Went to DC this weekend Past.  There was a Figure Show down in Virginia and decided to head down so I could enter my Pieces.  Wasn’t really planning to go to this Show, but my Buddy Doc told me that the National Capital Model Soldier Society would be holding this show and he was going.  I thought I would go, take my Boys with me and then head to D.C.  They never saw Washington and I so much wanted them to see the Smithsonian Space and Air Museum.
So we headed down and I set up for the show, grabbed the kids and went on the Metro to D.C. 
We walked around the Whole area and viewed all the different Displays.  While looking, I did want to see the 11-foot Model Starship Enterprise that they had on display there.  After walking back and forth, and not being able to locate it, I went to information and asked where it was.  This woman and boy both gave me blank stares and said they had no idea.  They looked up on the computer and in the their directory and said nothing was coming up.  They then told me that some displays circuit the country and it may be gone to some other museum.
So I was quite depressed.  It was long ago that I got to see the model and really wanted to find it again.  I was hoping that they might have it displayed in the American History Museum of the Smithsonian.  I know they display Fonzie’s Jacket, and Archie and Edith’s Chair.  So maybe there would be some hope in locating it over there.
So before leaving the Museum, I told the group to maybe head down to the Gift shop to see what they had for sale.  The Gift shop I came to find out had a basement area and as I emerged from the escalator, I saw it and was stunned!

The Starship Enterprise is on Display in the gift shop.  I was so happy that I would be able to see it again.  And at the same time, I was so pissed that the two morons upstairs had no idea where this ship was.

I took a whole Bunch of pictures of the ship, and of course the boys were busting my Chops saying that it is only a model.  But they don’t understand that this is my Childhood in front of me.  I loved Star Trek and the part I loved the most was that Starship.  So to see it again 21 years later brought a little tear to my eye.  Makes me wonder if it will be another 21 years until I see it again, or if I will even be here then.  LOL

So I took photos, and studied it a little more in detail than in 1984.  It was a bit closer to me and I could look at things a little more up close, even though it was behind glass.  It would have been real nice to see it lit up, but the woman there working said she has never saw it lit since she has been working there.

So here I am on July 2, 1984 under the Ship where it used to hang on the second floor of The Smithsonian.

And here is a Picture of the ship and me 21 years later on August 20, 2005.  As you can see by the Photo, the Ship and I have changed quite a bit in 21 years!  LOL

Another thing I didn’t have with me 21 years ago were my two boys.  They were not even a glimmer in my eye then.

So I got to see the ship, and I was able to show the boys what the Old series Model looked like.  They both were amazed that it was so big.  Don’t think they expected it to be that large, but I guess for special effects for those days, the bigger, the better it looked.

It was also neat to see the original stand that the Big “E” used to stand on, as it is displayed right next to the model.

I did notice that the Warp engine on the Far side, or Drivers side if you would like to say, is sagging down a little compared to the other.  Not sure if that has been like that long ago, or it is just starting from its years of being displayed.  Hope it is something they can fix.

Well, just thought I would share that with you all, it was a neat experience for me.

And By the way, I got a Silver (2nd) for my Darth Vader at the Figure show.

TTYL