Days 1 - 4 ~ Washington DC

We’re at it again! 

We left Seattle on Saturday, August 4th at 8:45 AM and flew to Washington DC where we will be staying till Wednesday. Our Itinerary this trip:

• Washington DC
• Gettysburg
• Philadelphia
• Mystic, Connecticut
• Boston

We’re staying just outside of DC in Alexandria, Virgina at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Alexandra is located about 8 Miles South of DC along the Potomac River. The city was colonized in 1695 by the British and used primarily for trade with the interior of the continent as well as a producer of Tobacco. We explored Alexandria on our first evening and had dinner at a Thai restaurant across from the City Hall.

Alexandra City Hall

Side Street in Alexandra

The past 4 days have gone by quickly. We have seen many sites we have only read about in our American Studies classes. It has been very hot and humid during these 4 days. We are trying to stay hydrated and cool. Thank goodness for air conditioned museums!

On our first full day in DC we took the tram into DC to explore.  We walked from the National Treasury to the White House and past the Washington Monument to the Smithsonian. We visited the Air and Space museum and explored the grounds of the Capital building.

The... Do I need to introduce this building??

The other side

The Smithsonian Museum of Flight and Space was cool! They had lots to look at. Best of all admission was FREE!

The west view of the Capital Building

Although we did not go inside the capital building was impressive.

Did you know that The Capital Building's dome was not completed until 1863 just 2 years after the start of the Civil War.

Over the course of the past 2 days we visited:

• Ford's Theater

Were President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 4th 1965 while attending a play. To Ford's dismay no one wanted to patron his theater when he tried to reopen. In fact it was so bad the US government forced him to sell them the property. The  entire building was then gutted and converted into office space. Years later the top floor fell to the bottom crushing some poor analysts who happened to be working at the time. The building was eventually handed over to the Parks department in the 70's and has been undergoing restoration. Today it is once again a functioning theater.

The President was brought to the small building on the right were he died on February 15th 1965.

The President's Box where Lincoln was assassinated. The theater claimed it could seat over 2,000; So against code. Talk about a mad house.

A tower of books in the Ford's Theater Museum dedicated to the study of Honest Abe.

• Mt. Vernon

Mt. Vernon (Washington's House). Believe it or not, the house is made of ceder planks. They added sand to the paint to create the illusion of actual stone blocks.




• Arlington Cemetery

Arlington is a sobering experience. I had not realized what the cost of freedom was until I saw them. The graves of the heroes laid upon the rolling hills of Arlington nestled under the trees by small ponds the white grave markers number in the tens of thousands. Freedom and Liberty we take for granted, but these men gave it there all in tribute to our great cause.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were able to see the changing of the guard.

• The Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial at Dusk

Abe and the Gang

Each of the states' names are written atop the monument if you look closely you will find Washington scrolled across the top.

The View from the Top

• The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument

• The National Art Museum

We briefly got a glimpse of the art housed here. We entered at closing time and where not in time to see much.

• The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress

• George Town

We took a bus and ended up in George town and of course we couldn't find the return bus stop so we had to walk back to the terminal station: Foggy Bottom.

Yes, really that's it's name..... When the neighborhood was formed in 18th or 19th centuries it had had frequent natural fog cover and later from industrial workings. We seemed  to gravitate toward this stop for some reason.

• The National Archives

The National archives where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are stored. They assure me that there is nothing on the back of the Deceleration.... Sorry no map :)

• The Vietnam War Memorial 

So many lives given in the name of Liberty. Yet another sobering reminder of the cost.

The Gang in reflection

See you all when we get home,

Jeremy