In my case, it only meant a 30-minute drive to the Museum of Flight to take advantage of John’s expiring pass. Since he’s been approximately 100 times, we only saw a few sections–like the space exhibit where John and the docent had a long and fascinating (to them) conversation about the mechanics and the electronics of a huge shuttle engine. (whose mission name I’ve forgotten) John also ran into another volunteer whose dad was a project manager at Boeing, working with missiles like John. They had many names and lots of missile information in common. Meanwhile, I stood by, smiling foolishly because I had not a clue what they were discussing! My favorite part of the museum was the exhibit of past flight attendant uniforms and the history of the profession. It was…eye-opening on many levels.
The flight attendants actually wore these to commemorate the Gold Rush. I could have taken so many photos of the more outrageous outfits, but it was dark in the exhibit; the fabrics are old and fragile. Some facts I didn’t know: The first black flight attendant was fired when the company discovered her engagement notice in the newspaper. Flight attendants weren’t allowed to be married. They were weighed before every flight. Mandatory retirement was at 35. And the AIDS epidemic had an enormous impact on male flight attendants during the ’80s. Anyway, the information and costumes (some really were!) were fascinating!
These were disposable “uniforms” from the TWA Foreign Accent Line; the left one is for Paris and the right one represents New York. They look hideously uncomfortable to me.
Another highlight of the museum was this view when leaving. After our excursion, John and I headed to Georgetown for lunch where we had our first disagreement. He ordered French fries and offered me one; I replied that I really didn’t like French fries, but if they’d been tater tots, it would have been a different story. His response: Well, they’re pretty much the same thing. NO, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT. We came to an agreement that we both love loaded baked potatoes although I stand by my view that mashed potatoes taste like mush in the mouth. Horrible mouth feel. 🙂
In a more adventurous trek, Older Daughter drove the boys and her in-laws to the mountain where Nana finally got an up-close look at Mount Rainier. Unfortunately, there was still too much snow to walk the paths. There was also a bear alert. Eek!
Some skiers were headed up the trail.
Nana was all smiles!
Sharky wasn’t scared of Sasquatch.
Can you picture me in this flight attendant uniform?😂 I’m sure I wore a similarly patterned dress in the 1970s. Today I’m off to more adventures: Dash Point State Park with Older Daughter and her boys and then an overnight with them. That will mean an early get up since Obro wakes up at the crack of dawn. I will love every minute of it!
Note: Yesterday evening we had a family birthday party for Sharky with all four grandsons there, but NO PHOTOS of us together. I was too busy enjoying the time with my family . But now I do have a few regrets.
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