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Published: November 21st 2007
We spent a few days in Washington, DC September 26th through the 30th. It was nice to get into town early (around 10 a.m.) because it gave us a chance to drop our bags off at our hotel, The Quincy, and start some sightseeing. We took the Metro from the airport to the station closest to the hotel and we got our first glimpse at freedom in action. Right across from our hotel was a group on strike and what a racket! Signs, drums beating, chanting, you name it. Luckily, by the time we returned to the hotel later in the day they had dispersed and all was quiet.
We were so glad to get to the city early as there was so much we wanted to accomplish and we only had four and a half days to do it all in! We made our way to the Lincoln Memorial first...lots and lots of steps. I never imagined the statue of President Lincoln to be so overwhelming; it was absolutely huge. We learned that it is 19 feet tall and 19 feet wide and made from 28 marble blocks. There were lots of people milling about; some taking photos, others
reading portions of the Gettysburg Address. One young man in particular was simply sitting against a column, very quiet, and seemed to be reading and just taking it all in. He seemed unaware of others around him and appeared to be gazing in awe at the tremendous monument and the meaning of it all.
Coming down the steps from the memorial we could see the Reflecting Pond. I couldn't help but remember the scene from the movie "Forrest Gump" when Forrest is giving a speech during a protest during the Vietnam war and Jenny spots him and they run through the water to reunite. Surely there must have been something other than this that should have come to mind but for some reason all I could think was "run, Forrest, run!"
We visited the Vietnam War Memorial. There are so many names on the wall. Many people were using paper and pencils to make tracings of loved-ones names on the wall and some had even left flowers. We were very quiet as we walked through; seeing all the names really makes you think about freedom and the debt we owe to those who have served. We also visited
the World War II and Korean War memorials.
The National Air and Space Museum was a "must do" on our list. This was one place Cannon simply could not miss. We were able to see an IMAX show called "Space Station" in 3D. Very interesting; we were able to see the inner-workings of the Space Station and learn how the astronauts get along from day to day. Even eating M&Ms is an adventure in itself. The vintage airplanes were amazing and we even saw The Wright Brothers plane and also an exhibit showing one of the original bicycles they built. Cannon and Gerry had a great time on the flight simulator; I decided not to go along but to capture the excitement from the outside. We enjoyed it so much that we took a subscription to the Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine so we can keep up on this exciting subject.
After the Space Museum, we headed over to the Washington Monument. The monument stands at 555 feet and is taller than any other building in our Nation's Capitol. We were assigned a time to go in and we waited as they allowed small groups to enter (although
it is very tall, it is small in circumference) and we were allowed through security and into the elevator. Once at the top there were windows on all sides and you can really see the entire city from up there. We were able to take lots of photos from this viewpoint. It was great!
We were excited to hear that the National Museum of Natural History was open; we had originally heard that it was closed for renovations but it turned out to be a different museum. We always try to visit a natural history museum in every city we visit and this one was exceptional. We caught the IMAX movie "Sharks" in 3D (of course) and saw so many interesting animals (be sure and check out the "crazed mammal" photo in the photo section). I can't believe we even got to see the Hope Diamond. It was stunning! There are so many stories and mysteries surrounding the diamond that it makes it all the more interesting! The entire National Gem Collection was amazing! We were so impressed with the Smithsonian Institution that we took another subscription; this time to the main Smithsonian Magazine.
I absolutely loved the
National Postal Museum! It doesn't sound very exciting but since I love stamps, postcards, and letters, this was one museum that I really wanted to visit. Cannon also liked the fact that this is where the Smithsonian stores many of its artifacts such as fossils, skulls, things preserved in jars of formaldehyde, etc. that are not on display (underground and not available to the public). We also learned of "Owney", a little dog who in 1888 wandered into an Albany, New York post office and settled into sleep on a pile of mailbags. The mail clerks became very fond of him and decided to let him stay. He loved the mailbags and followed them everywhere; onto wagons, trains and steamships. He loved to ride in the mail cars. His first trip was from Albany to New York City. As his travels took him on longer trips, post office clerks bought him a collar to identify him with the simple inscription "Owney, Post Office, Albany, New York". Over time, he accumulated 1,017 tags, tokens, trinkets and medals from his trips. They became so heavy that some had to be removed from his special jacket just so he could get around easier.
The little dog died in 1897 and money was collected for his preservation by a taxidermist. The mail clerks wanted to make sure that he would never be forgotten; he has been a part of the Smithsonian since 1911.
Our last day was jam-packed. First thing we headed out to Mount Vernon, George Washington's Estate. It was so beautiful and peaceful. President Washington and his family are even buried on the estate. Unfortunately, the line to tour the mansion was so long we decided to by-pass it and make our way around the rest of the estate. We enjoyed the orientation center, the gardens, his farm site and the Potomac River waterfront.
After leaving the estate we headed for the International Spy Museum; this was great! No pictures were allowed so that's why you won't find any here. We took a hands on tour of the almost invisible profession that has shaped history. We were able to see the world's largest collection of international espionage artifacts and explore exhibits about weapons, disguise and surveillance. It was all so exciting!
Since this was our last day we weren't finished yet. We had two more places to visit. First
was the 2007 National Book Festival. We didn't spend alot of time here but we did take a walk through and they even had a full size "Magic Schoolbus" complete with Miss Frizzle. It was available for tour but once again it was getting late in the day and we had yet another stop to make; The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and The Catholic University. The shrine was beautiful and the grounds of the university were nice and very quiet. We were exhausted by the end of the day but we had accomplished everything we had set out to do. We had a good night's sleep and arrived home safely the next day. Another wonderful trip...
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