Washington DC

November 23, 2009

Lincoln Memorial



Washington DC

WW II Memorial



Kathy spent most of the week attending the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) conference in Washington DC. I decided to cash in some frequent flyer miles and head up to join her for a long weekend on Thursday evening. I almost didn’t make it as my flight from Key West was delayed due to some computer glitch that shut down a huge portion of the air-traffic control system. Thankfully I barely made my Miami connection and arrived at Reagan National in a driving rainstorm.



Ford's Theatre

The good news is that the rain was done by that night and the weather the remainder of the weekend could not have been more perfect for late November, sunny, brisk and bright with temperatures in the low 60s during the day. We stayed with our recently relocated friends from Key West, Bob & Jody...well technically just Bob as Jody was out of town.





Friday, while Kathy was conferencing and Bob was at work, I took advantage of the perfect weather to pack in some sightseeing. Having made frequent trips to DC, I tried to mix in some new places to visit along with some of the more traditional touristy spots. I started at the International Spy Museum, before around the corner to tour Ford’s Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated. The Theatre and museum in the basement have been totally renovated since my last visit a few years ago.







Wanting to take advantage of the weather, I decided to take the train up to Woodley Park to check out the beautiful National Zoo. The weather even seemed to improve the spirits of the animals as they seemed mostly frisky and excited. Running about way more than many zoos I have been to. The National Zoo is famous for the Panda Bear exhibit and it did not disappoint, though I think my favorite exhibit was the small mammal house which houses all manner of small animals. It was a splendid day at the Zoo.



National Portrait Gallery

After the zoo, still having time before meeting up with Kathy, I headed back to the National Mall to take in some of the sights there, including the Museum of American History, the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, the Lincoln memorial and the Vietnam Veteran’s memorial.







I had not yet seen the WW II memorial, I somehow missed it on my last visit to DC, but it is impressive, yet it is still the stark simplicity of the Vietnam memorial which has the most impact. As is usually the case, there were people searching for the names of lost loved ones and I witnessed the moving moment when one couple came across the name of a lost friend or family member, the poor woman could only point and mutter, “That’s Bobby, That’s Bobby…” through her tears as she pointed meekly to a name on the wall.





My last stop before meeting Kathy, was at the small yet interesting, National Aquarium. Located in the Commerce Department, just off the Mall, the aquarium features displays of fish and creatures found in the National Marine Sanctuaries including the FKNMS.



Washington Monument