try to do a better job avoiding).

Last night we enjoyed the particular treat of eating dinner at Simon’s place. He and his roommate Ethan cooked the meal for us. Cauliflower, pasta and sauce, good company. It is such a pleasure to see Simon in his element, happy and thriving, surrounded by intelligent, interesting people.

Today we woke up late (enjoying sleeping in a normal rectangular bed) had big sandwiches for breakfast, then headed to the National Mall. Moss completed the exploration program at the Air & Space Museum and earned a badge. Now she wants to be an astronaut for Halloween.

Shocking revelations about Amelia Earhart. Moss was stunned to learn from the audio tour that Earhart never returned from the Pacific.

Then we met up with Simon at the National Portrait Gallery and checked out the presidential portraits (and a whole lot of other excellent art).

Simon and Barack. We are big fans of each.

After a delicious dinner at a ramen house we are now home watching Star Wars on the television box. Civilization has its pleasures, but Moss and I decided we are ready for the peace and quiet we get when Cupcake is at anchor. We may be getting overstimulated in the big city.

Moss isn’t waving because she is afraid a bee, attracted to her sandwich, will take advantage of her inattention and GET her.

And another selfie. Ellen fears no bee.

The DC-3 is one sexy plane. I’m also fond of that super cool TWA mail plane. The Ford Tri-Motor sounds like it provided one heck of a ride: unable to fly high enough to get above most turbulence, the ride could get so bouncy the seats came loose and the fuselage sides would bulge and flex. The plane was so noisy people could suffer hearing loss. The romance of air travel.