Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:03:11 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening 17 - 18 Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 17 -- The Smithsonian. **Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read this. I had put in for another 6:00 a.m. wake up call, which rudely interrupted a very enjoyable slumber. After responding to it, I noticed the boys were hardly fazed by the loud ring of the telephone, so I went into the bathroom to shower. When I came back out, I woke the boys and got them moving, this time before I got dressed. They were still a little sluggish and it took them a while to get ready, but when I threw the lure of breakfast out to them, they all began to move a little faster. Once they were ready, we took off, only to stop at the first decent looking place we saw. After I filled their tummies and all of them were satisfied, we headed off to see the Smithsonian. As we pulled in and parked, I heard Ricky groan, before he challenged me on my choice of destinations. "This is like another school outing," he complained. "I thought we finished with all of that yesterday." "We finished touring the government buildings yesterday," I replied, "but correct me if I'm wrong. I thought you enjoyed what we did." "Yeah, maybe a little," he countered, half-heartedly, "since there was some interesting crap to see there." "That's funny. I don't remember seeing any crap around. Not even in the toilet," I joked back. "Did one of you boys have an accident?" "No, not that kind of crap," Ricky shot back, barely able to hold back his disdain for my bad pun and sarcasm. "I meant, the White House was interesting, because the rooms were kind of cool and there were some neat paintings and junk, but I really liked the stuff at the place Lincoln got shot." "So why is this any different?" I challenged. "Because this is just some dumb old museum," he replied, as if that were enough to convince me we should go somewhere else. "But the place you liked most yesterday was the Lincoln MUSEUM," I emphasized. "Yeah, but they had the gun that killed Lincoln, the knife he used to get away and even a picture of the bad guys getting hung." "Well, they might have things like that here too," I informed him. "After all, this is the National Museum of American History." "Yeah, we'll see," he muttered, knowing he wasn't about to change my mind. It was really a remarkable building, with three floors of exhibitions, so I felt there had to be something inside the boys would find fascinating -- or this would turn out to be one long day. Fortunately, I was right in my assumption. The first floor was devoted to 'America on the Move' and detailed the history of transportation in the U.S., from 1876 to the present. "Hey, look at this old car," Jay told the others. "There's no roof on it and it doesn't even have a steering wheel." "Well, in 1894 when that was developed, they hadn't worked out all the details that are now agreed as standard items for cars," I told them. "In fact, the seat looks like it might be one that would have been used in a fancy horse-drawn carriage." "Damn, they had cars back in the 1800's?" Ricky asked. "I thought everyone still used horses back then." "They did," I assured him. "Horses to be ridden, horses to pull farm implements, horses to pull carriages and wagons and the new-fangled horseless carriage. The early ones were much like this one." "Look at this one over here," Brandon squealed. "It looks like it uses the same wheels they used on those old big wheeled bicycles, that I've seen in books." "You might be right," I agreed. "They did borrow items from existing technologies, and bicycles were big at the end of the nineteenth century." "Man, can you imagine riding in something like that," Ricky sneered. "Even go-carts are better than that." "Maybe now, but back then this was the cutting edge of technology, the best they had to offer," I replied. "It says this one was made by Karl Benz," Danny noticed. "Did he have anything to do with Mercedes-Benz?" "In fact he did," I informed him, pleased by his observation. "He formed the Benz Company, which later became Mercedes-Benz, then Daimler-Benz and now Daimler- Chrysler." We continued to look around at the other classic cars, including a Ford Model T. This, in turn, led into a discussion about Henry Ford and his use of the assembly line. I explained how that innovation helped to keep the cost of the vehicles down, so almost anyone could afford to own one. The boys all agreed the assembly line concept was really important or "only the rich would be driving cars now," Jay concluded. They also had a Southern Railway Steam Engine there, but the boys quickly lost interest in that display, once they discovered the cars of the future. "Wow, look what they've got over here," Brandon gushed, eyeing a designers idea of what the future might bring. The boys were definitely into these vehicles, as opposed to the old classics. Well, I guess that's only right, seeing they'll probably live long enough to drive such things. After I dragged them away from there, we hit the 'TV Objects' area, which probably meant more to me, than to them. The boys thought Jerry Seinfeld's 'Puffy Shirt' was 'ugly and they'd never wear anything like that,' so I explained that it was precisely why it was designed that way. They didn't understand, so I had to explain the joke part of that episode to them, that Jerry was conned into wearing a shirt no one else would have. Moving on, I also ogled the 'phaser' from the original Star Trek series and the signpost from M*A*S*H, but my companions weren't as enamored with these items as I was. Therefore, the boys quickly dragged me away from there and prevented me from languishing in the memories these items rekindled. When we reached the second-floor, Jay became confused. "What do they got all those old dresses here for?" he wanted to know. "Jay, those aren't just old dresses, those are the First Ladies' Inaugural gowns, from Martha Washington, right up to Hilary Clinton." I guess that answer sufficed, but the boys weren't much into women's fashion, so we moved on. "Man, that's a big, but funny looking flag hanging there," Ricky announced, while pointing at a well-worn version of Old Glory. "Guys, that's not just any flag," I told them. "I'm pretty sure that's the flag that was flying over Fort McHenry the night Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. It was just a poem then, but it eventually turned into our National Anthem." "I understand the fifteen stars," Danny told me, "because there were only fifteen states then, but why did it have more stripes." "That was during the War of 1812, and until 1818, when five new states were added to the Union, it had been expected that a star AND a stripe would be added for each new state. Once they reached twenty states, though, people began to feel the flag would have really looked strange with twenty stripes, so Congress passed the flag act, stating there would be one star for each state, but there would only be thirteen stripes, one for each of the original colonies." The boys thought that made great sense and were pleased those early lawmakers were smart enough to come up with that idea. When we came to the 'Pop Culture' area, I had a great time filling the boys in about my favorite displays. Although they recognized Michael Jordan's game-worn jersey, and Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers from the 'Wizard of Oz', they were only vaguely familiar with Fonzie's leather jacket, from 'Happy Days', and didn't know who Archie Bunker was or why his chair would be here -- until I told them about 'All in the Family.' They also didn't know anything about the Lone Ranger, or why a good-guy would wear a mask. I also enjoyed seeing Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves, which started the boys shadow-boxing with each other. After leaving that area, we hit the 'History of Money and Medals' area, which of course fascinated my crew. "Man, I didn't know they had $100,000 bills," Ricky announced, with his eyes bulging from their sockets. "They don't any longer," I explained, while staring at the bill with Woodrow Wilson's portrait on it. "They only made them for a short time and stopped in the 1930's, when the Great Depression hit. It didn't make much sense to have $100,000 bills in circulation, when most people found it hard to even come up with a dollar." The boys shook their heads, while thinking about how hard life must have been then. "I wonder how much I could get for that, if I stole it," Jay mused, while staring at a gold nugget. "Oh, probably ten to twenty years in prison," I informed him, which got a glare from him and giggles from the others. "No, I meant how much money," he corrected me, although too late. "I'm not sure, but the price of gold isn't as high now as it has been in the past," I advised him. Over the next few minutes, we also saw many strange looking forms of money, including currency printed by banks, and not the government. That's when I had to stop and answer their questions about why banks had been able to print their own money, before the federal government came up with a formal currency standard. Once that had been clarified, we came across a Nobel Prize Medal and then a US Civil War Colored Troops Medal, which piqued Danny's interest. "They had a medal for the black soldiers who fought in the Civil War?" he asked. I quickly read some background info, before giving him his answer. "It says here that their commander, General Benjamin Butler, was so impressed with the fighting ability of his black troops that he commission this medal and had it made, specifically to honor their service. Unfortunately, the federal government would not authorize its use, so those men were never allowed to wear it on their uniforms." "That's a shame," Brandon shot back. "If they fought well enough that the guy in charge had it made for them, then they should have been able to wear it whenever they wanted, even on those dumb old uniforms." We all agreed, but it was a moot point. They had all died a very long time ago. Before we left, we also saw George Washington's Revolutionary War uniform, Lincoln's top hat and Alexander Graham Bell's phone, along with numerous other items, and I thought it time to see if Ricky had finally changed his mind about the value of this stop. "Well, Ricky, do you still think this was a waste of time," I prodded him, as we were getting ready to leave. "Nah, it was okay," he conceded. "You know, history isn't so bad when you can actually see things and not just read about them in some stupid book or hear some boring old teacher yak about it for hours and hours." "Some boring old guy, like me?" I asked, causing him to whip around in my direction. "I didn't mean you, Dad," he announced, startled. "You aren't boring, well, most of the time you're not." The other boys couldn't help but snort and chuckle at his response. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," I teased him back, but he was correct. By actually being able to see some of these items, they suddenly had more meaning for them and made it easier to understand the importance of certain things. All in all, we had spent about an hour on each floor, so now we decided it was time to grab a quick lunch in the cafeteria, before moving on to our next stop. During our meal, the boys talked about some of the things they'd seen and shared their impressions with the others, but they spent most of their time trying to find out where we were going next. Using every trick they'd ever learned, they continued to try to wheedle this information out of me, but their only flaw was that they hadn't considered my resolve. I was able to remain tight-lipped and not ruin the surprise, although I did tell them our next destination would be another part of the Smithsonian. After eating, I guided them to the National Museum of Natural History. This is where various natural science exhibits are housed, including the anthropological materials, which tell about the early people who inhabited this land. There were also botany displays, featuring various forms of plant life, entomological presentations, about the vast number of insect species, and geological displays, showing different gems, minerals and rocks, as well as information about meteorites and volcanoes. In addition to those things, the largest attraction is probably the zoological or animal materials, which would encompass various exhibits and replicas of numerous forms of animal life, including dinosaurs. Not meaning any harm, I jokingly teased our redheaded friend. "Hey, Jay, please stay away from the skeletal displays and not touch any thing. I don't want you to accidentally break or wreck anything." This elicited an immediate response from the other boys, as they laughed hysterically, thinking my comment was extremely funny. The problem was, I don't think Jay saw it that way. He gave me a dirty look and I could tell I had hurt his feelings, so I immediately apologized and tried to defend myself by explaining I was just joking. Not totally buying in to it, he forced a weak smile and shrugged it off, but I took note that I had hit upon a major sore spot for him. I pulled him aside later, and apologized again, privately, telling him that I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings or upset him. This time he told me it was all right, although I insisted it wasn't, and I promised to do nothing more that might ridicule him, even as a joke. The boys were totally blown away by the dinosaur exhibits and stood in awe of the size of these gigantic creatures. Even at their age, and having studied dinosaurs in school or seen television programs about these behemoths, they got a whole new perspective concerning the former 'rulers' of the world. It was nearly impossible NOT to be intimidated and feel dwarfed by the skeletal recreations of these monsters and this was enough to make all of us realize that, as far as pure physical stature was concerned, we were just insignificant slugs on the evolutionary ladder. "Can you imagine getting chased by something like that?" Danny asked, while staring at one of the displays. "It would be just like in 'Jurassic Park,' when the T-Rex and raptors were going after everyone," Jay added, with a great deal of enthusiasm. "Actually, man didn't come along until long after the dinosaurs had disappeared," I informed them. "I'm not sure if humans would have survived among those eating machines. They devoured even more than you boys, but not by much." "Hey, we don't eat that much," Brandon challenged. "You certainly wouldn't say that, if you had to pay the bills," I teased. "Okay, so maybe we do eat a lot," Ricky conceded, "but there's no way all of us together could come close to eating as much as just one of them could." "Okay, so I exaggerated a bit," I admitted, with a grin, "but you boys are no slouches when it come to packing away chow." The four of them let it go at that, or this debate might have lasted for the rest of the evening. All of us had been so enthralled with the displays that we didn't realize it was nearly closing time. However, that was quickly made evident when we began hearing the announcements. Reluctantly, we began to make our way toward the exit, even though the boys kept looking over their shoulders to see if they could discern anything we might have missed. Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 18 -- Washington, D.C. By Night and Day. We didn't get out of the museum until after 5:30 and could immediately see the traffic was already miserable, so we chose to stay in the area for dinner. My human garbage disposals decided they wanted to go Italian tonight, so I went along with their request. After making a few inquiries, we were told about a suitable restaurant and made our way there. After we arrived, we started filling up on antipasto, pasta and other Italian delights. The dinner was quite good, there was plenty of it and I felt completely stuffed when we left. However, it appeared my crew wasn't quite done yet. As we exited the restaurant, they suggested we go somewhere for ice cream. After a brief discussion, I reluctantly gave in, and found a place nearby where they could indulge their sweet tooth. After watching them inhale dessert, I concluded it was time to do some more sightseeing, so we could walk off some of the calories we had just consumed. Leaving the ice cream shop, we made our way to the Washington Monument. As we approached it, we noticed it didn't appear quite the same at dusk, since the spotlights illuminated it differently than the sun did during the day. However, the boys didn't have time to contemplate that, as they were too excited about going to the observation deck and viewing the city at twilight. We were immensely disappointed to learn that no visitors were allowed in at night, so we couldn't go up to the top, but I promised them we'd do it another time. Still somewhat disappointed, we walked across to the Lincoln Memorial, strolling beside the reflecting pool that lies between the two landmarks. As we did so, I thought it was the right time to remind them that this was where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech. He stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, while more than two hundred thousand people listened to him as they mulled around the reflecting pool. As we continued to move along, we discussed the implications of that speech and talked about what it might have been like to have been here on that particular day. "We've seen black and white movies of that," Brandon told me, "and his speech was really interesting, but it looked like the whole situation was pretty tense." "Well, it was during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's and desegregation was still in its infancy in the south, so I'm sure there were some nervous moments. During that same time, other Civil Rights gatherings had been broken up by police wielding nightsticks, using fire hoses or utilizing attack dogs, so those in attendance might not have been sure what to expect." "No wonder they might have been worried that something bad might happen to them," Jay added. "Yes, those were unsettling times and you could never be sure about what might happen next," I agreed. After walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, we stopped, turned and stared out from the spot Dr. King would have been standing when he looked upon those who came to hear him. It sent chills up my spine. After that, we went to view the magnificent marble sculpture of Lincoln, which only heightened my feelings. Here we were, standing at the monument dedicated to the one who freed the slaves and was assassinated for his part in the Civil War, while thinking about the other person who helped advance what Lincoln started and take it to the next level, before he too was assassinated. All of this only enhanced the awe-inspiring visions I was seeing in my mind's eye. We finished up our brief tour by going over to the Jefferson Memorial next. The architect who designed it drew his inspiration from classical architecture and was even inspired by Jefferson's home, Monticello, which Jefferson had designed. Once we got inside, we could see the 19-foot tall bronze statue of the third President and various passages from Jefferson's writings, which are engraved into the walls. As we finished looking at the monument, it was apparent we were all pretty beat from the long day and all of the walking we had done. That's why I suggested it was time to return to the motel and no one objected. Once we got back, I made sure Brandon and Jay called home first, so they could let their parents know they were still all right, and they excitedly recounted their travels up to this point. While they were on the phone, I turned on the TV and found a baseball game, which Danny and Ricky soon became engrossed with. I told them they could watch the game, but they needed to take their showers too and get them out of the way, so once Brandon and Jay finished their calls, the younger pair decided they'd hit the shower first. Now that they were alone, more than just the water heated things up in there. "Jay, do you want to try something new tonight?" Ricky asked, eyeing his friend. "Like what?" Jay shot back, curious as to what his buddy had in mind. "How about a blowjob?" Ricky suggested, hoping Jay would take the bait. "You mean sucking each other's dick?" Jay asked, a little uncertain as to whether he was ready to try it. "Yeah, that's what a blowjob is," Ricky replied, stating the obvious. "Well, I've heard about them, but I don't know how to do it," Jay admitted, slightly embarrassed. "I might mess up or something," he added, hoping that would take the pressure off him. "No, you won't," Ricky assured him. "I'll do it to you first and then you can do the same thing to me." "You mean you've done this before?" Jay asked, astonished. "Yeah, with Danny," Ricky admitted. "We wanted to know what it was like and it feels really good." Jay thought for a second about what Ricky had told him, before posing his next question. "Does it taste bad?" Jay asked, while wrinkling his nose. "No, not at all," Ricky confirmed. "The wiener doesn't have hardly any taste at all and the spunk is just a little salty." Jay thought for a minute. "Okay," he finally agreed. "If you've done it and you don't think it's that bad, then I'll try it too." Ricky didn't waste any time or give Jay a chance to change his mind. Before Jay could blink, Ricky knelt down in front of him and grabbed his flaccid member. Ricky started by playing with the foreskin first, pulling on it, squeezing it, and sliding it back and forth over the head. When he exposed the head, he noticed some white gunk under the lip of the helmet. "Eeeeewwwwww. What's that stuff?" he asked. "My dad calls it smegma, but some people call it cheese. Dad says it moisturizes the head and keeps it smooth and soft. It's not dirty, and it helps keep my dick clean and healthy, but dad says I should clean off the excess build up when I shower. He also says smegma does for your dick what tears do for the eyes, keeps them moist and healthy. If you want to get rid of it, just let the water run on it for a minute and it will wash down the drain." Ricky did just that, and turned Jay's penis around in his fingers, to make sure he rinsed it off on all sides. Once he was sure everything had been washed away, he started to lick on the exposed head. Jay twitched immediately and let out a moan, as Ricky's tongue came into contact with his sensitive glans. He moaned again, as Ricky's tongue flicked out and delved the little slit in the middle of the crown. This attention caused Jay's member to swell to life in no time at all, as it reacted to the feel of the little blonde's tongue swirling all around his shaft. Eagerly, Ricky licked the entire surface of Jay's penis, before opening his mouth and letting his lips slide down the outer surface. Once Ricky had Jay's cock in his mouth, he began to move his head back and forth, letting his lips and tongue provide pleasure to his friend's organ. Ricky ran his other hand between Jay's legs and under his scrotum, to stimulate that area as well. While he continued to pump his mouth on his friend's cock, he continued to let his fingers roam around and toy with Jay's balls and fleshy sac. Jay was wild with excitement, relishing all of the new sensations that were coursing throughout his body, and instinctively began to thrust his hips back and forth, to match the motion of Ricky's head. It wasn't a conscious act, but his body seemed to move on its own, as if it had done this before. Ricky tried to increase his suction, as Jay's pole slid in and out between his lips. He could tell by Jay's actions and from the noises he was making that he was enjoying this new activity. "Oh, oh, this is great, Ricky. It feels sooooo goooooooood. Oh, yes, suck on it. I'm almost there. I'm going to squirt. Yes, yes, I'm gooooooooing to squiiiiiirt." Immediately after saying that, Jay's juices reached their boiling point. The pressure that had built up in his loins now catapulted his semen up his shaft, and those precious liquids soon flooded Ricky's waiting mouth. Ricky slurped up the boy juices and swallowed them as quickly as he could. Not missing a beat, he continued to suck on Jay's tube until it was completely drained, and then Jay literally collapsed on top of him. "I'm sorry, Ricky," Jay told him, once he realized what he'd done. "I hope I didn't hurt you?" "Nah, I'm fine," Ricky told him. "Things like that happened sometimes, especially after you shoot a big load." "I didn't know that," Jay admitted, "but thanks for not getting mad. And thanks for the great blowjob too. It was fantastic. I've never felt anything that good before. Get up and I'll do you, but be sure to tell me if I do anything wrong." "I will," Ricky told him, "but just remember to keep your teeth back and not let them scrape on my wiener. If you remember about your teeth, then you'll do fine." Jay noted the advice and reached out for Ricky's penis. He grabbed it with one hand and, cautiously, stuck his tongue out to touch the exposed head. He let it stay on that one spot for a few seconds, while he tried to determine what kind of a taste it had. Finding almost no flavor at all, he became more aggressive and let his tongue move to other areas. Concluding this was not going to be as unpleasant as he had originally feared, he started to lick up and down Ricky's pulsing hard-on. Jay treated it like a Popsicle, licking it on all sides before trying to take the entire shaft into his mouth. Cautiously, he let his lips slide down the length of Ricky's rod, until his nose touched Ricky's pubic patch. Once he felt those wiry hairs begin to tickle his face, he pulled back again. He repeated these motions over and over, sending bolts of ecstasy racing throughout the young blonde's torso. "That's it, Jay. Yeah, just like that. Umm, umm, you're doing really great. Keep going. Do it a little harder. Yeah, that's it. Work it. I'm going to cum. Get ready. Here it comes. Uuuuungh." Ricky unleashed his hot load into Jay's waiting orifice. Jay gagged slightly, before he overcame this reflex and began to swallow the fluids. He lapped up each drop, until there was nothing left, and then stood up to face Ricky, who was leaning back against the shower wall, using it to help him keep his balance. "That was kind of fun," Jay said, grinning and breaking the silence. "You were right. Your dick didn't have much of a taste and your jizz was a little salty, but none of it tasted bad." "See, I told you," Ricky replied, smiling weakly, still drained from his recent orgasm. "Thanks, Jay. That was great, but we'd better get out of here, before Danny and Brandon get suspicious." The boys finished washing up quickly and then hopped out of the shower, turned off the water and dried their bodies. When they walked out of the bathroom, towels in hand, they were surprised that nothing was said. The older pair had decided to keep quiet, since they would probably be doing something too and didn't want to face retribution. Therefore, Danny and Brandon merely stood up and passed the other two as they went into shower. Once they got inside, they were happy to repeat their previous performance and eagerly humped their bodies against each other again, until they fired their respective loads. Exhausted, not only from a long day of walking, but also from this most recent exercise, they nearly collapsed after their climaxes. Taking a while to recuperate, they finally cleaned up, dried off and returned to join the rest of us. Tonight, when I announced it was time to go to bed, no one argued with me. Instead, they each thanked me for everything we did today and confessed they'd had a very good time. After I told them they were welcome, they crawled into bed and soon fell into a deep slumber. All of us slept very soundly that evening, but Ricky must have been totally spent, because he didn't move the entire night. I curled up next to him when I turned in and found myself in that same position when my 6:00 wake up call came the next morning. After going through my normal preparations, I woke the boys, and before long, we were on the move again. After breakfast, we headed back to the Smithsonian, this time to visit the National Air and Space Museum. "Look at those old-fashion planes," Jay announced. "I think that one is the Wright Brothers plane," Danny told him, "but I'm not sure what the other one is." "It says it's the Spirit of St. Louis," Brandon added, reading the markings on the plane. "That's the plane Charles Lindbergh used to make the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic," I informed them. "Wow, I guess man has always wanted to fly," Ricky noted. "Probably since he first saw the birds soaring freely above him," I suggested. "Have you ever heard the Greek Myth about Icarus?" "Isn't that the boy who flew too close to the sun?" Danny asked. "Yeah, he and his father built wings from bird feathers and wax," Brandon added, "but he supposedly flew higher than his father and got too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Then he fell to earth and died." "But I thought it got colder the higher up you go," Jay pondered. "It does, Jay, but the ancient Greeks didn't know that," I explained. "They thought the closer you got to the sun the hotter it would be, but that isn't until you get out of the earth's atmosphere and much closer to the sun." "Yeah, like the planets Mercury or Venus," Ricky offered. "They're hotter than earth." "They certainly are," I agreed. "So the Wright Brothers were the first to fly?" Jay asked. "They were the first to successfully build an aircraft that flew," I corrected, "although there are others who also made claim to that title. However, there were others who soared above the earth before that, but in balloons." "Who did that first?" Jay wanted to know. "I don't think they know for sure, because it's been suggested that might have been the way the ancient people in South America could have observed and constructed the images on Nazca Plains in Peru," I advised them. "You mean those huge drawings in the ground?" Brandon asked. "I think there's a spider, a monkey and other stuff." "That's the place," I confirmed. "Wow, they've been there like forever, haven't they?" Ricky inquired. "Pretty much," I agreed. "I think most scientists put them between 200 and 600 BC or BCE, however you refer to it now." "So, there have been hot air balloons all that time?" Jay followed. "Not really," I answered. "People have just conjectured that was probably the only way the natives could have appreciated the images they dug into the ground. However, it was a pair of French brothers who are usually credited with the first hot air balloon flights, in the late 1700's." "That's a big difference in time," Brandon remarked. "Yes, but there may have been others before that, but there is no way to prove it or know for certain," I countered. Following our little discussion, and continuing throughout the day, we saw many more stages in the history of flight and more examples of the various advancements made throughout the years. I think the boys were most impressed with the section on the U.S. Space Exploration program and seeing the Apollo 11 space command module. If you remember, it was Apollo 11 that made the first manned moon landing, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. In fact, the boys got to see the actual spacesuits they wore and were able to touch a lunar rock too. During this time, we also talked about the risks of venturing into space, commenting on how many early pilots died trying to perfect flight, as well as the deaths of astronauts, as we ventured farther out in space. We talked about the fire in Apollo 1 and the Challenger tragedy, before hypothesizing how much more man would be willing to risk and what the future might hold for space explorers. I was very impressed by the knowledge and interest level of all four young men, as this was quite an in-depth and insightful discussion. >From there, we went to see the National Cathedral, which is an Episcopal church that reminds you of a massive, medieval Gothic cathedral. Construction on it was started in 1907, during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, but the last finial, or ornamental decoration on the exterior, wasn't finished until 1990, when George H. W. Bush was President. It is the sixth largest Cathedral in the world, the second largest in the US, and well worth a visit. It has a multiple chapels, a huge organ, whose pipes completely surround the choir area, an impressive altar and stained-glass windows. "The organ didn't look that big," Jay announced, after we walked out of the cathedral. "That's because its pipes are mostly hidden," I informed him. "If you could see everything used by the organ, you'd realize just how big it is." "I guess," Jay conceded. "I wish our church looked like that," Ricky announced. "It would be nice to be able to see something like that every Sunday," I admitted, "but I don't think God really cares how fancy the church is, as long as we worship." After leaving the cathedral, we took a bus tour of the city, so we could get a better feel for the entire area. After the tour ended, the boys agreed that the old town of Alexandria, with its historic buildings, was the most intriguing part of the trip. Once the tour ended, the boys began pumping me for more information about my plans for tomorrow, hoping they might learn what we were going to do in advance. Of course, they weren't successful, so it drove them crazy and made them more curious about what I had up my sleeve. Even though they were having a good time and enjoying the itinerary I had laid out for us, they just couldn't deal with not knowing what was going to happen next. We ended the day by having a very late dinner, because we spent some time walking around the area, before we went to eat. By the time we got back to the motel, it was very late, so I sent the boys straight to the shower. All four boys enjoyed the pleasures of yet another round of sexual experimentation, before proceeding to parade around the room in their birthday suits. I was beginning to feel as if I was the odd man out at a nudist convention, but I'm not complaining. Far from it, but I am intelligent enough to realize a slightly out of shape principal can't compare to the pure, angelic, unadulterated beauty of these naked young men. We went to bed a few hours later and Ricky wrapped himself tightly around me, like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver. I slipped my arm under his head and cuddled my little darling against me, and we stayed that way until the phone rang the next morning. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.