How can you pick a favorite?The Washington Monument is recognizable around the world. Standing just over 555 feet high, it’s the tallest stone structure in the world. A flag of each of the 50 states surrounds the marble, granite and sandstone obelisk. Tickets to tour…Read More

How can you pick a favorite?
The Washington Monument is recognizable around the world. Standing just over 555 feet high, it’s the tallest stone structure in the world. A flag of each of the 50 states surrounds the marble, granite and sandstone obelisk. Tickets to tour the inside were no longer available for the weekend we were there. They can be obtained in person (but sell out quickly early in the morning) or by going to http://www.reservation.gov and purchasing the normally free tickets online for a very small fee.

Isn’t Abraham Lincoln the favorite president of every American child at some point? His marble memorial is stunning. Over 19 feet tall, this statue of the beloved president gazes between marble columns across the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument. Inspiring inscriptions from the Gettysburg address and Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address are carved into the walls. Words that are as applicable today as they were when uttered in 1863: "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The Jefferson Memorial is situated across the Potomac River from the Washington Monument, in West Potomac Park. In 2 days of traversing the National Mall, we were just too tired to walk that last 20 miles (slight exaggeration) over to this memorial. Fortunately, an unexpected need to rent a car and drive to Baltimore (BWI airport) took us right past Mr. Jefferson and we took a detour to see his marble Memorial. Of all the wonderful and inspirational quotes from our nation’s great leaders, Thomas Jefferson’s struck me as most progressive and pertinent to our time:

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

"Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively."

Below the monument is a small museum and gift shop. Be sure to stop there for more interesting information on this great man. Oh! And be sure to take a look at his really cool copy machine in the display of his desk and writing instruments.
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Francis Scott Key was a young Washington lawyer when he was sent on a mission to secure the release of a friend held captive by the British Fleet during the War of 1812. Key and others of his party watched from a truce ship in…Read More

Francis Scott Key was a young Washington lawyer when he was sent on a mission to secure the release of a friend held captive by the British Fleet during the War of 1812. Key and others of his party watched from a truce ship in the harbor as at dawn on September 13, 1814, the British began a bombardment of Fort McHenry lasting all through the day and night. Realizing that the fort was not going to fall, the British fleet turned around and headed for its next target, New Orleans. As the British ships sailed away, the morning guns were fired and a large flag was hoisted over the fort. As the light broke and smoke cleared, Key could see the huge, proud flag still waving and was inspired to write a 4-stanza poem entitled "The Defence of Fort McHenry."

"Let the praise, then, if any be due, be given, not to me, who only did what I could not help doing, but to the inspirers of the song!" These are the humble words of Francis Scott Key as his poem was published in newspapers around the country and sunk into the hearts of the citizenry. With the opening lines, "O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light," the poem was soon being sung to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven." Renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner," it became the National Anthem of the United States in 1931.

Our tour began with a 15-minute film about the history of the fort. At the conclusion of the film a men’s choir begins singing a beautiful a capella version of "The Star Spangled Banner" as the audience rises. As we stood there listening to the beautiful music, the large curtain covering the picture windows opened revealing a view of Fort McHenry and the 15-starred American Flag of 1812. Usually, a replica of the very large (42x30 feet) flag is flown and I imagine it’s a very impressive sight. On the day of our visit, inclement weather forced the flying of a much smaller replica. The original flag that inspired our National Anthem hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington DC.

Our tour guide was a historian, instrumental in refurbishing the original flag. Pieces had been cut from the fabric and he and his team was able to track down the story of the missing pieces and have them returned to the museum for the restoration of the flag. It turned out that the commander of Fort McHenry, Major George Armistead had kept the flag in his family, and swatches had been cut as souvenirs for friends and family.

This was an unplanned tour for us and turned out to be one of our favorite sites.
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With ample choices for great viewing at or near the National Mall, we were pleasantly surprised at how uncrowded it seemed. The many security checkpoints around the Mall seemed to handle the crowd very well. We breezed through, with only one of us carrying a…Read More

With ample choices for great viewing at or near the National Mall, we were pleasantly surprised at how uncrowded it seemed. The many security checkpoints around the Mall seemed to handle the crowd very well. We breezed through, with only one of us carrying a backpack, which was searched. Walking from the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station, we entered from 7th Street. Meandering west, we finally settled on a spot near the Washington Monument.

Having flown over 2000 miles from Phoenix that morning, we were traveling light for a 3-day stay. We surely hadn’t thought to pack a blanket or towels to sit on the damp lawn. In fact, we hadn’t even thought to check the weather. Our very first purchase as we reach the top of the escalator from the Metro, in the pouring rain, was 2 umbrellas! Fortunately, the rain over the weekend was sporadic and we even used the umbrellas for sunshade occasionally.

We found a somewhat dry spot on the edge of a sidewalk from which to watch the show. The stage where the Gatlin Brothers were performing was close enough to hear the music at a level that still allowed for conversation. A pleasant chat with the people seated next to us, from Georgia, made the last ½ hour move quickly.

What a show! We’d picked a terrific spot, near enough to feel the concussion from each explosion in our chests. An amazing display, non-stop, constantly escalating toward a grand finale of continual flashes and booms. I was teary when the last explosion ended, and the crowd went wild with whistles and cheers. What a way to spend Independence Day, at the place where our freedoms were fought for and secured.

Germany, India, France, Scandinavia, Britain, Mexico, Asia. We saw people and heard languages from around the world. It gave me extra pride in my country to realize that our Nation’s Capital and its history were attractive internationally.
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Some of Washington, D.C’s finest sightseeing comes after dark, when the major buildings and monuments are illuminated. Night time sightseeing around the Mall has the added benefit of being able to drive, find close parking, and free parking.Three sights should not be missed at night.…Read More

Some of Washington, D.C’s finest sightseeing comes after dark, when the major buildings and monuments are illuminated. Night time sightseeing around the Mall has the added benefit of being able to drive, find close parking, and free parking.

Three sights should not be missed at night. Indeed, these three are at their best after dark. 1) The Vietnam Memorial. Park on Constitution Ave. at the Memorial. Note the sight lines of the “Wall,” with one side pointing toward the illuminated Washington Monument, the other pointing at the lighted Lincoln Memorial. A truly memorable view.

2) The Lincoln Memorial. Walk over from the Vietnam Memorial, climb the steps and gaze on Daniel Chester French’s great sculpture of the brooding, seated Lincoln. As impressive as this in the daylight, the Memorial’s night time lighting adds an ethereal quality to the scene. As you leave, pause and take in the view down the Mall to the Capitol.

3) The Capitol. Park free on any of the streets bordering the Capitol grounds. Approach by the east front, walk around the exterior to the west terrace and take in the view of the Mall and the city.

After the Lincoln Memorial, drive by the Washington Monument, up 17th St NW past Constitution Hall, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Old Executive Office Building, turn right on H Street to see the front of the White House, then down Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol, and then back toward the White House on Constitution Ave. The Korean War Memorial becomes spooky at night, and then head to the Jefferson Memorial.

Out from downtown, the Shrine Church at Catholic University and the Washington National Cathedral are also impressive.

If you are confident driving around Washington, D.C., , drive the Ohio Drive loop around the peninsula sticking out into the Potomac River for the views of the city scape.

We never felt any concern about personal safety in making night visits to these places. Washington, D.C., has 17 different police agencies, and they concentrate their patrols on the government buildings that surround the Mall. Who knows for sure, but there may be more cops around here at night than tourists.

This bears repeating: for seeing the monumental architecture of the nation’s capital, the scene after dark is far better than daylight viewing. This is Washington, D.C., at its best, and there is no traffic to speak of.   Close

The Frenchman Pierre L’Enfant (literally, Peter the Child) designed Washington, D.C.’s street system. Apparently he was drunk at the time. Here is how it works (?). First, there is a directional system with Capitol building as the zero point. The Capitol is directionally centered, facing…Read More

The Frenchman Pierre L’Enfant (literally, Peter the Child) designed Washington, D.C.’s street system. Apparently he was drunk at the time. Here is how it works (?). First, there is a directional system with Capitol building as the zero point. The Capitol is directionally centered, facing west (or east, depending which side you think is the front). Anyhow, if you draw four lines at right angles from the Capitol following the four points of the compass, the city is divided into four segments which are named for their compass location in relation to the Capitol– NE, NW, SE, and SW. Most places of interest to tourists are found in NW. With a few exceptions close to the Mall or to the Capitol, stay out of SE, a very dangerous neighborhood.

Next, L’Enfant imposed a grid street system on the compass quadrants. Streets running north-south were
sequentially named with numbers, with 1st St. being the north-south street closest to the Capitol that did not dead end at the Capitol. Applying the compass grid, there are two 1st Streets, 1st NW, and 1st NE. The White House is at 16th St NW, 16 blocks west and to the north of the Capitol.

L’Enfant named the grid streets running east-west according to the alphabet. First come streets with letter names, like C St SW. Upon reaching the end of the alphabet, street names start over alphabetically with one syllable words. Then come a set of alphabet two syllable words, and lastly, three syllable street names. Some people claim to be able to understand even the three syllable streets. We lived there for 25 years, I never got it.

But wait! There’s more! Next L’Enfant laid out 13 avenues named after the 13 original colonies running at angles to the number/alphabet street grid. This is why Washington, D.C. has intersections where as many as six streets cross. The Avenues tend to radiate outward from the Capitol and the White House, but that is not information that will help you get around. It only helps explain the confusion. If you know what you are doing, the avenues serve as short cuts, but if you trying to follow one of the letter or number streets, odds are that sooner or later, an avenue will cut across your path and throw you off course.

The White House faces Pennsylvania Ave. A line extended straight out the front door of the White House is an extension of 16th St NW. Thus, the address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, a location north and west of the Capitol building on Pennsylvania Avenue where it intersects 16th St. NW. This ‘logic’ can be applied to all addresses within the city limits.

Finally, just to confuse matters, the first four streets running east-west from the Capitol were given other historical names, Madison and Jefferson for the two inside the Mall, and Constitution Ave. and Independence Ave. for the two streets defining the north and south boundaries of the Mall.   Close

The visitor to Washington D.C.’s best chance of seeing the President of the United States is when he travels by car to some event in Washington. This is not a common occurrence, but it does happen several times a year. There some chance of seeing…Read More

The visitor to Washington D.C.’s best chance of seeing the President of the United States is when he travels by car to some event in Washington. This is not a common occurrence, but it does happen several times a year. There some chance of seeing the President pass by in the Presidential limousine, but you have to be ready for it because the President drives around town at 40-50 mph and never stops. Once you have seen the traffic in Washington, D.C., you will wonder how that can be, and how that comes about is perhaps the most interesting part of seeing a Presidential drive-by. What I’ll tell you here is how to spot the pending approach of the President or Vice President or a visiting Head of State in time to be ready to see the passage.

The prologue to the President’s passing is the signal that the President is coming. It unfolds like this. Like clock work, police cars arrive in the middle of every intersection on the President’s route. A car load of cops get out and stand in the middle of all the cross street. All the traffic lights in every direction turn red at the same time, and poof! The street is suddenly empty.

A wedge shaped formation of motorcycle cops, a dozen or more, with lights flashing roar down the deserted street, and just behind them comes the Presidential party, first 1-2 SUVs of Secret Service Agents, then the two big black Presidential limos, with the President usually in the second, followed up by several more SUVs of Secret Service, assistants, and the press. The parade appears in a flash, and in flash it is gone. The cops get back in their cop cars, drive off, the traffic lights go back to changing from red to green, and the street again becomes traffic clogged. Sic transit gloria.

The Vice President and visiting heads of state travel in a smaller version of this, figure only three motorcycle cops, two SUVs, and one limo. The car carrying a visiting head of state will almost always fly a small national flag on the front fender. The President’s car flies a small American flag on one front fender and a small blue flag with the Great Seal of the United States of America on the other.

Like I said, the chances of seeing a Presidential passage are slim, but it is fascinating to see it unfold if you get lucky, so keep an eye out for the signs of the Prologue.   Close

The President lives at the White House and sometimes visits the Capitol, but there are other places in Washington associated with Presidents. Presidential Churches: Across Lafayette Park from the White House stands St John’s Church, claiming every President has attended services here. The Presidential pew…Read More

The President lives at the White House and sometimes visits the Capitol, but there are other places in Washington associated with Presidents.

Presidential Churches: Across Lafayette Park from the White House stands St John’s Church, claiming every President has attended services here. The Presidential pew is down front, marked with a small brass plaque. Out 16th St. NW from Lafayette Park, a block or two north of the traffic circle, is a Methodist Church where Clinton and Carter regularly attended. Reagan made his one token appearance at church during his eight years in office here. St Mathews Cathedral on Rhode Island Ave. NW near Connecticut Ave. NW is where Pres. Kennedy’s funeral was held. The Washington National Cathedral: G. W. Bush made his impressive speech honoring the 9-11 victims here. Some Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson are buried here. Many attended services here. G. W. Bush gave his impressive post 9-11 speech here, in the same place where Leonard Bernstein conducted the “Mass for Peace” during the Vietnam War.

Presidential Inaugural Ballrooms. The Grand Ballroom at the Mayflower/Capitol Hilton Hotel, 16th St NW between K & L St NW has been the official location of Inaugural balls since the hotel was built. Many earlier Presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, held their ball in the ballroom located in one corner of the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery. In the late last century, Inaugural balling expanded greatly so that all those big donors to the campaign, like G. W. Bush’s “good friend”, “Kenney Boy” Lay, the thief who was Enron’s CEO, could come to the dance. The National Building Museum is chief among the auxiliary ballrooms, guaranteeing a Presidential appearance to those who paid enough.

The ballrooms at the National Portrait Gallery and the National Building Museum are open to the pubic (The National Building Museum ballroom is the main floor of the museum, sans exhibits). Part of an operating grand hotel, the Mayflower ballroom is used for many functions, but is usually possible to get at least a peak, if not a walk around inside. Enter the hotel from 16th St NW, go straight through the lobby and start down the long corridor. About half way down on the right are a series of identical doors, the doors opening into the Grand Ballroom.

On 21st St NW between L & I Sts. NW is the school Chelsea Clinton attended. Walking by at recess, we saw a bunch of kids playing in the small ‘yard’ with guys in dark suits and sunglasses standing in each corner.

The President’s Box at the Kennedy Center. The President rarely attends and his tickets are usually given to White House staff, but sometimes at the last minute, seats are sold to the public. Yes, we have parked our rears on the red Presidential velvet for a concert. If the President does attend, the anti-room connecting the box to the foyer is packed with Secret Service agents.   Close

It’s not easy to see Washington, D.C., from on high. No building is allowed to be taller than the dome of the Capitol, and no flights are allowed over the city– Congress doesn’t care if a plane falls out of the sky on your house,…Read More

It’s not easy to see Washington, D.C., from on high. No building is allowed to be taller than the dome of the Capitol, and no flights are allowed over the city– Congress doesn’t care if a plane falls out of the sky on your house, but it won’t allow it on theirs. Aerial views are not easy to come by, but they can be found. The most famous, and one of the worst, is the view from the top of the Washington, D.C. Monument. The problem with this view, aside from crowds and long waits, is that the widows are very small and the location is poor. Skip the Monument and do some of the better alternatives.

If you are flying to Washington, D.C. use National Airport (DCA) which is on the banks of the Potomac River. Arrivals and departures approach by flying over the river, and the approach from the north goes right over the Lincoln Memorial with a memorable view of the White House, The Mall, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and the Capitol. I like the night view of the illuminated buildings, but first timers should probably try for daylight to see it all. For arrivals, sit on the left side of the plane facing the pilot. Depart sitting on the right.

The Old Post Office Building Bell Tower is not as high as the Washington, D.C. Memorial but its better location about midway along the Mall, bigger widows, and lack of crowds makes it a top choice.

The cafeteria in the Hubert H Humphry Building at the end of the Mall nearest the Capitol at Independence Ave & SW is on the top floor. There is a roof terrace on the sides facing the Mall and the Smithsonian Museums and the Rayburn House Office Building. This is the only aerial view of this end of official Washington, D.C., and it’s a good one. Have lunch there too if you can score one of the few outdoor tables.

The observation deck in the Bell Tower of the Washington National Cathedral is the highest view point in the city, but it is a good ways out from the Mall, limiting the view. The last good high view point is from the CNN Studios across the Potomac in near Rossyln, VA. Higher than any place downtown, CNN has a good long view of the Mall area from not too far away.   Close

Probably more exciting for James than all of the memorials in Washington combined were the squirrels that inhabited the trees between them. On our way to the Lincoln Memorial, he stopped me, surreptitiously pulled out my camera, and tiptoed over to the base of a…Read More

Probably more exciting for James than all of the memorials in Washington combined were the squirrels that inhabited the trees between them. On our way to the Lincoln Memorial, he stopped me, surreptitiously pulled out my camera, and tiptoed over to the base of a tree, where he frantically tried to take pictures before the squirrel got spooked and ran away. I laughed at him, but then again, he laughed at me when I wanted to go see kangaroos, since they aren’t native to my country, just like squirrels aren’t native to his. By the end of the day, though, this obsession had passed, which was unfortunate, given the number of squirrels at my university that will literally walk up and steal food out of your hands (or hide behind trees and chatter as they chuck acorns at you).

When we reached the Lincoln Memorial, we were surprised to see that the Washington Monument was actually reflecting in the Reflecting Pool. It probably hadn’t been earlier, but the rain had finally stopped and the clouds had gotten a little less gray. We did what had become routine by this point—I took a picture of him, he took a picture of me, then we took a picture together—on the steps. After walking up those steps and James realizing that Lincoln was really quite a large statue, we did the same routine, except this time posing with Abe, rather than the building he lives in.

We read both of the inscriptions on the walls to his sides, but there wasn’t really a lot else to occupy us there, so we headed around to the south to the FDR memorial (between the Lincoln and the Jefferson Memorials). I had never seen this memorial before, and both of us agreed that it was probably the best one in Washington. Rather than being a large stone building (or tower), it was a memorial open to the elements (which had turned some of his statues an odd green color), full of stone walls, statues, and plant life. We probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if it had still been pouring rain, but luckily it wasn’t. There was a man giving a guided tour, explaining all of the important parts of the monument, but by this point we were absolutely exhausted and didn’t want to do more than a quick walk through it.

Something cool that we saw on the way to the Jefferson Memorial was the Washington Monument as it would have looked in the late 1800s—the clouds had descended again and left only half of the Monument visible. We just hoped those clouds didn’t bring more rain with them—at least until after we got back on the Metro.

We spent the most time of any memorial at the Jefferson Memorial—not because of interest, but rather, sheer exhaustion. We called Graham to tell him when we planned on catching a train and then spent at least ten minutes staring at Thomas, asking for motivation to get back on our weary feet to walk the reasonable distance back to the Metro stop. We finally found that motivation, solely because we were getting cold and just wanted to find a nice comfy bed to fall asleep in, and managed to navigate our way back to Smithsonian station.

We certainly had a whirlwind tour of Washington, but we made the most of it—even if it did make us sick for the next three days!   Close

We didn’t have long in the Museum of Natural History, which was sandwiched in between the Air & Space Museum and a trip to Georgetown for lunch.From the outside, this museum is imposing; it is seemingly miles long and sports a giant gold rotunda in…Read More

We didn’t have long in the Museum of Natural History, which was sandwiched in between the Air & Space Museum and a trip to Georgetown for lunch.

From the outside, this museum is imposing; it is seemingly miles long and sports a giant gold rotunda in the middle. Inside the rotunda, which we found after going through yet another metal detector, is a giant elephant, which I vaguely remembered from my 5th grade trip. The squeals of children echoed throughout the rotunda, and after deciding that most of them originated in the dinosaur exhibit, we decided we didn’t really need to see those bones after all.

Our main point of interest was the Gem Exhibit, which contains the Hope Diamond as its centerpiece. I had wrongfully told James that it was the largest diamond in the world (partially due to a memory that greatly exaggerated its size), so when he saw it, sitting on its pedestal in the middle of the exhibit, glistening blue, he was very disappointed. Perhaps I meant to say “the most cursed diamond in the world,” since the diamond hasn’t exactly had a boring past (some of its previous owners have committed suicide, had to abdicate their rule, or been beheaded, to name a few).

After a look at some of the strange rock formations in the exhibit surrounding the Hope Diamond, we met up with Debbie and headed to Georgetown. The weather became more atrocious by the minute, which made for an interesting drive. When we finally arrived there—after a drive that seemed inordinately long after my friend Sonia, who attended Georgetown, talked about being able to run to the Washington Monument from campus—we were greeted with roads that looked like parking lots, such was the traffic. I’m convinced there were snails in DC that made it to Sonia’s quicker than we did.

We ended up eating at a nice Thai restaurant (which I can’t remember the name of at the moment). I had a wonderful Pad Thai (and when I ordered it, the waiters actually listened to my “no peanuts” order. It’s surprising how often they just toss peanuts on there anyway, regardless of the fact that it’s the most dangerous allergy today), and it was great to catch up with my friends, who I hadn’t seen in quite awhile, since I had been spending all my free vacation time in Australia. Plus, it was much better than eating lunch at McDonald’s in the Smithsonian food court!

After lunch, we had a much quicker drive back into the District. By now, it was absolutely bucketing it down, so when Debbie dropped us off opposite the Washington Monument, we were more than happy to stop at a vendor and buy a very large umbrella. It was very fortunate that there was a large (but getting smaller by the minute) protest going on nearby, which was the reason the vendors were there in the first place.

Armed and ready (with an umbrella, just to clarify for any… government agents that might take that phrase the wrong way), we headed to the White House.   Close