#57 Washington D.C. Spy Museum

#57 Washington D.C.  The International Spy Museum

Hello Maryland!   This is the Baltimore tunnel that goes under the Patapsco River.  We have been in a few of these lately.

Washington D.C. gave us eight days of adventures.  We expected to pick up our mail at the RV park upon our arrival, but it hadn’t arrived.  Apparently, it made it to D.C. but was not deliverable and sent to the Georgia Dead Letter office. Two post office visits and two calls to Customer Service and one try on line led us to the conclusion that it has now been destroyed.  Oh Well!  Fortunately, most of our mail is junk.  If not…. they will send a second notice.

We drove to the Metro after one post office stop.  The RV Park does an orientation to Washington D.C. including how to get around.

 Taking their advise we got off at the recommended stop only to discover we could have gone one more.  So we walked in the heat.  When coming home we found the Metro just down from the Spy Museum in L’Enfant Plaza.   And…another Post Office.  Enjoyed not walking after such a busy day.

Here are some things we saw on our way to the Spy Museum.

The Air and Space Museum is currently under a massive renovation.

Check out the line of food trucks!  Similar lines can be found all over D.C.  The second photo is closer to the National Mall.

After much walking and searching we found the International Spy Museum.

This couple, Milton and Tamar Maltz, wanted to illuminate the shadowy hidden world of espionage and created this museum.

As usual the main floor only houses offices, the entry desk and the store.  The museum starts on Level Five.  All visitors get an Undercover Mission lanyard and a cover identity.  If you choose to accept your mission you can get clues throughout the exhibits to complete your mission. We didn’t choose to participate.

An introductory film called “the briefing” starts your visit.  From the Briefing film you enter an exhibit focused on Stealing Secrets.  It tells the stories of former spies, gadget makers and scientist and engineers.

This poster shows the diverse talents these famous spies used to gather information.

Jonna Mendes held the position of chief of disguise for 27 years. After she arrived the CIA’s unwritten rule of women “don’t do” operations in the field, began to change.  Other women entered the agency and made prominent contributions.   It was fun to see the gadgets developed for the trade.

Another part of this section showed a film discussing the spy and his or her handler. 

Technical Collecting that lies beyond the reach of human Intel requires technology.  They have 8 different area for the interception of Intel and sniffing out secrets.

The next major theme focused on Making Sense of Secrets.  It spoke about codes and ciphers.  It told of the Navajo Code Talkers in WWII, and the enigma machine.    It showed the need for analysts to figure out what is happening.

The next themed area deals with Covert Actions: those times when diplomacy or war fails and action is needed.

From here you move to Level 4 and discover Spying that Shaped the Nation.  Why do we spy? I found this exhibit on Washington and his spies very interesting.  Other sections talked about cyber: a new battlefield, and top secret labels.

The next area focused on An Uncertain World.  The fact that we now have terror where we live, work and play. Examples of modern terror are on exhibit.  I passed on the exhibit about torture.

A section on the Berlin Wall offered its history, its operation, and its take down.  Dioramas showed the thickness of the walls and told stories of those who tried to escape.

Another enjoyable Museum offering lots of interesting information! `

Saturday September 28^th happens to be my birthday.

Derrille went by himself to the Air and Space Museum we saw yesterday.  I wasn't that interested and my leg was talking to me  after all of yesterday's walking. Cross off another museum on his bucket list.  Then we went to dinner.  Sharon and I met for the first time.  What a joy! We have been media buddies for a while, but hadn’t met face to face.  Her lovely daughter Julie, is married to our son Jeff!

What a great time we had!

Bus Tour tomorrow!