Our first "fly-in" of 2016 was a great success.  Almost 50 DAFers convened at the GAC on the morning of January 23 and tool a luxury tour coach to the California Science Center.  Although the predicted rain didn't appear, the morning of the 23rd was not VFR-friendly - so the decision to have the traditional bus trip in January versus a fly-in was the right one.

First on the itinerary was an IMAX Theater showing of "Journey to Space".  This 3D movie highlighted the history of the Space Shuttle and Hubble telescope programs as well a detailed exploration of the challenges presented by a future trip to Mars.

 

After some free time and lunch at the Center's grill (which was quite good), DAFers met up to tour the Journey to Space exhibit, which featured a lot of hands-on displays featuring how humans deal with the harsh environment of space.

The final item on the itinerary was the viewing of the Spece Shuttle Endeavor.  Housed it its own dramatically lit hangar, this is one impressive space ship.  Visitors are able to see the the shuttle up close and personal - you can't but marvel at the scale of it and how it relied on close to 40 year old technology.

After a long but infomative day, DAFers were ready for the return-home Happy Hour.  Wine and beer were freely distributed, along with an adequate amount of snacking materials.  A special thanks to Sally and Eric Kinder, and Linda Howard for helping out on the Happy Hour logistics, and thanks to Larry and Jodie Chapman for organizing and directing a great trip.