Fireworks bloom over Lake WesaukingColorful fireworks over Lake Wesauking in Towanda, Pennsylvania, in celebration of Independence Day (July 4). For Independence Day this year, we traveled to stay with friends at their house by Lake Wesauking in Towanda, Pennsylvania. We had a great time swimming, sailing, and grilling. Being away from D.C., I figured we would miss the fireworks this year. However, I was surprised to see a brilliant show put on by the neighbors around the lake. It was a very impressive display!

Sparkles above Lake WesaukingFireworks sparkle over Lake Wesauking in Towanda, Pennsylvania, in celebration of Independence Day (July 4). Fireworks explode over Lake WesaukingFireworks explode over Lake Wesauking in Towanda, Pennsylvania, in celebration of Independence Day (July 4).

Morning at the CapitolEarly morning picture of Capitol, east side, 3 days before inauguration day

I recently had the opportunity to go on a tour of the dome of the Capitol. It was a great experience. We climbed more than 300 steps to a tiny balcony at the very top of the Capitol Rotunda. You can see the balcony in the following photo, along with a bit of the Apatheosis of Washington (the fresco overlooking the Rotunda).

Capitol Dome Inside BalconyThe balcony at the top of the Capitol Rotunda, just inside the Capitol Dome, with a view of the Apatheosis of Washington. Here's a view looking down on all the tourists in the Rotunda. You can sure feel some vertigo up there!

Down from inside the Capitol DomeView of the Capitol Rotunda; looking down from the inside of the Capitol Dome. The Capitol actually has two domes. One is inside the other. When they built the north and south expansions of the Capitol, the previous dome looked out of proportion to the new larger building, so they added a larger dome over the smaller one. Here's a view from between the two domes. As you can see, while the domes appear to be made of stone, they're actually made of iron and painted white.

Between the domesBetween the interior and exterior domes of the Capitol.

After climbing to the top of the interior dome, we climbed outside onto a small balcony at the top of the outer dome. The view was breathtaking.

Scenic view from the dome of the Capitol 2View of Washington, D.C., from the top of the dome of the Capitol.

Mission NG–11 LaunchA Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches from the NASA flight center at Wallops Island carrying the Cygnus spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station.

Recently, a neighbor asked if we would like to join his family on a trip out to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to watch NASA launch a rocket to resupply the International Space Station. Yes, we would! I had never seen a rocket launch before and everyone in the family was excited. It just so happened that the launch was during our kids' spring break and the launch was unusually scheduled for mid-afternoon (as opposed to late at night or very early in the morning). It was the perfect opportunity and it turned out to be a great experience!

Northrop Grumman AntaresA Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches from the NASA flight center at Wallops Island carrying the Cygnus spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station.

The launch was part of a series of missions to resupply the International Space Station. In this case, NASA launched a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket with a Cygnus spacecraft that held supplies and materials for science experiments, including mousetronauts! 

Needless to say, I took a lot of photos. Sadly, we were pretty far from the launch site. Looking at the map, I figure we were about 3½ miles away. I used my Fujifilm X-T2 with the Fujinon XF 100-400mm and a 1.4x teleconverter (840mm full-frame equivalent focal length), which in layman's terms means I zoomed in a lot. My framing was perfect and I had a great view.

Unfortunately, it was a warm day and the sun generated heat waves (heat shimmer) that wrecked any fine detail I might get from my photos. Heat waves bend light, which distorts an image. The effect is more pronounced the further you are from your target. In this case, I was very far from my target. The only way I could have avoided the effects of the heat waves (heat shimmer) would have been to get closer (not an option) or shoot at a different time of day (also not something I could control). Oh well, I had lots of fun and got some great photos of my kids and . . . I got to see a really cool event! We were lucky because launches have been canceled at the last minute for various reasons, including a plane flying into restricted airspace.

JWB3_190417_4007-hdrFujifilm X-T2 with Fujinon XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR mounted with a 1.4x teleconverter (840mm equivalent on full frame sensor) pointed at the rocket launch pad at NASA's Wallops Island facility, waiting for the launch of the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.