As people start making their summer vacation plans, I often daydream about traveling around the world. Then I realize that I don’t even need to leave the office to see far off places. The National Air and Space Museum Archives' photography collection allows me to travel anywhere (and almost any time in the past 100 or so years)! My virtual vacation begins with the pyramids in Giza, Egypt, in 1926.

<p> The Pyramids at Giza, 29 May 1926. Great Pyramid of Khufu (left) and the pyramids of Khefren (center) and Menkaure (right). Smaller tombs, known as mustabas, can be seen in front of Khefren and the Mena House grounds appear in the foreground. NASM-00191905.</p>
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Moving inland, I make my way to the capital city of Rome and the independent city-state of the Vatican, where I view St. Peter’s Square and Basilica from a dirigible.
Desiring some excellent croissants and wine, I fly to Paris, France. I arrive on 17 August 1910 to witness Alfred Leblanc circling the Eiffel Tower to celebrate his Circuit de l’Est win.

<p> Monoplane piloted by Alfred Leblanc passing the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 17 August 1910, at the conclusion of the Circuit de l'Est. Library of Congress Technical Reports and Standards Unit, L'Aerophile Collection. NASM-2001-11721.</p>
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<p> Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Russia, 1916, showing the River Neva, a bridge, and river traffic. NASM-90-8292.</p>
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View of the rock needles of Cape Tegetthoff (Mys Tegetkhoff), Hall Island (Ostrov Gallya), Franz Josef Land (Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa). NASM-9A10680.
Then, taking my cues from Barry Manilow, I sunbathe at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar flies low over Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 November 1957, as part of the Operation Long Legs South American Goodwill Flights. NASM-9A00733.
Finally, I return home to Washington, DC. But wait! It's 1897 and William A. Eddy and Edward Herbert Young are standing on the lawn controlling a tandem of nine “Eddy kites” with a suspended camera to photograph the Capitol Building.
And then it’s back to the future and back to work! Enjoy your summer vacations—real or imagined—wherever they may take you!