Well You Don't See That Every Day

Well you don't see that every day.

The space shuttle Discovery was strapped to the back of a 747 and flown over DC this morning on its way to Dulles. It's headed to the Air & Space Museum/Udvar Hazy Center out in Chantilly and is officially retired. They did 4 passes over DC right over the building where we live.

I had the local news on in the background while I tried to get through some work while C was napping. I heard the announcer say it was about to pass into DC air space, so I grabbed my camera, sprinted up the 2 flights to the roof and joined the crowd. It was pretty neat to see all of the surrounding rooftops jammed with people pointing up towards the sky. I made it just in time to see the first pass, then watched another 3 passes before it headed off into the distance towards Dulles Airport.

I found the experience oddly emotional and was wiping away tears one second, then cheering with the crowd the next. I'm proud of my country (most of the time). I'm proud of (most of) our history and (most of the time) am glad I live here.

I'll never forget seeing that.