Wash. DC

I love Washington DC, so much to see...
I have been here a few times before, by myself doing genealogy research and with a girlfriend, Kathy M. Jim hasn't ever been here, so it was time to do it together. It's been over ten years for me, so many things have changed! We walked and walked on Monday, to view the various monuments, Wednesday will be a lot of stop and go as we go through a few of the Smithsonian Museums. You could spend an entire week doing the museums, so Jim gets to pick and choose. I have already been to a couple and they are probably not the ones he would pick, so it should be fun :)
Monday, October 6, 2008 The Monuments

These hotels are monuments in their own rights, they are the crème d'la crème of Washington DC hotels. The one on the left is the Hotel Washington and the one on the right is the Willard.	Another view of the Willard...

Looking down Pennsylvania Ave toward The Capitol	Jim trying to find a place for lunch; why not The Willard Intercontinental Hotel?

Jim buttering his French bread. He had a French ham and cheese sandwich that was deep fried, probably in duck fat. Very French, the price was very French too, $18.95! Oh well, not every day you get to eat lunch outside at the Willard Hotel.	The Willard

Looking at Pershing Park, if you look really close to the right, you can see the Washington monument, it was a little cloudy today.	The Treasury... buddy, do you have some spare change?

I hope the next occupant does a better job!	Hanging "way" out front of the White House...

The Old Executive Office Building (getting some renovation).	The Washington Monument, what more is there to say?

This is my first time seeing the World War II Memorial, it was very nicely done.	Looking across part of the WWII Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial.

Walking from the WWII memorial along the reflecting pool, we will first stop at the Vietnam Memorial Wall before stopping at Lincoln.	Heading over to the Vietnam Memorial Wall, there is some fall color to cheer it up.

Jim's first visit to "The Wall". I was a basket case the first time I visited it many years ago with my friend Kathy M. It still is pretty emotional to see all those names, 58,256 of them inscribed in chronological order of the date of casualty	A family looking for a loved one's name on the wall.

The monument to the women of the Vietnam War...	The view from this angle not only shows the Washington monument, you can also see the WWII monument and the dome of The Capital.

Here is the front of the Lincoln Memorial prior to walking up all the steps. They are doing some renovations on the driving circle around the monument. Jim was amazed at the size. Lincoln was a big man in so many ways...	Yeah, another picture of the reflecting pool, Washington Monument, but at least this time you get to see Jim too :)

Where Martin Luther King stood during his "I have a dream" speech, August 28, 1963. I was in the first grade. I don't remember this, but I do remember Nov. 22, 1963.	I think this is probably my favorite place in all of Washington DC.

We kept running into this group of Army soldiers from Ft. Bragg. Nice "kids", they seem so young...	From the steps of the Lincoln, looking across the reflecting pond, down the National Mall to the Washington monument.

Coming up to the Korean War memorial, this is my first visit to the one also.	The soldiers heading into war. My father was a veteran of the Korean War in the Navy. He spent time around Okinawa, Japan.

Jim viewing all of the images along the granite wall at the Korean memorial, not only those etched into the wall, but the images of visitors and the memorial itself.	A gentleman in the wheelchair, a Korean war vet, paying his respects at the memorial.
After enjoying the National Mall area, we headed over to check out the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Jefferson Memorials. They are a long stroll away, around the basin. I have never seen either one, I didn't even know there was an FDR Memorial here, the Jefferson was closed for renovation the last time I was here. I would recommend seeing both the next time you get a chance to visit Washington DC.

You can see the Jefferson Memorial from everywhere around the tidal basin as we walk, here is the front and side...	As you may have already figured out, you can see the Washington Monument from about everywhere since it is so tall. You can really see the difference in the color of the stone from the view across the tidal basin.

Walking the path along the tidal basin, underneath the flowering cherry trees. Some of them are so old, they have really gotten large and very droopy, so watch your head as you walk around.	"No country, however rich, can afford the waste of it's human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance, morally it is the greatest menace to our social order". Where is FDR now?

Walking into the beginning of the FDR Memorial, it is marked by 4 different sections, for each term of office as the President of the United States.	I think a few people have forgotten this truth! Please get out an vote this November!

FDR and his Scottie dog. "They (who) seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of individuals rulers... call this a new order. It is not new and it is not order."	Eleanor Roosevelt, what a great lady.

The last part of the FDR Memorial, beautiful water falls, a great place to take a little time to contemplate what ever it is you are wanting to contemplate... In the last month or so, I have found a greater new appreciation for FDR.	another view of the Jefferson Memorial from across the lower part of the tidal basin.

The front of the Jefferson monument, so much beautiful marble. FDR dedicated the memorial on April 13, 1943, on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birth.	Jim and Thomas Jefferson...

Looking directly across the tidal basin from the Jefferson monument. You get a great view of the Washington monument and if you look to the left, you can see the rotunda of the White House and even the fountain if you look really close.	Here is a close-up of the same view of the White House and fountain.

The Presidential helicopter, it went over us twice, once leaving the capitol area and then heading back. Someone must have had a meeting somewhere :P	The bureau of engraving and printing, they are advertising the fancy new $5 bill. It's sure is pretty, but very few machines that take bills can read it yet. I tried to use a new one in a change machine to get quarters to do laundry, in this case "no tickie, no laundry", it couldn't read the new fiver.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Smithsonian Museums
We tried to get into the printing and engraving tour in the morning, but we were just a little too late and we wanted to spend the afternoon at the museums, so no tour today. We then walked up to the Air & Space Museum, but found a dog to eat on the street first. We spent most of the afternoon in the Air & Space, saw two of the three movies, and did one of the rides. Jim pretended he was a pilot and I was the gunner, we spent most of the time upside down I think and I only got 2 kills. We need lots more practice.

The front of the Holocaust Museum.	The backside of the Holocaust Museum...we did not go in, it makes me too mad and sad at the same time. We did see quite a bit about the Holocaust when we were on Ellis Island, they had a special exhibit.

A view of the Castle Smithsonian over part of the Enid Haupt Garden.	There was a tour group going around riding Segweys, looks like a fun way to get around.

The outside of the Air and Space Museum.	One of many displays of airplanes...

This was one of Amelia Earhart's planes she flew for two of her records, the one across the USA and the other across the Atlantic.	I just loved this piece of trivia...think about that the next time you fly in a 747 plane (I still haven't flown in one yet!).

The outside of the Native American Museum, I remember quite a bit of news about it when it was opened...	The view of The Capitol from the front of the Native American Museum. I am beginning to wonder if it isn't some kind of museum for has beens...

Another view of the Castle Smithsonian	Part of the Enid A. Haupt Garden, it is being nicely maintained, they were mowing the grass as I took the picture.

Named for its donor, a noted supporter of horticultural projects, this stunning garden presents elaborate flower beds and borders, plant-filled turn-of-the-20th-century urns, 1870s cast-iron furnishings, and lush baskets hung from reproduction 19th-century lampposts. Although on ground level, the garden is actually on a 4 1/4-acre rooftop above the subterranean Ripley Center and the Sackler and African Art museums.	More garden...
It's time to head home, our tootsies are tired and we need a glass of wine...
Friday afternoon, we went to the "other" Air & Space Museum, it is actually part of the Smithsonian, but near Dulles Airport. It's called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and it has both a Boeing wing and a McDonnell wing. It was just 15 minutes from our RV park.

I always wanted to fly on the Concorde, but I could never afford it. That was one of the main reasons why they don't fly now, tickets were way too expensive.

The outside of the center...	Jim and the Lockheed "Blackbird" (Sr-17A).

The nose of the Enterprise, 1981 test space shuttle.	Side view of the space shuttle. Do you want to be an astronaut?

Pan American Airways, Clipper Flying Cloud...	Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima...
the view as you leave the center...

I love Washington DC, so much to see...