Around the World in 42 days - Day 29 - Washington D.C.

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Day Twenty Nine
13 March 2010
Location: Washington D.C
Hotel: Holiday Inn - Central, Washington DC

The final full day in Washington dawned and we were disappointed when we looked out the window of our hotel room. The weather looked terrible. It was cold and wet and unfortunately we had a lot to do today. We had awoken early to make a good start to the day and I was concerned that the weather would only hinder our progress.

Our first stop of the day was the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. We found the building without much trouble, but finding the entry was a challenge and after speaking with a few people who were also having the same problem, we finally located the door.

We entered and soon discovered that the National Archives is a functional building and as such the environment is fairly sterile and plain, unlike the purpose built museums. We wandered into the auditorium and watched a short movie on the history of the archives and there importance. Given my role with HP and my experience with information management, it was easy to identify with the archives.

We then wandered upstairs to the main chamber where the documents are stored in environmentally-controlled chambers. We queued with the next group and then entered to look at the documents. I was surprised at how well the documents have been maintained. There are certainly some parts which have worn over the years, but for the most part the documents are in very good shape. It was great to view these documents that are such a huge part of American history and helped shaped their current society.

After viewing the documents, we wandered the exhibits for a little while, before looking around the gift shop. Erin even purchased a mini-declaration. I think she plans to use it as part of a scrap-booking project.

After the National Archives, we wandered down to the National Museum of American History. Erin had been looking forward to seeing this museum, even though neither of us had much knowledge of what was contained within the museum walls.

We arrived at the museum about 11am and were surprised to see that it was significantly busier that the other museums we had visited. We soon realised it was because today was a Saturday and we were worried that this might also aid in hindering our progress.

We entered the museum and wandered through the various galleries. The exhibits displayed a range of significant collections from American History. From the “First Wives” exhibit that houses many of the gowns worn by the wives of the various presidents (Erin loved this exhibit) to the history of transportation in America.

Our favourite exhibits were without a doubt the Abraham Lincoln exhibit and the Star Spangled Banner.

The Abraham Lincoln exhibit displayed an extremely detailed collection of items from President Lincoln’s life, coupled with the story of his upbringing, presidential campaign and eventual assassination. The array of artifacts was amazing and Erin and I must have read every word of the story of his life as we travelled through the exhibit. Erin was really taken by the exhibit and I was happy to see her enjoying herself so much.

We had saved the Star Spangled banner for last as it truly is an amazing artifact and we didn’t want to spoil the rest of the museum by seeing it first. For those people reading this that might not know about the Star Spangled Banner (other than it being the title of the American National Anthem), it’s a huge, 200 year old American flag that inspired the words that became the American National Anthem.

At 10m in height and 11m in length, even we weren’t prepared for the sheer size of the flag. Contained within an environmentally-controlled chamber, the flag is impressive to view and you can quickly understand how it could inspire the words that became the famous anthem.

Originally created over 200 years ago, it inspired author and poet Francis Scott Key when he saw it flying as the sun rose over Baltimore Harbor at the end of the Battle of Baltimore. Originally designed to be large enough for the English to see from afar, the Flag still flew after the intense battle and the famous poem would go on to become one of the most commonly known anthem’s in history.

During our visit to the museum we saw a range of other exhibits and artifacts. Erin was thrilled to see the original “Ruby red slippers” worn by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and I loved the original jacket worn by the Fonz from Happy Days.

After the museum, we made our way back out into the horrible weather and huddled under our umbrella as we walked across the Mall and down 14th street towards the Holocaust Museum. As Erin had studied history at University she was keen to see the museum and the exhibits within. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we found a line that appeared to wrap around the building. After a few minutes debate we decided that spending the best part of our last day standing in a line in the rain was not a great way to spend our time and we left. We were both disappointed and I was sorry that I couldn’t get Erin into the museum.

We decided to wander back along the Mall, through the constant rain, as we wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial again. We had forgotten the camera during our first visit, so we wanted to go back and take some photos of the site.

After the long walk up to the memorial, we took some photos and wandered the site again, still finding it to be as astounding as our first visit a few days earlier.

It was now approaching mid-afternoon and the rain had severely dampened our spirits. Coupled with the fact that we couldn’t see the Holocaust Museum or the Steven F.Udvar-Hazy Center, we were starting to wonder if maybe we should just head back to the hotel and escape the rain and cold wind.

However, after a few minutes on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, we decided to not waste our last day and quickly made our way back to the street to hail a cab. Our destination was the Marine Corps War Memorial at the outskirts of Arlington.

The Marine Corps War Memorial is based on the famous photo taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima, known as “Raising the flag on Iwo Jima”. The photo depicts six men, raising a fallen American Flag on Mount Suribachi. I imagine you would struggle to find someone (even in Australia) that has not seen the famed photo.

I was eager to see the memorial as statue that sits atop it is almost as famous as the photo it is based on and is commonly seen on TV and in movies. The site sits across the Potomac River and it took us a 10 minute cab ride to reach the spot.

We wandered the site for about 15 minutes, taking photos and reading the various plaques around the memorial. While the statue displays the moment from the Second World War, it’s actually a memorial for each war that the Marine Corps has been involved in.

After our visit to the memorial, we wandered into the downtown area of Washington to catch a cab. It was getting late by this point and the weather had worn us down. We decided to head back to the hotel and have a rest before one last night out in Washington.

Back at the hotel we had a look for some decent Mexican restaurants and located one that seemed to be pretty casual. About 7:30pm we headed out and caught a cab to the restaurant, situated on the south side of the Mall near Capitol Hill.

We arrived and were happy to find that the Tortilla Coast looked like a fun, relaxed restaurant where people could enjoy some good Mexican food and margaritas. We were seated immediately and ordered up a jug of their extremely potent margaritas. We also ordered some chili con queso to enjoy with our drinks.

The jug arrived and we couldn’t believe the size of it. Erin was grinning from ear to ear and we quickly poured ourselves two large glasses of the delicious cocktail. We quickly noticed the strength of the cocktail and given our fairly tired states, it wasn’t long before we were both feeling the effects.

We drank our cocktails and enjoyed the queso for a while and had soon demolished the first jug (about 3 glasses each). We ordered more drinks and also our mains.

The food was simple, but delicious. We both agree that Mexican food shouldn’t be too fancy and this place was perfect. We continued to drink and tried a few more cocktails. About 90 minutes into the meal, we were both pretty hammered and were having a great time.

It amazed me that even after 4 weeks of being together every minute of the day, we were still able to have a great time over dinner and talk animatedly for hours. It almost felt like a first date and we were both happy that our last night in Washington was so enjoyable.

After the meal and cocktails we decided to walk into the Mall and past the Capitol Building one last time. We then found a cab and returned to the hotel.

Our final day in Washington might have been dampened by the rain, but our spirits were still high and we were eager to get to New York the following morning. In hindsight, an extra day in Washington would have been nice, but I’m sure we’ll return again at the earliest opportunity.

Paul & Erin

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Comments

[anonymous]

when will you finish updating the travel blog?

[Shelli]

ok....I am caught up....more?
Just like the title states. I just discoved this web-site. I love travel blogs. Most are poorly written and boring...but yours is great....please don't leave us hangin. What was the "important thing safe in your pocket...when your luggage was lost????.......... Don't leave us hanging. It just isn't fair........ ) Shelli from Boston