The UMD team took us to Annapolis to see two places of great historic significance in the US: The State House, and the Navy Academy.
The guide told us that the Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use and is the only state house to have ever served as the nation's capitol. The building has since been structurally altered, with the original staircase removed and the interior extended. They have restored the state senate and representative assembly rooms and kept the place well. But the need for practical matters have interfered with the visual congruence of the room.. the green waste bin liners kind of stood out awkwardly. Operational efficiency has compromised aesthetics.
When the Fulbrighters were there, we did the thing that every tourist would so, see picture below. Well, I wasn't the only one who pretended to be the president of the state senate (for 1 minute)...
United States Navy (USN) Academy
We went on to visit the USN Academy. This is one of three arm forces academy, the other two are the army academy, popularly known as West Point, and the airforce academy. If Top Gun was a real story, this academy would have had midshipmen (the term for navy cadets) like Maverick (Tom Cruise).
This is one of the most prestigious higher learning institution in the US, except that this comes with a five-year military service commission after graduation, and only the fittest and the brightest could get a place. The midshipmen are to graduate with a bachelor degree in engineering before they would be assigned to various divisions, with the marine corp the most prestigious and hardest to get into. Famous graduates from the USN Academy include Jimmy Carter, former president of the US and John McCain, US senator, once a presidential candidate of the Republican Party.
We came across a parade drill and we went pass many midshipmen. I didn't look too carefully, but amongst those we passed, there could be a future President, Secretary of Defence or Chief of Staff!
And one of the Fulbrighters, Patricia (below) found a very good-looking midshipmen with the name Richard Gere, in dress uniform! Patricia has been mesmerised by the 'fairy-tale' movie An Officer and A Gentleman, and she was really hoping to find Gere in the USN Academy. So she requested for me to find her a Gere....... I kind of 'just managed' to...
Ok, it's up to you whether you choose to believe it.
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| Top right are chunks of lump crab and below left are potatoes! |
Well, we didn't get an aircraft carrier or destroyer ride when at the academy so we had a ferry ride out from the historic port of Annapolis (The original port and dock has been filled and became part of the USN Academy). And of course, crab cakes and potato chunks would go well with a ferry ride!
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| The boss at his routine coin trick |
There are several places that sell crab cakes at Annapolis. But at Chick and Ruth Delly, the boss may come around to perform a magic trick or two... He did the disappearing handkerchief trick, but of course I could see the little thumb cover he had on his right thumb. My uncle did that trick when I was a kid and he revealed the secret later. It was a trick he had bought when he travelled to the US way back in the 80s. Looks like that trick still can amuse a few folks. I certainly love the giant crab cake more than the trick.
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| My indulgence for the day! |
The ferry ride was very stable and I had no problem eating my crab cake. Annapolis skyline is quite flat so any old dome or landmark can be seen. Think the next best part was the ice cream after the ferry ride. I found a flavour "Deep Dark Chocolate" so being a 'noir chocolat' fan, I had to have double scoop... (went gym the next day of course!)
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| Rashi and Revathy enjoying the sun! |
Reliving My Childhood Fantsay at Air and Space Museum in D.C.
When I was a little kid, I saw on TV the Apollo missions landing on the moon. I can't remember which Apollo mission now but to a kid, it was fascinating! I had found the space suit so cool and the floating walk on the moon was captivating. I always had problem with long jump and high jump in school and the notion of weightlessness was a very appealing one! So my childhood dream was to be an astronaut.
Amongst the exhibits was the historic adjoining space capsule of the then Soviet Union (or CCCP) spacecraft and the US space craft in 1975. It was the height of the Cold War and the hand-shaking of US and Soviet astronauts in space was a very significant moment. I remember seeing the footage of the space handshake on TV news and the photograph (in picture below) was splashed all over the newspaper, even in Singapore.
Upon entering the museum, we were all excited about the space craft parts and missiles on display. I guess space travel is something that captivates almost all folks, old or young. One of the Apollo capsule (above left) that had returned to earth carrying the astronaut was on display and it was amazing to see how this little thing (in relativity to the vastness of the earth and space) could withstand the incinerating heat upon re-entry to the earth's atmosphere. And of course I was excited the see the Apollo Lunar Module used for landing onto the moon surface (above right)!
But for those who do not like to eat from vacuum packs with a suction tube and tins with jelly-like food, then space travel is not for them. Below is a picture of the dining room in space. Notice the dining table is full of suction tubes... porridge anyone?
If this is just for a few days, I wouldn't mind even for a foodie like me. But if I had to be like those astronauts assigned to the space station for months, I will certainly lose weight!
As mentioned earlier, my childhood dream was to be an astronaut. Since I was terrible at physics in school, and being a Singaporean (not US or Russian citizen), that dream is an impossible dream. But, with modern digital technology, somethings are still possible.......
Ok, if you can believe this, you will believe in anything....
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