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Published: April 1st 2011
Lincoln Memorial
Time after time; it never fails to inspire!The Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, Maryland is another return visit. It is the closest RV park to DC and there is a metro bus station right in the park. Taking the bus (.85 one way for seniors) to the Metro station and into DC is a breeze. Two $10 Metro cards gave us two round trips to and from Washington with money left on the cards. The Washington DC Metro system is clean, safe and easy to use. "Subway" maps are easy to interpret.
We booked a "DC at Night Tour" $35 pp and well worth the price with a pick up and round trip transportation by Grayline from the RV Park to Union Station. Our driver / guide, Herbert, a retired Capitol Police officer was wonderful - so up on his City, his history, and his sense of humor. The three hour tour had four stops where we could have a bit of time to wander. We had never been to Iwo Jima Memorial and not ever inside Jefferson – both were stunning – especially at night – also had stops near the Whitehouse and at Lincoln, Korean War Memorial and some very good drive bys.
Lincoln Using Zoom
Because of some time constraints, we sufficed it to zoom in on Abraham Lincoln. The SONY is doing its work! The World War II memorial looks wonderful at night. We wish we could have stopped there. A bus tour is a great option for tourists unless you want to want to do a ton of walking, have a penchant for urban bicycling (and a bike) or have a car and driver.
This was our second time at the Newseum, a monument to the First Amendment - free speech and free press. We took the "spotlight" tour with wonderful docents, Richard, a retiree from the State Dept., and Craig, a former NPR staffer. Our discounted Newseum tickets (good for two days) were $17 each. We used the spotlight tour to make our visit the next day even informed and productive. Speaking of next day, I took a leisurely tour of the National Gallery of Art while Wes was on a conference call from one of the Smithsonian vestibules. All Smithsonian attractions are free and one could spend days and weeks sopping it all up. My choice at the National Gallery was the Chester Dale Collection from Impressionism to Modernism.
Chester Dale was a very successful bond trader on Wall Street. With substantial guidance from his wife Maud, Chester Dale
built an art collection that can only be described as brilliant. At the end of his life, over 300 pieces of his collection were donated to the National Gallery. This show pulls together the core of the collection from various galleries throughout the institution. Renoir, Degas Picasso, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, the American George Bellows, portraits by Salvador Dali and Diego Rivera, Modigliani’s people, and more! The show is up until July 31, 2011 and is not to be missed. Audio guides can be rented; I trailed behind a tour group and fit right in!
We had dinner reservations with DC friends that we had met fishing in Naples. The food at Asian Spice in China Town was wonderful. We were there in the late afternoon and the restaurant was quiet; perfect for us to catch with each other. Asian Spice is at 717 H Street NW, convenient to the China Town Metro Station. On the subject of food, we love Mama Lucia in the Cherry Hill Market Place near where we "camp" and the caterer at the Museum is Wolfgang Puck, both in the cafeteria and in the more upscale restaurant.
This ends almost nine weeks on the
This Protester Has Been Here 30 Years
This is a very calm, respectful protester. Between himself and his partner this presence for peace has endured in front of the Whitehous for 30 years without interruption. road. It has been a wonderful winter trip. But we are getting very eager for good old Ballston Lake and Schenectady and HOME!.
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Denise Figueroa
non-member comment
Great Pics.
Hi Joanne..I have enjoyed all of the pictures. Looks you have had a wonderful time, but I am looking forward to seeing you when you get back. We should have lunch or just coffee next door to our New building. Safe travels the rest of the way. Hopefully Spring will arrive with you.