Washington D.C. In Review

We are finding so many places in this great country where we feel cheated by only staying one week, and D.C. was no exception.  It was tough prioritizing and though we crammed a bunch in, we wish we'd had more time!  With all the history we've been learning & all the learning we knew we'd be doing in the upcoming week, we decided to start with a relaxing day at the National Zoo... one of the 20 Smithsonian facilities to visit in D.C.!  We enjoyed a beautiful, crisp fall day with the bright, fall color in its peak.  We watched orb spider, octopus, cuddlefish and anemone feedings, but our favorite part of the day was visiting Meixiang & Tian Tian (Giant Pandas) in the panda exhibit.

For our first day exploring the heart of D.C., we downloaded a National Park app & took a walking tour around the National Mall with our ipad- stopping to read information at each of the monuments.  I was thrilled with this feature, but after 3 or 4 monuments caught Alayna rolling her eyes as I excitedly whipped out the ipad:)  

Jefferson Memorial

 

One of the prettiest sights in D.C. is looking out over the reflecting pool to the stately Washington Monument.  We were so bummed to miss it as this year construction has overtaken the pool, leaving this for a view:(

A better view from behind the monument:)

The World War II Monument is placed directly between the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial.  Its inscription reads "Here in the presence of Washington and Lincoln, one the Eighteenth Century Father and the other the Nineteenth Century Preserver of Our Nation, we honor those Twentieth Century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: a nation conceived in liberty and justice." 

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Three Servicemen represents all branches of military service and overlooks the names on the memorial wall.

Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration

Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial

Jim photographing his favorite MLK quote: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Our unanimous favorite site within the National Mall was the Lincoln Memorial.  Honoring the preserver of the Union and directly across from the monument honoring the founder of that Union, it is an impressive sight.  Along with the huge 19' x 19' marble seated sculpture are inscribed the Gettysburg Address & his Second Inaugural Address, so beautifully written.  

The 36 columns around the memorial represent the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The names of the 48 states in the Union when the memorial was completed in 1922 are carved in the exterior walls- Alaska & Hawaii got a plaque inside:)

At the top of the Lincoln Memorial steps is the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream speech.

Another huge highlight of our week was visiting the Supreme Court in session!  We thought sitting through a whole case would be too much for the girls, so we chose to go in for a short viewing and wish we'd stayed longer.  Not that the case was all that interesting- in fact, half of the judges seemed to be falling asleep- but fascinating to see the process and to watch Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Chief Justice John Roberts, and the others in person.

With a "first-come-first-served" style, the lines and wait were long to get into the Court.

While waiting, though, we got to listen in as reporters and cameras swarmed the defendants exiting the Court.

Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom (nor was the slightest bit of movement, for that matter...guards paced making sure no one made a disturbance!).  I snapped this shot of a mini courtroom replica.

The Library of Congress was the most visually impressive building we visited.

The Library was established in 1800 when the capital city moved from Philadelphia to Washington.  A reference library worth $5,000 containing only "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress" was kept in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building- destroying the collection.  It was then that retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement.  He had accumulated his collection over 50 years & anticipated controversy since his collection included a wide variety of topics such as foreign languages, literature, philosophy & science... topics not normally viewed appropriate for a legislative library.  He wrote, "There is, in fact, no subject to which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer."  In January 1815 Congress accepted Jefferson's offer, giving him $23,950 for the 6,487 books that are now on display in the Library of Congress.

We also enjoyed here the exhibit "Creating the United States" (which displayed many original letters and documents from our forefathers) and the exhibit with two beautifully preserved Bibles.  The Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the last great handwritten (and beautifully illustrated) giant Bibles in Europe, and the Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed with moveable metal type and is one of three perfect vellum copies in existence.  Both were produced in Mainz, Germany in the mid 1450's.

We viewed more precious documents at the National Archives.  Of course after visiting, we picked up a copy of National Treasures to watch at home:)

Here we viewed original documents of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights displayed in a beautiful marble, dimly-lit rotunda along with two huge murals- one showing Jefferson presenting a draft of the Declaration to Hancock, and the other showing Madison offering the final draft of the Constitution to Washington.
An endless array of other artifacts are also available at the Archives including a recording of both sides of the Supreme Court case regarding prayer in schools & and exhibit on the government's effect on the American Diet...

Since the Washington Monument was closed for touring (due to damage from the recent earthquake), we were told the next best view was from the Old Post Office.

The Old Post Office was completed in 1899 and boasted many "firsts" for Washington D.C. including the first government building with its own electric power plant & first skyscraper. 

View from above of the protesters making the news

-The Congress Bells inside of the Old Post Office-
Given as a gift to Congress in 1976 from Great Britain, these 10 bells weigh from 581-2,953 lbs and are replicas of the bells in Westminster Abbey.  They ring in honor of the opening & closing of Congress, on state occasions & holidays, as well as a weekly "practice" session.

We toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, watching sheets of bills being printed, stacked, cut & bundled.

Alayna did her best to smuggle the $1,000,000 ...all in tens:)

We did our best to secure passes into the White House, requesting well in advance through our state representative but to no avail. 

Our only view of the White House

 We did, though, receive a tour pass for the nation's Capitol.  We met at Congressman Kevin Yoder's office (who was unfortunately in KS) and toured the Capitol with one of his interns.

Congressman Yoder's office... a proud KU grad & fan:)

Amidst all of the touring, we enjoyed some yummy grub.  A few of our favorites were our stop in Chinatown for fantastic cashew chicken & orange shrimp,

authentic & fresh mexican food at Rosa Mexicano,

and of course the best... the street vendor chili-dogs:)

Another day held a visit to Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was shot.  The self-guided tour began with a nice museum in the basement of the theater.

John Wilkes Booth single shot deringer used to shoot the President
Booth's diary read, "...I can never repent it, though we hated to kill.  Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment.  The country is not what it was.  This forced Union is not what I have loved.  I care not what becomes of me.  I have no desire to outlive my country..."

Across the street was the house where they immediately brought Lincoln after the shooting.

President Lincoln died in this room on April 15, 1865

The Holocaust Museum was a visit friends told us not to miss, and though it made for a very somber day, it was such an important stop.  The museum held 3 floors of poignantly displayed Holocaust history from the 12 year span of Jewish persecution during Hitler's reign, 1933-1945.

Some of the displays included a bed from a mental hospital where Germans eliminated the "inferior", mounds of shoes worn by those led into the camps, maps that gave a visual of how incredibly fast Hitler invaded surrounding countries, and a beautiful circular memorial with hundreds of lit candles.

There was a separate display for children that led us through the life of Daniel, a fictional boy representing a typical family in Germany during that time.  We walked through his home reading his journal entries which explained how life changed through the years for his family.  Alayna especially loved (and better understood) this part of the museum.

A few of the Smithsonian museums we chose to visit were the Hirshorn, the Air & Space, and the National Museum of American History.

Though it only took a few hours to walk through, we three girls loved getting girl-time at the Hirshorn museum of contemporary art while Jim spent extra time at the neighboring Air & Space museum. 

We ooh-ed, aaw-ed, and even laughed at the artwork like the Andy Worhol exhibit... 450 linear feet of huge silkscreened, hand painted canvases of the same shadow-picture.  Or the video "art" that filmed the reactions of a bunch of flamingoes every time they heard a gunshot.  Or the 24 hour video footage of the Empire State Building.  Yep, you guessed it... it never moved.  Or the box we thought for sure was just left there by a staff member.  A clear, plexiglass box with moisture on the inside.  Only after we saw the label naming it "condensation box" did we realize it was meant to be there.  I love that absolutely anything can be called "art".

After our morning of fun, we joined Jim at the Air & Space Museum.  There we especially enjoyed the Wright Brothers exhibit,

This is the actual plane that made the Wright Brother's first infamous flight.   It's the 1903 Wright Flyer which made 4 flights in Kitty Hawk, NC- the longest being 852 feet in 59 seconds.  The moment Orville lifted the flyer for the first time is captured in the photo below.  Wilbur is seen watching his brother from the ground.  Shortly after the 4th flight, a gust of wind caused the flyer to tumble end over end and it was never flown again.

the Spirit of St. Louis,

Charles A Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight in history in this plane in May of 1927

and Amelia Earhart's exhibit.

In 1932 Amelia flew this plane alone across the Atlantic, then nonstop across the U.S. - both firsts for a woman

The American History Museum held such a variety of American culture:  Dorothy's Ruby Red slippers, the actual 30' x 42' worn flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner,  a replica of Julia Child's kitchen (where women flocked, laughing, at the clips of her early cooking show),  Abe Lincoln's top hat, a 1790 lace-making pillow, even the nation's first Washington monument, unveiled in 1821 at the nation's capitol (causing many to blush, I'm sure!) Our most anticipated collection- the First Ladies- was disappointedly being moved and was temporarily closed.  Ugh!

Bon Appétit!

The first Washington Monument... who knew!

lace-making pillow
The intricate design was made by the placement of pins in the pillow and looping of the thread, held taught by the wooden spindles

The Arlington National Cemetery has 624 beautifully landscaped acres that hold the remains of over 320,000 veterans from every war and major conflict in U.S. history.  

President John F. Kennedy and his wife lie beneath the eternal flame

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24/7 and most impressive is the changing of the guard which takes place hourly.   

"Here rests in honored glory
An American Soldier
known but to God"

Our final stop was to the beautiful Iwo Jima Memorial.

"In honor and memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since 10 November 1775"

WHEW!  We left D.C. officially worn out!