Space Shuttles & Space Monkeys

On our way home from New Jersey, we stopped by the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Adjacent to Dulles Airport, the museum is home to thousands of artifacts that won't fit in the Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington D.C. Like the other Smithsonian museums, admission is free. However, there is a $15 parking fee if you visit before four in the afternoon.

We spent about three hours wandering through the museum looking at the various airplanes and spacecraft. For me, seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery was the highlight of the museum. It was neat to see something that had actually flown in space. Since she was in the stroller of instant sleepiness, Lily slept through most of the museum and awoke for lunch at McDonald's and the gift shop. After careful deliberation in the gift shop, Lily took home her very own space monkey.