Took a little trip to the Nations Capitol

[3dkicker]

Met up with an old friend who was in town visiting and toured a couple of the Smithsonian Museums (Original, Natural History, and American History)

Outside of the "Castle"....the original Smithsonian building.


American History....couple pics of some iconic items. Didn't take a pic of Archie Bunker's chair or the Ruby Slippers but they were there.

One for the Bama to look for while he's at the flea market. Yep they are Strat's......


Up up and away!!


It's Howdy Doody time (heh, heh, he said doody)


"Who's the leader of the club, That's made for you and me..."



Natural History....took some shots of some gems/minerals found locally, NC, and in San Diego area.

“There’s gold in them thar hills, boys,”....Wait a second I live near those hills. Better find me a shovel and a pan and start digging!!!



Upper left Emeralds were found in NC



Pink Tourmaline found in Pala, CA

[WTL]

Not to worry, I was there 2 months ago and was sure to get a pic of archies' chair, along with Bob Dylans leather jacket.


I have a copy of a stratavarius...once played the violin.

As much as I enjoyed the capital, I felt a little unsettled by some of the monuments..be it selective quotes in the jefferson and FDR memorials, or just the expense of the whole thing, or the institute of peace, which does...what, precisely...?

[3dkicker]

Stood in the same spot and looked at the same group of items. Was disappointed in the fact that they had so few items on display. They have millions of artifacts stored away and only display a small percentage of the stuff they have. Wish they would show more.

Haven't been to the Jeff or FDR in a long time. Never heard of the I of P. DC can be expensive......

[bamabassman]

david....i want to go there so bad man. oneof these days i AM oging there. one could spend YEARS looking at the things they have in sotrage. i too wish they could/would display more items.

[Dogmatic]

No Air and Space? Not that you can go wrong with any of the sites there, I always make time for the A&S.

[3dkicker]

Originally Posted by Dogmatic

No Air and Space? Not that you can go wrong with any of the sites there, I always make time for the A&S.

I've done A&S many times. Touched the moon rock, walked through the capsule, and eaten the dehydrated ice cream. Friends daughter would not have been interested at all. We went to the Money Factory (Print & Engrave) instead. Saw millions of $$ being printed. Sheets of 100's 6' tall. One of the guys working gave the stack a big hug. Funny guy. Can't take pics in there but turns out that I knew the tour guide. Small world.

[WTL]

My comment bemoaning the expense was really more directed towards how much public money it must take for all the stuff in DC. Not trying to be debbie downer, some places are nice, but some of it is a public waste...


My problem with Jefferson's memorial is that it was erected during the FDR administration, and the quotes make it appear as though Jefferson was a staunch supporter of the New Deal. I wonder, in general, whether a republic should have so many monuments devoted to mere men, especially when the monuments pick and choose what aspects we want to memorize (FDR's monument talked about race, but didn't mention the camps made famous by the Korematsu case, Jefferson's memorial didn't mention slaves, made it appear he was a staunch advocate of government, and Lincoln's monument nowhere says a thing about suspending habeus corpus.)

[lilmule]

Actually raspberry red and green Tourmaline in Maine,Nc not only has the emeralds but also rubies(american ones are cloudy and dont do well in a cab setting).
We used to trout fish all over and frankin nc was a favorite as wife could gem mine while I fished.Or could pan for gold in georgia yes color no nuggets I ever got.
Been to same places my dad held me up and I touched a wheel of the spirit of st louis,so fine me lol.
Was the same back then much more stored than on display.Even so was in awe.

[3dkicker]

Originally Posted by lilmule

Actually raspberry red and green Tourmaline in Maine, Nc not only has the emeralds but also rubies (american ones are cloudy and dont do well in a cab setting).

I've found a few rubies from NC that can be cut and one was. Not the same rich red color of most quality rubies. This one was a little more pink. I think Montana has better clarity and color but the stones are much smaller and harder to find.

Originally Posted by lilmule

We used to trout fish all over and frankin nc was a favorite as wife could gem mine while I fished. Or could pan for gold in georgia yes color no nuggets I ever got.

Never done any panning but from what I saw that is here in VA I might have to take a walk down to the nearest stream and see what I can find....

[lilmule]

I have a cab cut ruby never mounted it as cant see light thru it(pinkish red),wife has a clear citrine found near franklin set in silver.
The deposits of gold in va and ga were at one time prior to expanding the frontier all that was available,most of any major deposits mined long ago but color available.
I had a friend who metal detects then pans he has a few small nuggets and powder in a jar,he was better at that sort of thing takes a gold pan with ridges not a pan to get much.
Even then 4 days of panning might pay for 1,but fun trying.
In some states landowners own the water as well like nc,pays not to get into hot water so to speak.Somewhere ive still got some tip maps as to minor deposits if i run across it will post what or where.