Left Long Neck, DE and headed up to see our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. (in case you didn’t know). We stayed outside the city at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland – home of the Terps. What an outstanding campground!
We have been lucky with Kat’s choices in campgrounds. She is really good at picking things!
Drove over to the College Park Station to hop on the Metro. Washington has the nicest subways that we have seen so far.
Clean, no graffiti, and very big. Beautiful!
Started our adventure at the US Navy Memorial:
A nice display of water – representing the sea – and sculpture of the Lone Sailor.
Had a quick lunch at the cafe in the National Gallery of Art
before heading out onto the National Mall. We were able to get some great pictures from the Mall:
The United States Capitol (not much happening here).
The White House (not much happening here, either).
The Washington Monument (I kept expecting Jenny and Forrest to meet in the Reflecting Pool here). The Washington Monument was closed as they are increasing the security entrance. We heard that it just reopened a few weeks after we left!
The Lincoln Memorial (lots of activity here – at least people).
Here’s some fun photos:
All wonderful tributes to our forefathers and representations of our democracy. In order to cover all the ground in the National Mall we rented scooters. Yes, I got on a scooter again:
Scary for me. Took it slow and paid a lot of attention!
Since Keenan was with us and it was extremely hot, we visited the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. Interesting:
After visiting Keenan at NASA in Houston, this was somewhat redundant, but still enjoyable.
Off to see the War Memorials (this time we rented bicycles):
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What a fabulous tribute! You walk down towards the middle of the “V” of black granite with the names of all those killed during the war. Fantastic memorial!
Side note: When I was studying Architecture at the University of Illinois one of my professors entered the Vietnam Veterans Memorial competition. Maya Lin, an undergrad student from Yale University won it at age 21.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial. It makes you feel like you are walking with the soldiers through a field. Very nice!
Loved this picture:
At the Korean War Veterans Memorial. So true!
Right on one end of the Reflecting Pool with dedications to the European and Pacific Theatre’s on either side. Very nice, especially with the Washington Monument in the background. We took some pictures of the carved panels:
Plunged us into World War II when the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor on the United States territory of Hawaii. A date which should live in infamy!
Turning point in the Pacific War when the United States Navy’s four fleet carriers (aircraft carriers) came up against four fleet carriers of Japan. The US sunk all four of the Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu) and lost only one (Yorktown). Japan’s capability to replace losses in material and men became insufficient to withstand the United States’ massive industrial and training capabilities. Shout out to Rosie the Riveter here!
Turning point in the European War where the Allied Forces invasion of Normandy, France to establish a foothold in Europe that enabled them to push the Nazi’s back into Germany with the ultimate surrender after Hitler committed suicide. 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline.
We headed to meet our niece, Cailin for dinner at Farmer’s & Distillers. Great place with great food!
Keenan and I shared a drink:
It may look like I drank it all in this picture, but I’m pretty sure that Keenan had more.
After a nice dinner we had to get back to the Busse Bus and to bed. Very hot day, with tired feet and I was a bit mentally exhausted after scootering again.
Back down to the National Mall with a stop for lunch at District Chop House & Brewery.
It was a decent lunch. We then headed to the National Building Museum where the atrium has been used for the President’s Inauguration Balls. Very nice interior:
The massive free-standing columns were over-sized because the building ran out of money and the originally designed dome roof was scrubbed for a more cost-effective gable roof. There was a little lego model that I thought was cute:
Across the street was Judiciary Square with a memorial for Law Enforcement:
Back on the National Mall we visited the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial which is right in front of the United States Capitol:
Off to the United States Botanic Gardens where we saw beautiful plants and flowers:
From there we went to see the Library of Congress:
And the Supreme Court of the United States:
And then we rode bikes past the National Museum of the American Indian:
From there we rode back across the full length of the National Mall to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial:
Took a quick break:
Before riding over to the the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial:
What a wonderful memorial that I had never seen before! Portrays the Great Depression years and the war years.
Another tribute that I had never seen before was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Depicts a slab of the mountain being moved with Martin Luther King, Jr. stature carved into the slab. “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope” taken from the “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.
We dropped off the bikes and hopped on the Metro to see Arlington National Cemetery.
Very moving seeing all the grave markers for those who gave their lives for us to have our freedom.
President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite with the internal flame:
Jackie Kennedy Onassis is buried next to him. In the background of this photo of the gravesite is the Arlington House:
The Arlington House is the Robert E. Lee Memorial which I thought was somewhat ironic to have that tribute here. We learned that the property that the Arlington National Cemetery is on was formerly owned by the Robert E. Lee family.
Our final destination for the day was the Pentagon. We wanted to see the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.
A very emotional tribute to the victims of the Flight 77 attack on the Pentagon. The designer used 184 benches that represented those lost both on the plane and in the Pentagon. The benches project out of the ground with lit water underneath and the name of the victim etched on the end. They are arranged according to birth year and the orientation of the bench depicts whether the person was on the plane or in the building.
Hopped back on the Metro and headed back to the Busse Bus.
The following morning I drove Keenan to the Metro station so that he could catch the subway to the Ronald Reagan Airport. Kat and I chilled the entire day. We met up with Charlie Horton and his fiancée Suzanne at the waterfront for drinks at Hank’s Oyster Bar. It was Charlie’s birthday and it was great to spend a little time with him to help him celebrate.
Kat and I got back on the Metro and headed up to Jaleo for dinner. Charlie and Suzanne recommended this Spanish Bistro and it was fantastic!
We couldn’t make up our minds and what to order because it all looked so good. We ended up getting five appetizers! Outstanding!
Back up to the campground to bed as tomorrow we head out to Philly.
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