something to wonder at. Again and again we were drawn back to the Luna Lander. Pete commented that it was a technological freak, it served no really useful purpose and had made no lasting contribution to mankind. (Well maybe he wasn't as harsh as that.) I was tempted to agree but it is only, after all, 1975 and we don't have any sort of historical perspective on the Moon landings yet. The staff of the Smithsonian had, it seemed, made their own comment on any suggestion such as the one Pete made by hanging from the ceiling a selection oId and historic aeroplanes. Looking up at an old biplane which had flown many y ears ago and made the world wonder at its exploits I could not help but wonder at the similarity in looks, even, between it and the awkward shape of the Luna Lander: And it seemed to me then that their histories might become the same. At Brisbane airport a couple of years ago I had seen the "Southern Cross" in which Kingsford Smith and his mates flew the Pacific for the first time. Could he have imagined the sort of aeroplane which Valma and I, so few years later, were to fly the same ocean. We spent a lot more time in that building, looking at all the other things that there were on display. The exhibition was not very large but it was well set out and one thing seemed to lead to another. We trooped through a mock up of the cockpit of a Boeing 707 and sat in several little theatres to look at films of aerobatics and other aeronautical goodies. Alexis soon reminded us of the time, it wasn't very long before we would have to be at the airport to drop Pete off. Our last atop was to be the Lincoln Memorial so we made our way back towards the car. As we crossed the road on our way back Pete noticed the noses of some rockets sticking up from behind a brick wall and Alexis and Valma waited impatiently while Pete and I argued about what sorts of rockets they were. In many ways the monument that the people of the United States have erected to the memory of President Lincoln was the most breathtaking thing we saw that day. From films I had imagined that the whole construction would be huge and not very moving. I was wrong and even a foreigner such as my self who knew little about the man could not help but be moved. The lighting of the statue of Lincoln seems to be the main thing and it kept on drawing our attention. To either side in the two wings of the monument are the words of two of Lincoln's speeches carved into the walls, words and phrases whi.ch most people must have heard at one time or another but somehow gut into a new context. We bought ourselves an ice cream at a little stand down by the Pool of Remembrance and Valma dipped her feet in it. We then went back to the car and drove to the airport where we unloaded Pete's luggage and said goodbye. He wore his funny hat which had been given to him at DISCON because he was a celebrity and he looked, as always, just like one of the Void Boys. The day of exploration ended and so Alexis drove us out through Washington to his home. On the way we passed by the Pentagon, I'm not sure which impressed me the most, seeing this notorious building or the road system we were travelling on which would have to be the most complex set of freeways and interchanges I've ever seen. I've always been fascinated to know what's in the hole in the middle of the Pentagon, Alexis told me but I've forgotten so the matter is still a mystery. When we arrived at their place Doll was home and helped to make us feel at home. After a while the matter of food came up and when they learned that we had been in America two weeks and had not eaten at a MacDonalds the issue was decided. Well, after all the bad things we had heard the experience was not too bad, enjoyable in fact. Later Alexis and Doll drove us once more into the more interesting and famous parts of the city. We parked near the Watergate building and wandered around down in the shopping mall section right at the bottom. Everything was shut but we could see the shops well and were glad that they were shut because there was some nice stuff there, if expensive. Over the road was the Kennedy Centre which we wandered through and where I bought some balloons with the centre painted on them. On the way home again we drove past a Marine base. On the top of one of the hills there was a statue of the marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima. I'd always thought that was made up for the John Wayne film. You learn, don't you?