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DC was a whirlwind trip but the city was absolutely amazing. We found a campground about 20 miles south of downtown (which is actually pretty close for a large city) and drove about 5 miles to the closest metro station. From there, we took the train in twice a day for three days, because we came back in the afternoon to play with echo. It worked out pretty well, but by the end of the three days, we decided that that kind of commute twice a day wasn't what we are looking for in daily life!
Three days was a short amount of time to take in the city, but we saw everything we wanted to see. The fantastic thing about DC is that everything is free!! Well, not everything, but the important things were! All of the museums and touristy places cost $0, but for a lot of the places and exhibits you have to get there early and get a free timed ticket, then come back at that time.
Day One: First, wake up super early and get to the Haulocaust Memorial Museum about 1 1/2 hours early to get in line for
tickets to the permenant exhibit. It was the right idea, because the line had already formed. Once we got the tickets, they were for exactly opening time, so it worked out that we didn't have to come back later. This was the most important thign that Danielle wanted to see, because the last two times that she was in DC she wanted to go see the exhibit and the tickets had already been sold out. So, not the most "DC" first stop, but the most important to her!
The museum was awesome...definitely worth the wait. Not only did it have exhibits, photos and movies from the Holocaust, but it also did a great job of showing the politics, pre-war happeneings, and the rise of Hitler and anti-semitism. It was a fantastic history lesson as well as a sorrowful look at the past...and warning for the future.
Next stop, and not so deep, was the White House. We opted not to stand in line for hours upon hours for the tour (which, like most of the other tours of still functioning government buildings in DC, has been greatly shortened and made uninteresting after 9/11). Instead, we just waved, stood
in front, and had our picture taken. This is aldo where The Great Walking Tour of Washington DC began. We call it that oh so affectionately due to the miles upon miles that we walked between each monument. Whew! Totally worth it, but wow, it was hot, even though we started at teh end of day one at about 6pm.
Onward to the Washington Monument...the World War II monument...then the Korean War Memorial...the Lincoln Memorial...the Vietnam War Memorial...the Roosevelt Memorial...and the Jefferson Memorial. And finally...a few trains and a drive away...sleep!
Day Two: Today we started at the archives to take a look at the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Magna Carta. These were awesome!!! Looking at the writing, reading the words (a laborious undertaking in the phrases where we didn't actually know the words...) and deciphering the signatures was a lot of the fun. Simply being there, however, and reading these documents, left us with a sense of awe and inspiration. Unfortunately, none of the pictures came out as the lighting is so dim in the rooms and, of course, there is no flash photography. Guess you'll just have to go
visit on your own!
Next stop, a few of the Smithsonian Museums. And remember, everything we've done so far has been 100% free! We started with the Museum of Art, quickly working our way through things that didn't interest us (sculpture, anyone?) and ending up spending a lot of time in the private collections on loan from unnamed persons, as well as the Monets, Renoirs, Manets, and other paintings from after the enlightenment. Very cool!
Then, we headed over to the Air and Space Museum, which was also housing some of the favorites from the American History Museum (Danielle's favorite) while it's under removation. We saw Lincoln's top hat, Dorothy's ruby slippers, the first Barbies, Kermit the Frog, and all kinds of other Americana. Fun!
That night we made our way to Arlington National Cemetery and walked through for a bit, making our way to the Kennedy Memorial and gravesite, which has an etarnal flame. Then we made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers for the very last changing of the guard. The ceremony was awesome...but the best part was yet to come. At the end of the changing of the guard, it was announced
that the guard that had just changed had just finished his last detail after 43 months of serving as a guard of the tomb. He came back out and did his own ceremony of honor and goodbye, presenting each tomb (the main one and the three at its feet) with a single red rose each.
After, we walked the US Marine memorial, Iwo Jima. Paul was proud to be there in person, and it was an awesome sight as well as thrilling as ever, just to walk aboud it and watch the men "raise the flag".
Day Three: Today started off with a minor incident. We always exercise Echo for a while each morning to make sure he gets rid of some energy and doesn't hate us too much for being stuck in the camper for half-days till we come back in the afternoon to play with him again. This morning Paul went to take him to play but saw a deer about 20 feet away from the field we had been using. Once Echo saw the deer he went nuts, so Paul ran him a little, brought him home, and went to take a shower. Danielle saw
the deer leave the field a little while later, so took Echo to play. About 10 minutes later, the deer came back, and Echo bolted after him. Danielle ran after but they both dissappeared down into the forrest toward the Potomac River...so Danielle went to get Paul. Paul found him a couple of miles away, completely exhausted, drool hanging down out of his mouth to teh ground, about 45 minutes later. Thankfully, Echo was alright, but we were a little worried that the deer would try to kick him in defense, or that we wouldn't find him at all. Whew!
So, after a late start, we headed into the city and headed to the Capitol building to get tickets to tour the inside. This tour, like the Whjhite house, has been drastically shortened and limited, but The wait was only an hour so we did it. We got to go into the rotunda, the hall of statues, and the empty tomb of George Washington (he resides in Virginia, and Virginia won't let him come to rest under the capitol building...so it will remain forever empty). Wholly uninspiring, as you used to be able to see the House and Senate
meeting rooms and all kinds of cool places but...oh well. They do give you the option of tracking down your congressmen and asking them for a pass to go sit in on their meetings...but we already had tickets to go to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
Using up a bit of time in between, we headed back to some other Smithsonians. First, to the botanical gardens, which were full of all kinds of beautiful flowers. Next, we ran across the National Mall to the Museum of Natural History to see the Hope Diamond and the Tiffany Diamond. It's wild to think about how big these were before they were cut into the jewels that they are today!
Then, off we went to the Bureau of $$$$. This was pretty cool, as we got to see all of the steps from the blank paper to the finished bills. Every csingle piece of printed (not minted...no coins) money in the US comes from this building. We go to see each and every machine and all of the components and workers. They make about 600 million dollars a day, filling orders received from the Federal Reserve, and burning about as
much old moneyat the same time. We saw about 160 Million in various stages of completion in the time that we were there. Dreams of dipping into that cash? Think again...if you even touch the ceiling of the elevated, barred and glassed in viewing areas your tour is over and the whole group gets escorted off of the premesis. Also, the money isn't real until the serial numbers on each bill is entered into the reserve banks and "activated". Seeing the money made, though, was a marvel of a sight.
Well, that's it! DC was an absolutely awesome city and we loved it! We'd definitely go back again, there was so much to see and do, and the atmousphere was awesome as well. Plus, taking advanage of the public transportation kept out any driving headaches we might have had, and as long as you are smart about carrying valuables and stay out of the bad neighborhoods (which are nowhere near the touristy stuff), the crime rate is nothing to worry about either. Definifetly the best city stop we've had thus far!
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Anna
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Holy big dog, Batman!
Wow, the pic of Echo that you have on your myspace page leads you to believe that he's a smaller dog. But that pic of Danielle and him on the pic-nic table makes him look HUGE!!! He sure is cute though. You guys seem to be having a blast! I would love to be in your shoes. You guys take care and be safe!!! xoxoxo - Anna