Nov 13 2008

Hey guys. Yesterday I went to the Franklin Institute on the way to D.C.; there was a lot of cool stuff there. Probably my favorite was the flight simulator. They run a flight simulator computer program, but it connected to a huge machine. You climb inside the machine, and they strap you in and close the machine up. In front of you is a big screen, and it feels like you’re in a real plane. To control yourself, you use a joystick and a throttle. But that’s not all: the flight simulator rises up, and whenever you move the joystick, the flight simulator moves. I went upside down and stayed there, and then did a barrel roll. My mom hated being upside down! It was crazy! I also took a bunch of pictures at the Franklin Institute – here they are.

Nov 14 2008

Hey guys today I went to the museum of natural history. There was an awesome stuffed animal exhibit (real animals that have been stuffed). I saw a stuffed hippo and chinchilla; I also saw this huge floating earth that told me about the currents.

Nov 15 2008

Today I went to the air and space museum. I went on a flight simulator again, this time with my dad. He liked it more than my mom did. I saw some other cool stuff, and generally learned about aeronautics. Tonight we leave for Europe.

Nov 16 2008

WAHHH, I only slept an hour! And I’ve had a coffee, and I’m still sleepy. Mom dragged me to the British museum – I might’ve enjoyed it, but with just an hour of sleep, I only wanted a bed. Then I went back to the room for a nap, and then I went out and saw the new James Bond movie (Quantum of Solace).

Nov 17 2008

Today my Mom was in meetings, so me and my Dad went to the Tower of London. It’s not really a tower, more of a castle. We got a tour where we saw a cathedral, and we also saw the crown jewels (the diamonds were huge) and a bunch of other stuff. Then we went to Saint Paul’s -- there we heard a choir and got a great view of London from the dome.

Today my mom got bed bug bites at our hotel, so we moved to a new hotel. My Mom was in meetings again, so me and my Dad went on the London eye (it’s a huge huge ferris wheel), and to a movie museum, to a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s boat, and to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.