Washington DC

AWSOME!!!!!

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Day 1 – WED AUG 11

Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, VietNam Veterans Memorial, WW II Memorial

We bought tickets for an on & off tour bus so we do monuments and not hiking even though my pedometer read we did 5-miles.

We didn’t have tickets for the Washington Monument so all we could do is admire it from the outside; the tour commentator said tickets are given out at 7:30 AM with folks lining up at 6:30 AM and all tickets are usually gone really quickly.

There is stimulus money being spent like mad on monuments, government buildings and other historic points and I truly believe it is money well spent.

So, the Jefferson Memorial was having a face-lift and again we enjoyed it from the outside.

But the Lincoln Memorial was a different story and we walked up, around, through and down and it was really awe inspiring and the view of the Mall from the main top area was great.

Arlington Cemetery was really just bus over for a view and bus back because the real tour was separate and took over an hour plus time to catch the return bus, we just didn’t have the time and I’m sorry we missed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Off the bus and walking the VietNam Veterans Memorial and WW II Memorial; this was the 4th or 5th time I had been to the VietNam Vets Memorial and the first time I didn’t see any flowers/pictures/mementoes left at the Wall but it was as moving as always.

After the VietNam Veterans Memorial we walked over to the WW II Memorial that is the newest memorial on the Mall and it was as beautiful as you have seen on the news; the way they have it laid out between Atlantic and Pacific Theaters focuses the attention of viewer, very well done.

And we are really tired after our first day.

Day 2 – THU AUG 12

Capital Building, Library of Congress, Supreme Court & Union Station

Back on the bus for our second day and we were dropped off at the Mall-side of the Capital building and naturally the visitor’s entrance was on the opposite side so we walked around; it did give us a very good view of the building and we enjoyed the stroll. We read the list of prohibited items and I hid my suntan lotion in a baggie behind a bush [it was gone when I went back later and a lady said the guards had collected and thrown everything away].

Anyway we lined up and took a guided tour of the Capital Building and it was really beautiful. Our tour took us through the rotunda with its columns and historically themed paintings and frescoed ceiling, to the Hall of Columns, National Statuary Hall and old senate, house and Supreme Court rooms. We did not see the current House or Senate chambers and we didn’t have passes to see their galleries, but what we saw was wonderful.

After the Capital we walked through the underground tunnel, so we wouldn’t have to go through a security check again, to the Library of Congress and it was the hit of the trip; the Great Hall, the Main Reading Room, the Gutenberg Bible [1 of only 3 vellum copies in existence] and Giant Bible of Mainz, and most impressive to us, the Thomas Jefferson Library. After the burning of the building along with the Capital by the British during the War of 1812, the Library’s books were destroyed and Thomas Jefferson sold his personal library to the United States for $27,000.00, try to translate $27K in 1812 dollars to 2010 dollars, that’s a lot of current dollars.

The Supreme Court building was closed so we just walked by on our way to Union Station to catch the Metro back to our car. It has been a long time since I was in a really big railroad station like they have in the east.


Day 3 – FRI AUG 13

White House Tour, Mount Vernon, Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul [Washington National (Episcopal) Cathedral]

What an early start to Friday the 13th; our White House tour was scheduled for 7:30 AM and we had a 25/30-minute drive to the Metro station and then a 30/35-minute train ride and then a 10-minute walk to where we were supposed to line-up and we wanted to have a bathroom break before and we wanted to leave time for unforeseen difficulties so we got up a bit after 3:00 AM. And all-in-all we only had a little over a half-hour extra time.

As with most government buildings in DC the security check was extensive and to quote from the email we received:
“Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following: handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, food and beverages of any kind, strollers, cameras, video recorders or any type of recording device, tobacco products, personal grooming items (make-up, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.), any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, etc.), aerosol containers, guns, ammunition, fireworks, electric stun guns, mace, martial arts weapons/devices, or knives of any size. The U.S. Secret Service reserves the right to prohibit any other personal items.”
Or as I summarize, show up naked with your picture ID card and you’ll be ok.

Seeing some/most of the White House East Wing first floor rooms, rooms we had seen many times on TV or in the news was awesome. We saw the Library, Vermeil Room, China Room, Diplomatic Reception Room, Map Room, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and State Dining Room. You can look up www.whitehouse.gov/history if you want more information on the different rooms and the White House in general.

After the White House and retrieving our car at the Metro parking lot we drove south to Mount Vernon to see President George Washington’s home and to enjoy another chapter in our nation’s history. Washington considered himself a farmer and although there were many elegant features at Mt. Vernon we thought it was not as formal or as modern as his contemporary Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. An interesting thing about Mt Vernon is that when you look at it you might think it was made of stone but it is really made of wood that was painted, a thick paint with a lot of sand mixed in and then textured to look like stone, and the technique also preserved the wood quite well. We enjoyed walking around and I saw the two sites where Washington was/is buried. Yes two sites. Washington in his will stated that the family crypt was old and needed to be replaced; so first he was buried in the old crypt and then later he and 21 family members were moved, interesting. We had a wonderful lunch of Virginia Ham sandwiches with Peanut and Chestnut Soup, good.

Onward to the National Cathedral and it is really an impressive and beautiful church. They told us it was the 6th largest church in the world.

Day 4 – SAT AUG 14

National Museum of the American Indian and the Aerospace Museum

Another busy day and we started visiting the Mall museums by starting at the National Museum of the American Indian and they seem to have included South America, Central America and all of North America; I felt it could have concentrated on American Indians and perhaps had something more to my liking. But I want to say that we enjoyed the museum. We had “Indian Tacos” [fry bread with buffalo chilly & beans and cheese and lettuce], more chilly and caramelized zucchini for lunch.

The Aerospace Museum hasn’t changed much since the last time we visited but they have added Space Ship One and the Brightling Balloon Gondola. After going to Kitty Hawk I had to go by the Wright Brothers exhibit area and check it out, liked Kitty Hawk because it had more room to tell the story.

We ended the day by driving over to the U.S. Naval Academy since it is less than 20-miles from Fort Meade and unfortunately after seeing the Visitor’s Center and driving around the grounds we arrived at the Chapel after it had closed to visitors so we missed seeing John Paul Jones’ crypt.

Day 5 – SUN AUG 15

Museum of Natural History and Museum of American History

There were some really weird fish in the Natural History museum and among the strangest was one called the Two-wart ? fish with a parasitic male 2-wart ? fish attached. Also we thought the evolution series they had about man was fantastic. We stayed in the museum a long time but felt again that we could have spent days and days in the museum, it was wonderful.

American History museum was a bit of a letdown but they did have the original “Star Spangled Banner” on display, another wonderful part of our history; I could have done without the Julia Child kitchen and the hands-on/making noise things for children that I saw no American history in.

Day 6 – MON AUG 16

Marla Homeward Bound

On the way to the Baltimore airport for Marla’s flight back to Phoenix/Sun City West we had time and it worked out perfectly. We went back to the Naval Academy and got there a few minutes before the Chapel and Crypt opened. As I said to Marla, I am Navy but don’t really have a sense of the Naval Academy but John Paul Jones is something else and his memory I believe is very intense to the Navy and his crypt at the Academy is a fitting setting.

We had a really GREAT time.

And today I finally got a new tire for my bike. A couple of days ago I went out and my front tire had just collapsed, the sidewall weave had just come apart and would no longer hold air. Oh well, the tire was 6-years old and I guess it was just tired.

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An overall comment about the buildings we visited, they were in great repair and very clan and that is the way it should be in our Nation’s capital; glad they are spending the money it takes to keep these treasures we show to world visitors in top shape.

Also I have a Metro card with $4.75 left on it if anyone is going to DC and wants it. It is worth $9.75 because you first have to buy the card for $5.00 and then you have to put “money” on it that the machines subtract from.