This Week in Travel: April 13-19, 2012
On April 17, visitors milling about on the National Mall in Washington, DC, got to snap some quick photos of a once-in-a-lifetime event –Space Shuttle Discovery’s very last flight. It wasn’t flying solo though; the space shuttle was mounted to a 747 carrier aircraft as it was transported to its final resting place at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Now that’s an awesome photo-op! Discovery replaced Space Shuttle Enterprise, which has now been loaded onto a 747 to be flown to JFK International Airport on Monday, April 23. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City will become the new home for the Enterprise.
This week also marked the start of the 100-day countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games, sparking celebrations around the world. BMX Riders got air at the “100 Days Out” event held in Times Square; torch bearers unveiled a garden planted to resemble the Olympic rings — made out of over 20,000 flowers and plants — at London’s Kew Gardens; and Coca-Cola hosted a giant celebration in front of the famed Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Only 98 day left to go!
Another world-renown sporting event drew massive crowds this week. On Monday, more than 22,426 runners participated in the 116th Boston Marathon, traversing the hilly 26.2-mile course. The marathon was one of the hottest in Boston’s history. Organizers, in an effort to prevent any heat-related medical problems, encouraged participants who had not run Boston’s marathon before to sit this one out. In a highly unusual gesture, runners who dropped out were offered to defer their admission to the highly-competitive race until next year. That heat didn’t stop Wesley Korir and Sharon Cherop. Check out a photo of the 2 winners celebrating their victory, along with photos of this week’s other top travel moments in our weekly gallery, This Week in Photos.
