'the hopkins group'

Monday, May 28, 2007

Andrews AFB Air Show

The Thunderbirds

We decided to take a trip out to Andrews AFB Sunday, May 19 for their air show and open house. We drove in to the Huntington Metro station and took the Metro into D.C. and then connected to go over to the Maryland stop closest to Andrews; then we grabbed a shuttle from there to get onto the base. We got there just in time to to see the Thunderbirds perform. They're the Air Force's flight demonstration team. We were able to get front-row seats right by the runway and watched them perform their aerial acrobatics. As Max said, summing up the performance, "this is the most awesome day I've ever had ..."

The boys got to see lots of aircraft and went into a helicopter that flies support for the president's Marine One flights to and from Andrews. They got to sit at the flight controls for a little:

Myles at the controls

Max the pilot

William, future pilot

After the show, we went into D.C. for a trip to Chinatown to have dinner. We stopped at Tony Cheng's and had a great meal. The boys were awed by the arch marking the gateway to Chinatown.

After the trip, the boys couldn't wait to go on their next adventure. Stay tuned!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Eagle Fest

It's been too long since our last entry, and we've got a little catching up to do. A few weeks back we all headed over to the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge for their Eagle Fest -- a daylong celebration of wildlife and the outdoors along the shores of Occoquan Bay. The boys learned about birds and other wildlife, rode ponies and hiked along the trails in the park.

William, Max & Myles on the trail

Max rides a pony

Myles saddled up

William hits the trail

It was such a beautiful Saturday, and such a wonderful way to spend a day outdoors that we went back Sunday just to enjoy the park again.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Wacky Hair Day

No, Max and Myles haven't turned into a couple of British punk rockers ...

I'm not sure if this is for real or not, but the boys said that today was "Wacky Hair Day" at school. So off went Max and Myles to Old Bridge Elementary all set with their wacky hair:

Kids these days!

Sunday, April 1, 2007

American Museum of Natural History

Today we went to the National Mall to visit the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.

We went mainly to see a photo exhibit there highlighting Nature's Best Photography International Awards. The photos were stunning. Everyone's favorite photo was of a Bald Eagle:

The photos above were from the youth division. They were shot by boys and girls under the age of 18. Pretty amazing.

Max and Myles really enjoyed the fossils and Birds of D.C. displays:

We decided to go see the IMAX 3D movie, Sharks. It was the first 3D movie the boys had seen, and they really got into the experience:

Keep a watchful eye out for these hombres!

A great way to spend a Sunday!

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Last Sunday we took advantage of the first really nice spring day and went for a hike in the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The boys had a blast.

We walked along a trail that led from the parking lot through wooded and marshy areas and we kept on the lookout to try to spot some birds. We had our binoculars and the boys alternately searched for birds and other wildlife and had fun running up and down the trail.

We saw a pair of Ospreys nesting, lots of Red-winged Blackbirds as well as Great Herons, Hawks and even what we thought was a Bald Eagle off in the distance.

Nesting Ospreys

We walked along the bay and the boys dubbed the island we saw off in the distance as "Treasure Island" because of the box of treasure they thought they saw on it: