When we finally got to D.C., it was too late to do much, so we just checked in at the old Candlewood Suites and watched American Idol and ate take-out PF Changs. Gotta love that, right? The Candlewood gave away our one bedroom suite, so they gave us two single rooms, four doors away from each other. That was weird. We couldn't let the girls stay in the 2nd room by themselves, so we had to split up. We were HOT! The next morning, the manager got a piece of Grant's mind! So did they fix it the next day? No, still don't have our one bedroom suite, unless we want to stay in a smoking room. There was nothing we could do, so we took the smoking room. It was gross, not dirty, but just stale and stinky. Grant was HOT! Ooh wee, you shoulda heard him holler at Mohammad (the desk clerk)! The girls talked about that scene for the rest of the week!
Anyway, back to our adventure:
Day One in the City
Took the Metro from Fairfax to downtown D.C. (Smithsonian Station).
Here's Holly enjoying her ride before the train filled up with commuters.
And here's Lauren and Grant plotting our trip on the Green Line.
We first tried to tour the Bureau of Engraving. The tour is free, but you have to get there early to get a ticket.
We had a 2:00 pm appointment to tour the Capitol. This was our first experience with Washington D.C.'s heavy security. Everywhere we went there were metal detectors and bag searches.
This is a photo of the dome in the Capitol Rotunda. This is they allow the public to pay their respects to a deceased president for a few days before the funeral. Lot's of famous American History art in this room, like that painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The painting inside the dome is of President Washington, surrounded by a bunch of women that represent things like courage, victory, freedom, etc.
This is our tour guide standing next to Brother Brigham. This room was the old House of Representatives, but it now displays all kinds of statues. The Capitol has at least two statues from every state in the Union. This one was given by-- you guessed it-- Utah. Brigham's seat had little beehives carved into it. This room also had a statue of Daniel Boone and another of the guy who invented air conditioning. This room has something called a "Whisper Spot." It's a place in the room where you can whisper, and your friend on the other side of the room can hear you because the accoustics are so profound.
After the tour, we waited by the statue of King Kamehameha for a rep from our Congressman's office to meet us with passes to see the House Gallery (this is not part of the normal tour). Congress was not in session, so we just enjoyed sitting in the Gallery and imagining ourselves sitting with the First Lady during the State of the Union address! It was a quiet time of reflection. No cameras or bags were allowed for this part of the tour.
When we rode the train, we had to park our car in a metered parking space at the train station, so we couldn't stay in D.C. for long that day. We hurried back to the Fairfax station, then hunted down a Cheesecake Factory for a delicious dinner.
Day Two in the City
First things first, when we got to the train station on this day, we made sure we got there early enough to park in an all-day spot. The train filled up fast that morning! Interesting, that no one gives up their seat for the older ladies. The only time I saw someone give up their seat was for a pregnant woman (thanks goodness--I guess chivalry isn't completely dead). Rode to the Smithsonian Station again, and went directly to the Bureau to try for tickets again. Right next door was the Holocaust Museum. We scored there, but still no luck at the Bureau. I don't remember why, but we decided to go to the Smithsonian and save the Holocaust Museum for later in the day.
But first, a photo op at the Washington Monument. One of the few times on this trip that the sun was out.
We went to the Smithsonian's American History Museum on this day. We saw Dorothy's ruby slippers, C3PO, the First Lady Inauguration Gowns, the Star Spangled Banner, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.
We also saw Kermit the Frog . . .
. . . and Lincoln's top hat . . .
After the Holocaust Museum, we walked several blocks to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe before we walked another many blocks to catch the train to Union Station.
On the way, we passed the Navy Memorial. There were several of these ships's masts, and a fountain with real sea water -- you could smell it!
At Union Station, we signed up for a Twilight Tour of the Monuments (no girls, it didn't have anything to do with Edward Cullen!) It was lots of fun, except for the rain and our aching feet. Please excuse the water spots on the Tour photos.
Here's one of the bronze monuments at the Roosevelt Memorial. Did you know that there are only about 4 photos of Roosevelt in his wheelchair? In those days, it was considered impolite to take photos of disabled people in their wheelchairs or on crutches.
Roosevelt was president during the Great Depression. This monument illustrates the suffering of the many unemployed people who had to stand in bread lines.
We were in D.C. during the Cherry Blossom season. It was very hazy, rainy, foggy every day that we were there, but we managed to capture this night-time shot of the girls by a cherry tree at the Roosevelt Memorial.
Shot of the Washington Monument, taken from across the basin. Those people with the umbrella are strangers and they just wouldn't get out of the way, but as it turns out in silhouette, it's quite romantic.
The Jefferson Memorial
Here's a night-time, rainy shot of the Korean War Monument. All of these statues of soldiers were represented in rain gear to reflect the type of conditions they endured during their service. It was very poignant to experience this monument in this weather.
We were also able to see the Vietnam War Memorial. By this time, it was very dark, and the Memorial wall was not well lit, so I didn't get any good photos.
Then we were able to visit the Lincoln Monument.
The final monument on the tour was the World War II Memorial. We were so exhausted by this point, and the rain was really coming down, so we wimped out and stayed on the bus. We were already making lists of things we didn't get to do, so many things that we knew we'd have to come back to D.C. sometime. We'll just have to catch the WWII next time.
Day Three in the City
On the third day, we drove into the city.
We passed this monument during the Twilight Tour, so when we saw it closer up during the day, I made Grant stop so I could take a photo. This is the Air Force Memorial.
And this is the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Monument. Grant and I read Flag of our Fathers a few years ago, so this monument was meaningful to us. We told the girls the story of these Marines raising the flag on some old iron pipe. We explained why this battle was such a difficult battle during WWII.
Then, we spent quite a bit of time at Arlington National Cemetary. We highly recommend this tour, where you can see the graves of Robert, John F., and Jacqueline Kennedy. Also, Thurgood Marshall, William Rehnquist, Audie Murphy, and of course the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The story of selecting the soldiers for this tomb is remarkable, and the solemnity of the changing of the guard is amazing.
The gravesite of John F. Kennedy and the Eternal Flame. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is buried next to him along with two of their children who died as infants.
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are actually three unknowns buried here, one each for WWI, WWII, and Korea. There was a tomb for an Unknown Vietnam War Soldier, but his body was identified by DNA tests a few years ago and his body was moved by his family to his hometown of St. Louis, MO.
Did you know that if you take video in the portrait orientation, you can't rotate the image for viewing? Hmmm, if' I'd only known, you wouldn't have to lean way, way, way over to the left to watch this clip (either that, or hold your laptop sideways!). (Britt, if you know how to fix this, please let me know!)After Arlington, we made another quick trip into the "Mall" to visit the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.
We saw the big elephant in the rotunda . . .
. . . and the Hope Diamond . . .
. . . and lots of other old bones, stuffed wildlife, and naked people. Our last stop was a drive up to Silver Springs to see the Temple. If you've ever been to D.C., you're familiar with that shocking amazement when you're rounding the bend of the beltway and the bright white temple springs to view above the trees.
Due to all the fog and misty rain, we had to get right up to the temple before we could see it.
