A Capitol Experience

November 24, 2009

The White House

Bob & Kathy

A Capitol Experience

National Portrait Gallery

Kathy met me at the foot of the Washington Monument after she finished attending the NAEYC conference. The conference is the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, with over 15,000 educators from across the US in attendance. The keynote speaker was the current US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. I think Kathy enjoyed it, she certainly had a lot of stuff to take back and share with her class, including her favorite item, a brand new ukulele.

Arne Duncan



After meeting, we headed up to the top of the Washington monument, another first for either of us. The views from the top were pretty impressive as we had excellent views of the Capitol, White House, National Mall and most of the large memorials. After taking in the view, we walked over to check out the National Christmas Tree, which was set-up in the Ellipse in front of the White House. We walked around the White House then headed back to meet Bob and head out to dinner.







The next day, Kathy & I were on our own for most of the day. Starting off in the U-Street area that is home to one of DCs most beloved dining landmarks, Ben’s Chili Bowl where we arrived just in time to get the first lunch order of the day. Delicious Chili Dogs and Half-Smokes were the order of the day. Next we headed across U Street to the African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum before taking the train across town to the Eastern Market.

Ben's Chili Bowl

African-American Civil War Memorial

Eastern Market is a Capitol Hill institution, a wonderful market that has been in operation since 1873. The market itself is supplemented by a wide variety of vendors who pack the area around the building creating a veritable bazaar of vendors including, butchers, bakers, produce, florists, craft-makers, artists and farmers. It is a great experience.

Eastern Market



From the market it is a short walk up Capitol Hill to the Library of Congress, which was our next stop. We toured that incredible place before heading over to the sparkling new US Capitol visitor center, where we took a walking tour of the Capitol building. Congress was in for a rare weekend debate, over the merits of the new health care plan. It was a pretty exciting time to be there.

The Library of Congress

Bob & Michael

Bob joined us at the Capitol and we all headed over to check out the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, which share the same historic building. It houses a dazzling array of classic American art from just about every relevant American artist. Also there is an amazing collection of Portraits including one of every US President. It is a fantastic collection. After a quick stop for a drink in nearby Chinatown, we caught the Circulator over to Georgetown for a wonderful meal at one of Bob’s favorite Vietnamese restaurants, something we just don’t have in Key West.

Capitol Dome

The Rotunda

Chinatown

Our DC trip concluded Sunday morning with what may have been the hi-light of the trip, if you could actually say that about visiting the incredible United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We were there when the doors opened as it has become one of the most visited and in demand museum experiences. It is hard to really describe or capture what you experience when visiting the place, but it is something that everyone should see. It is an incredible tribute to something so horrific that it defies description and yet it manages the delicate balance of a fitting memorial that neither shies away from nor focuses too much on the graphic horror, opting instead to tell the story in very human terms.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Hockney



US Holocaust Memorial Museum website

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