Independence Day in DC!

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Washington DC is a really cool city. It was easy to get to on the metro from Arlington and we certainly walked some miles exploring the historic buildings and museums. Being there for the 4th of July celebrations was great, especially as we hadn't really planned it that way. It was both the best and the worst time of year to be there though, with enormous crowds sometimes making touristy life a little testing!

There were so many monuments and memorials to wander around and so many historic buildings and museums to explore. We began on The Mall where the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival was in full swing. This year's represented regions were Mexico and Asian Pacific so we got to see some Mexican witchdoctors in action and a very loud rock band from South of the border! Our wanderings soon took us to the Washington Memorial, an enormous obelisk in the centre of The Mall. Unfortunately all tickets to go up to the top had been distributed by the time we got there at 11am.

Next we walked past the World War II memorial and listened to a high school band from California for a while before continuing along to the Lincoln Memorial. This impressive building houses a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln and the walls bear the words of his famous Gettysburgh Address.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

From there we went to the Vietnam Memorial but were disappointed to see the famous statue of 3 soldiers under wraps whilst it is cleaned up. The memorial itself is a very emotional place with some 58,178 names inscribed. It takes days to read them all whenever they have a dedication day on special anniversaries of the war.

Our next stop was the White House. The fence outside prevents you from getting a decent look but we did ok. Michelle Obama's new vegetable garden is in full view and we could just about make out the band playing on the steps. Maybe they were welcoming Barak Obama home, or maybe they were just playing for the crowds!

For lunch we went British! The Elephant & Castle pub was very nice and we had a good time catching up with Alex who we knew from our time in Salta, Argentina. He was disappearing off to New York for the holiday weekend so our reunion was all too short.

After saying goodbye we went into the Smithsonian Museum of American History where we learned all about the Stars and Stripes and the National Anthem. For a couple of (not so) ignorant Brits, it was very informative. We also got to learn a lot about more recent history, various wars and the development of transportation in the USA. And yes, we even got to see Abraham Lincoln's hat!!!

We ran out of time to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum so we came back the next day to do that. It was an amazing collection but with Russ having an aviation background and our visits to Chicago and Kennedy, a lot of the exhibits covered old ground. The deck of the aircraft carrier was pretty cool though and some of the historic aircraft were well worth lingering over.

We also tried to visit the International Spy Museum but holiday weekend was not a good time to go. The day was incredibly hot and the queue outside was the best part of an hour long in the blazing sun. We had a browse around the gift shop before deciding to give up and walk along to Union Station instead. The train station is still functional and it was a really nice building. The air conditioned interior was very nice too!! A stroll through the park took us to the Capitol where the US Government sit. It's a very photogenic building. Nearby is the Library of Congress where our bags were searched before AND after our visit, just in case we fancied a copy of Jung's "Red Book" or a historical document or two!

On July 3rd our friend and hostess Karen took us out to a party on the edge of town. It was so on the edge that we're not even sure where it was! It was great to meet so many people and a good time was had by all. The next day, Independence Day, we all regretted our 4am bedtime though! It was a very subdued day until the time came to venture out onto Capitol Hill for the evening's entertainment and fireworks. It was a wonderful occasion and we sat out with our picnic being entertained by Gladys Knight plus a few people we probably should have heard of but hadn't!! Then the fireworks began and it was truly spectacular.

Public transport looked like being a little bit too crowded so we walked back to Arlington. It took a good couple of hours but we saw the delights of Georgetown and the canal along the way. We were tired but after such a lazy day we needed the exercise!!!

Sadly the next day we had to say goodbye to Karen. We can't thank her enough for her hospitality. It has been such a good visit but we had to move on to Philadelphia.

Oh, and by the way, Ethiopian food in Washington DC is the best!!

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