Germar's Monthly Updater
Home Home
Updater Updater
Me Me
Residence Living
Sport Sport
Science Work
Contact Contact

Calender Germar's Monthly Updater

June 2000: Travels to Washington DC, San Gabriel Mountains, and Cabrillo Beach

Mid of June 2000, I attended a meeting concerning Palmer Station, Antarctica, in Washington D.C. Since I arrived one day early I had some time for strolling in "The Mall", which is a large rectangular park in the middle of the city. The mall is framed on one side by the Capitol, the home of the U.S. national legislature, and on the opposite side by the Washington Monument, a 170 meter tall stone obelisk, dedicated to George Washington. Between both landmarks are the most important museums of the United States. The picture below shows the Capitol, crowned by the "Statue of Freedom".


Museums in The Mall include, among others, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Air and Space Museum. I have visited all three museums, the first on my most recent trip and the other two in 1999, when I was for the first time in Washington D.C. The National Museum of Natural History is the nation's largest research museum with more than 120 million specimens of plants, animals, rocks, gems, minerals, fossils, and human cultural artifacts. The photograph below shows the life-size stuffed African bush elephant, which is located in the entrance hall of the museum.


Another highlight of the museum is the prehistoric exhibition with lots of creepy looking skeletons, like Tyrannosaurus Rex:


Another thing that I haven't seen before are the so-called "Widmanstätten Structures" in iron meteorites, which were on exhibit in the minerals department of the museum. These structures are crystals of metal and become visible (like in the picture below) when meteorites are cut in half and the cut surface is chemically etched. The structures formed billions of years ago when hot, homogenous nickel-iron alloy very slowly cooled in the center of an asteroid. During this process, the two kinds of metal separated to form two different metals - iron and nickel. The asteroid collided later with another celestial body and a part of the debris from the impact fall on the Earth where it was found. It was stunning for me to see how nature forms such beautiful, macroscopic structures.

A side-note: More meteorites have been found in Antarctica than anywhere else on Earth. Not only are meteorites easy to recognize against the ice, but the moving glacial ice actually concentrates the rocks in few, small areas.


The National Air and Space Museum shows the most impressive collection of space and air artifacts in the world. The exhibit includes the first successful airplane, built by the Wright brothers in 1903; the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to travel faster than the speed of sound; and various parts from the Apollo program, including the "Eagle", the Apollo Lunar Module. The picture below shows Gemini IV, the spacecraft used for the first American spacewalk.


There are also many witnesses of the Cold War, including Soviet SS-20 and U.S. Pershing-II nuclear missiles. It was quite a surprise seeing these two rockets, which were the cause of extensive public discussion in the 1980s, standing peacefully side-by-side. They were banned in 1987 by the INF Treaty.

The SS-20 is left, the Pershing-II right.


Although the museums in Washington D.C. are really great, more famous are the buildings of the American government, like the Capitol above. The next photograph shows me in front of another well-known building, the White House:

North portico of the White House.


Everyone has seen the White House in television but I was surprised how close anyone can get to it. In fact, it is possible visiting it (Getting tickets is a hassle, though). Below is the south portico and lots of tourists...


The third attraction of Washington D.C., besides museums and governmental buildings, are memorials commemorating former presidents, including Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. Below is Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his ever-present Scotch terrier, Fala (I think only his dog was honored by a memorial, not his wife :-)


Close-up of Roosevelt's dog Fala.


Roosevelt's dog is not the only curiosity in Washington D.C. Below is a blend of a gas station (first floor) and a church (second floor), which was just opposite of my hotel. Getting gas underneath an altar - only in America.


After I returned from the East Coast, I drove from San Diego to Los Angeles, in the last weekend in June 2000. First, I bought some furnitures at Ikea. (Yes, there is also Ikea in the United States and therefore I have the same chairs around my dining table as a friend of mine in Germany.) After shopping, I drove to the San Gabriel Mountains, north of LA to stay there over night. The picture below shows me sitting next to my car and my surf board in the middle of a forest, which belongs to the "Crystal Lake Camp Ground." It's quite in the middle of nowhere, although a multi-million city is only one hour away.


Below is a view from the San Gabriel Mountains towards Los Angeles, which is still covered by the morning mist.


Although there is not much rain during summer, there were flowers all around, such as "Our Lord's Candle":


The next day, I was windsurfing at Cabrillo Beach. And it was blowing ...

I hate to say it, but that's not me. I can't do both at the same time: taking pictures and surf :-(


And another one:


Return to:
Top  |   Updates from 2000  |   Current Updater


Home |  Updater |  Me |  Living |  Sports |  Work |  Contact
Last updated: 23 January 2016