Update 36: Washington D.C.

Update 36: Washington D.C.  Oct. 12-23

We parked at Cherry Hill RV Park and listened to the rumbling sounds of I-95 just down the hill behind us. A muffled roar from the four northbound lanes of traffic, dotted with an occasional burst of motorcycle acceleration wafted through the trees.  Yet the sounds melted into white background noise that we barely noticed during our stay.

The park offers a sightseeing session to help orient visitors to the bus, subway and tours needed to get around D.C.. The park has a bus stop with a ticket office. The office can sell you bus tokens, metro passes and tour tickets. We only had to walk about eight sites between our site and the bus stop.

On our first tour day in D.C. we drove to Mount Vernon. The drive along the George Washington Parkway follows the Potomac River and a beautiful bike/jogging path.  Lovely homes sit just across the road with views of the river.  Some areas of the river look a bit swampy. Other areas have logs and other debris floating close to the shore.

A beautiful bronze of George, Martha, and two grandchildren welcomes people to the Mt. Vernon Visitor Center. We watched the film on George Washington's life.

A large replica of the Mt. Vernon mansion stands encased in glass just outside the theater. As you observe the house the outside panels lower to show the interior rooms, like a doll house. The furnishings reproductions really work: even the doorknobs turn. At one point the entire house lowers to view the 3rd floor. A wooden step helps short people get a peek into the third floor.

The sun shone brightly as we walked through Mt. Vernon.  A slight nip in the breeze  and a few colored leaves on the trees set the tone for a perfect autumn day.

Covered walkways connect the slave quarters on the left, and the kitchen on the right, with the main house. The slave quarters were bigger and better than most homes of that era.

No photography was allowed in this home that has been open to the public for over 150 years.  During the time that Washington lived there, he remodeled the house several times.  His last project added the large dining room, and my favorite room in the house.  Washington used a lot of color on the walls of his rooms. The large dining room can probably be called a Granny Smith Apple green.  The vaulted ceiling is trimmed with white molding and a farm motif. The dark chairs have seat cushions covered in bright green fabric. Big windows look out at the Potomac.

The Washingtons entertained many visitors.  Some were friends. Some were weary travelers looking for a place to spend the night.  In one year 667 visitors passed through their home. To get some privacy, Washington created a new bedroom addition, where he and Martha could be separated from the guests. He died in that room.  After his death, Martha moved to a room on the 3rd floor for the rest of her life.

To feed, clean, and clothe all the visitors several out buildings were needed to support all the household and its guests. 

We saw his stables and wagons.

We also saw the original vault in which Washington was buried. Later the family crypt was built at its current site.  

 Visitors can stand in front of Washington and Martha's sarcophagus. His is on the right, and hers is on the left. Standing less than three feet from their remains created an interesting feeling. Behind the brass door twenty-five other family members are buried.

A slave memorial stands nearby. The area behind the slave memorial is believed to be an unmarked grave of slaves.

We completed our walk through the Mt. Vernon grounds and returned to the RV to rest before our evening tour.

 At 5:30 we walked to the bus stop in the Park. A Grayline bus picked us up and took us to Union Station.  We officially started our night tour of D.C. at 7 PM with the same driver named Larry. He was our excellent tour guide too. Getting around the usual construction areas and dealing with the filming of the new Transformer movie at the Lincoln Memorial took skills which I admired.  He let us off the air conditioned bus at several stops so we could get a closer look.  On this warm evening, we enjoyed walking around the monuments. We walked through Lafayette Park to see the North side of the White House. Here you can get closer than to the South Side.

I enjoyed our stop at the WWII stop. Then looking across the monument toward the Washington Monument was special.

The Korean Monument was interesting at night too. The Jefferson Memorial was dark and blocked off. So Larry took us by the IWO JIMA Memorial. We also drove through the Arlington Cemetery.  After receiving about 3 1/2 hours information, Larry returned us to Cherry Hill about 11:30 pm. It was a great tour.

The next day we returned to the bus stop for a ride to the subway station.  The DC Metro travels underground and above ground.  We transferred trains and got off at Union Station. One of the things we learned we called escalator etiquette. Riders need to stay to the right side of the escalator so the left side is open for people who want to walk quickly  up instead of riding.

We then walked the few block to the Russell Senate Office Building, the location of Sen. Murray's office. Kelsey came to guide us through the Capitol Building.

First she led us through the tunnel system that connects all the state buildings. Then we boarded an open tram that runs between the office buildings and the capitol. The three of us moved easily around the larger tour groups.  The hallways felt like mazes.  I was so glad Kelsey knew the way.

 We entered the Capitol in the new Visitors Center.

She took us to the Brumidi Corridors that Brumidi painted in the European style. Brumidi even left open places for future. Challenger was one event that has been added.  We also visited the Cox Corridors that are painted with a more Americana style. Not all capitol tours get to see these corridors.

Kelsey gave us interesting stories about all parts of the Capitol.  We saw the old senate, old house, and old Supreme Court. We also sat in the galleries of the current senate and house chambers. Kelsey showed us the statues donated by Washington State:  Mother Joseph and Marcus Whitman.

The Rotunda is a work of art. as are many of the other areas too. The shine and polish of everything just causes you to stop and appreciate the beauty created so long ago.

The new Supreme Court building sits across the street from the Capitol.

We returned to Union Station and selected lunch from the many choices available in the food court. Union Stations serves Metro subways, buses, Amtrak, and a train called Marcx.  The station also serves as the hub for tour buses, so we boarded the next double-decker bus and went on a D.C. by Day tour.  Unlike our other bus tours this one had a recorded  narration instead of a real person. We like the real person tours better.  A cold wind blew through us for part of the trip, making us uncomfortable. We felt that Larry gave us a much better tour at night, than this one during the day.

                             
                                         
We did see: DuPont Circle used to be home to the wealthy.

                                           The National Cathedral,  Georgetown,

Smithsonian Castle, I think.  This is the original Smithsonian Museum. The Smithsonian now feels 13 or 14 locations around Washington D.C.
                  

George Washington Hotel.  Larry told us that some rooms at the GW go for $4000/night. During the inauguration the room rates went to $8000/night, and the rooms were sold out.

We saw the White House from its 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue side from the bus as you look past a large grassy area. Pennsylvania Ave. is blocked with cement barriers and a police guard.  We didn't check to see if you can actually walk down this road or not. Several streets have these barriers that look like Jersey barriers, but the police can lower them into the street if the car passes inspection.

Georgetown is the upscale place to live and shop. A wide variety of restaurants can be found in the same block or within blocks of each other.

Embassy Row is noted as the only place in the world were so many embassies exist side by side..

This is my best shot of the Capitol building.

The Lincoln Memorial, outside and then inside with Derrille.

The outside of the Jefferson Memorial. Like so many monuments work is being done on this monument too.

We took the next day to visit Harpers' Ferry. The day is written up in the next blog.

We took a day off before hopping onto the bus and subway again and heading for town.The subway dropped us close to the Washington Monument.  On this sunny day we could easily see the two different colors of granite in the monument. The Civil War interrupted the construction of the monument.  When construction began again the granite came from a different part of the quarry with a slightly different color.

We began our walk of the National Mall with a stop at the WWII Memorial.  We took time to read all the inscriptions around this beautiful  memorial. This monument's beauty makes it my favorite.

Farther down the Mall we stopped to rest next to the Vietnam
Womens Memorial. The three nurses are called Faith, on her knees, Hope, looking skyward, and Charity with the wounded soldiers.  I liked this memorial too.

We walked by the Vietnam Memorial. "The Wall" in its simplicity, incites a response to all who pass by.

The Three Soldiers stand at the path "for the wall" and the Nurses.

After lunch at a little food stop on the route, we walked to the Lincoln Memorial. This is Derrille's favorite monument.  He climbed all the stairs to the monument, while I waited below.

The Korean Memorial expresses the feelings of those who served in this conflict by the body language of the 19 statues.

We walked about six miles this day along the mall.

Another Metro trip the next day took us to the Smithsonian Museum of History.  The exhibit of our country's original flag in its low light glass enclosure inspired a sense of reverence as visitors moved through the darkened hallways of the exhibit. Above the entrance to this exhibit hangs this metal flag.

In the Americana section we saw Fonzie's jacket, Apollo's skates, Archie Bunkers chairs, Dorothy's ruby slippers and other things. You probably recognize Dumbo from a Disneyland ride.





I enjoyed the First Ladies' exhibit.  First Lady Taft donated her inaugaural gown to the Smithsonian starting
a tradition for all succeeding first ladies to follow.  The gown, accessories, videos and portraits are part of the display.  Derrille passed on this one, but I did find it interesting.

Julia Child's kitchen sits right there in the museum. Her multitude of pots, pans, utensils, gadgets and books look at Julia's life.

The Manhattan project, the development of the H Bomb and its results consume part of the Science and Technology exhibits.  I found the section on the development of birth control pills interesting.

One of the larger exhibits explored the life of Abraham Lincoln from boyhood to assassination. He and Mary's formal attire for the inauguration stand in one display case.  His famous top hat has a case by itself. Chronicles of this presidency show the struggles of the times.  Abe Lincoln is another self-educated, self-made man who did great things.  We have learned about several of these men on this trip.

A large section on Transportation examined the history of boats, trains, and planes.




The largest exhibit called   The Price of Freedom: Americans at War follows our country from the French and Indian War of the 1700's right on down through Vietnam of the1900's. Battles, people, weapons, etc show how each made an impact on our freedom. The exhibit design showed well thought-out and creative displays.  Some people expressed disappointment over the size of the WWI portion. For me, the display of so much pain and suffering overwhelmed me yet again. So I hastened through then waited for Derrille to finish a more comprehensive visit. Our museum visit meant walking on the concrete floors for about six hours. I was glad to sit down on the way home.

After two days of walking we decided to spend the next day riding and we went to Ocean City. Details in next blog.

My throat ached a little the next day so I stayed home while Derrille went to explore the Holocaust Museum. I was leery of the museum given my reactions to the war photos. Had I been able to go my plan was to do the kid floor and then wait for Derrille.

The Holocaust Museum tells the story in three floors of exhibits. The top floor included a special exhibit entitled State of Deception: the power of Nazi propaganda. It encompasses the years 1918 to modern times. A timeline shows the German activities and actions against Jews, Romas (Gypsies), Poles and any ethnic minority in the way of Nazi Party. The question asks “Is propaganda what you think it is?” The permanent collection starts on the 3rd floor with Nazi Assault 1933-1939. It moves to floor 2 to look at the “Final Solution” 1940-1945 and then the bottom floor shows the “Last Chapter” that tell the stories of the survivors. One of the interesting facts that Derrille shared was even after liberation from the camps 50% of the Jews died from conditions created by the camps. The graphic photos that I was concerned about were tastefully hidden on a TV monitor located below a wall. I could have gone had I been feeling better.

Derrille then walked the ten blocks to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Some of you may not know that we consider Jay an authority on Indian affairs. At the University of Arizona he was the dean of Native American Studies for many years. He has does work around the country and outside of it also. Jay told Derrille that 500 different tribes were involved in the creation of this museum. The consensus was twofold. 1) Show that Indians have been here a long, long, time. 2) Show that the American Indian is an active member of society today.

The tour suggests you start on the top floor, the 4th. Here Derrille viewed the film “Who We Are”. The film looks at select tribes from the Inuit in the Far North, down through the states, Central American and on down to the tip of South America. Exhibits tell Our Universe: native beliefs, and Our People: native history. These two sections are told using a few selected tribes. On the second floor the “Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake” tell of a tribe local to the area. The lack of artifacts (bead work, tradition dress, housing, weapons, etc.) usually found in Indian Museums was glaringly obvious, so the tribes’ wishes were honored.

Feeling better the next day Derrille and I drove to the Arlington Cemetery. We walked up to view the Kennedy grave site. Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy have sites just beyond the JFK sites.

Next we walked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and waited for the hour mark and the changing of the guard. The current guard held his body perfectly straight. He placed his heel out in front of him and rolled it slightly toward the outside. Next he rolled his foot from the ankle position to the toe to create the step, and repeated with the other foot. After a patterned number of steps, the guard pivots and snaps one ankle against the other. He pivots and snaps again. The precision of his movements was mesmerizing.

As the clock tower announced the hour, the captain of the guard came forward and announced the changing of the guard. Everyone was requested to stand. The relief guard moved in the same measured movement. At one point the old guard and the captain were at opposite sides of the tomb and still snapped absolutely together. The ceremony took our breath away…beauty, simplicity, precision. WOW!

We walked around the amphitheater at the tomb to view the Challenger and Columbia Memorials.

Next we drove east to Manassas the site of the Battle at Bull Run. Manassas actually had two battles, one in July of 1861 and the second in August of 1862. A cool relief map with lights helped explain the second battle. We went through the museum and then drove to several of the battle sites. Both encounters were won by the Confederates.

Next:  Beyond Washington D.C.