Marines & Pirates − 2 April, 2007
Note: this is the third of four articles about my trip to Washington, D.C. If you're starting in the middle of the story, a better beginning is at the launchpoint.
New -- added photos 3-May-2007.
The Marine Corps Museum
My father was in the Marine Corps for 23 years. You know, the sad thing is, he's not on the internet at all -- if he were on this site, his life story is amazing. He survived three tours of duty in Vietnam, with HMM-265 and HMM-164 -- helicopter units.
In my early years, we lived on Marine Corps bases. There's not really a good way I can capture this experience for you. You know how, today, parents buy their kids a bike and won't let them ride any further than the end of the street? Growing up on a base, I can remember in 4th grade being able to take my bike anywhere I wanted -- miles away, sometimes -- in complete safety. After all, what sort of moron would come onto a Marine base to abduct children?
So there's an odd feeling I have when I'm on a base that I'm home. Sometimes I'm a chaperon / sponsor for the NEFEC teen summit, which is often held at Camp Blanding, FL. It's like a visit to my old hometown.
You can understand, then, my connection to the Marine Corps. On my second day in the D.C. area, my wife and I visited the brand-new National Museum of the Marine Corps, which is located just outside of DC (in Triangle, VA, maybe about 15 miles south of the beltway along I-95).
Now, if you remember from yesterday, I'd been somewhat disappointed in the museums of downtown D.C.
Not so with the Marine museum. It was spectacular.
The museum is arranged into a central plaza, with several side rooms commemorating different wars the Marines participated in. Now, there's no way I can fit something this huge and brilliantly made into a few paragraphs, so let me hit the highlights:
It was impressive. Unlike the Smithsonian museums, which seemed to thrive based on reputation, location, and depth of collection, the Marine museum did an excellent job of bringing the history alive.
Burrito Madness
After the museum, it was time for lunch (the museum had a cafeteria, but it was packed). Driving out of the museum, I said, "You know, the best possible thing would be for us to find a Mexican Restaurant now." (My favorite food.)
And, whamm, there it was -- El Taco Rico, clearly visible as we turned onto the main road leaving the museum. They even had a sign out welcoming museum visitors!
The Pirate Mine, Ahrr
It was nice weather, so we decided to go to a park. Now, when my wife and I say "park", we don't mean those little abbreviated postage stamps in the middle of a city with a few benches and squirrels. We mean an actual nature park. We have plenty in Florida, but like to visit parks in other states when we're on the road.
In this case, right across I-95 from the Marine Corps museum is Prince William Forest Park.
We went to the visitors center and got a map and some advice. We wanted a trail that would be relatively easy (we were dressed for a museum, not for finding King Solomon's Mines) and would take about two hours. One of the park rangers sketched out a path on a map that would take us by a "Pirate Mine."
Now, of all the things in the world I imagined Pirates being involved with, mining wasn't one of them. But I let it pass. After I got to the car, I looked at the map more closely. Actually, it was a Pyrite mine -- as in the mineral, iron pyrite. Yet it wasn't just my poor hearing -- my wife heard the ranger say the same thing, pirate mine.
Well, that led to an interesting walk. All the way down the trail, I kept singing the "Yo, ho, yo, ho, a Pirate's life for me" song and prefacing every observation with "Ahrr," as in "Ahrr, the bridge be closed."
Sometimes it's quite a burden having married a class clown.
Story concludes tomorrow.
New -- added photos 3-May-2007.
The Marine Corps Museum
My father was in the Marine Corps for 23 years. You know, the sad thing is, he's not on the internet at all -- if he were on this site, his life story is amazing. He survived three tours of duty in Vietnam, with HMM-265 and HMM-164 -- helicopter units.
In my early years, we lived on Marine Corps bases. There's not really a good way I can capture this experience for you. You know how, today, parents buy their kids a bike and won't let them ride any further than the end of the street? Growing up on a base, I can remember in 4th grade being able to take my bike anywhere I wanted -- miles away, sometimes -- in complete safety. After all, what sort of moron would come onto a Marine base to abduct children?
So there's an odd feeling I have when I'm on a base that I'm home. Sometimes I'm a chaperon / sponsor for the NEFEC teen summit, which is often held at Camp Blanding, FL. It's like a visit to my old hometown.
You can understand, then, my connection to the Marine Corps. On my second day in the D.C. area, my wife and I visited the brand-new National Museum of the Marine Corps, which is located just outside of DC (in Triangle, VA, maybe about 15 miles south of the beltway along I-95).
Now, if you remember from yesterday, I'd been somewhat disappointed in the museums of downtown D.C.
Not so with the Marine museum. It was spectacular.
The museum is arranged into a central plaza, with several side rooms commemorating different wars the Marines participated in. Now, there's no way I can fit something this huge and brilliantly made into a few paragraphs, so let me hit the highlights:
- There were interactive displays and simulations of several key battles and events.
- The Vietnam jungle was hot; the mountains of Korea were cold.
- The Guadalcanal landing craft took hits from on-shore snipers and rumbled with the surf.
- The engines of the Huey chopper thundered through your chest.
- I tried my aim on a laser rifle range with a simulated M16 -- well, let's just say the world is safe.
It was impressive. Unlike the Smithsonian museums, which seemed to thrive based on reputation, location, and depth of collection, the Marine museum did an excellent job of bringing the history alive.
Burrito Madness
After the museum, it was time for lunch (the museum had a cafeteria, but it was packed). Driving out of the museum, I said, "You know, the best possible thing would be for us to find a Mexican Restaurant now." (My favorite food.)
And, whamm, there it was -- El Taco Rico, clearly visible as we turned onto the main road leaving the museum. They even had a sign out welcoming museum visitors!
The Pirate Mine, Ahrr
It was nice weather, so we decided to go to a park. Now, when my wife and I say "park", we don't mean those little abbreviated postage stamps in the middle of a city with a few benches and squirrels. We mean an actual nature park. We have plenty in Florida, but like to visit parks in other states when we're on the road.
In this case, right across I-95 from the Marine Corps museum is Prince William Forest Park.
We went to the visitors center and got a map and some advice. We wanted a trail that would be relatively easy (we were dressed for a museum, not for finding King Solomon's Mines) and would take about two hours. One of the park rangers sketched out a path on a map that would take us by a "Pirate Mine."
Now, of all the things in the world I imagined Pirates being involved with, mining wasn't one of them. But I let it pass. After I got to the car, I looked at the map more closely. Actually, it was a Pyrite mine -- as in the mineral, iron pyrite. Yet it wasn't just my poor hearing -- my wife heard the ranger say the same thing, pirate mine.
Well, that led to an interesting walk. All the way down the trail, I kept singing the "Yo, ho, yo, ho, a Pirate's life for me" song and prefacing every observation with "Ahrr," as in "Ahrr, the bridge be closed."
Sometimes it's quite a burden having married a class clown.
Story concludes tomorrow.
usmc1_500
pw_pirate_500
usmc2_500
