D.C. '11: Museum Day

LAST DC BLOG POST!!!!! Finally.

Washington, D.C. is known for its fabulous museums, many of which are part of the Smithsonian Institution and are free to the public.  Because of this, we had to fit as many of them in as we could.

Because of the timing of when the events our congressperson secured tickets for us were, along with what was geographically close to those things, we wound up scheduling all our museum visits on the same day.  There was unfortunately no time for us to go to the National Gallery of Art, which I really want to see, but we did get a lot in on one day.  We visited Ford's Theater, the National Portrait Gallery / Museum of American Art, the American History museum, and the National Air & Space Museum.

Although it is usually better to spread museums out in order to take everything in, it wound up being fortunate that we put them all on one day, because that day (the last day we were in D.C.) it was incredibly hot and humid - even worse than at Arlington the day before.  Staying inside air conditioned buildings was the perfect way to spend the day.

Our first stop was Ford's Theater, or more specifically, Lincoln's Waffle Shop across the street for breakfast.  Very curt, fast waitstaff - we felt just like locals.  It was the best breakfast we'd had in D.C., after usually resorting to a coffee shop bagel or muffin.

 

Lincoln's Waffle Shop - yummy waffle with eggs and coffee included for quite cheap.  Very much a "local" place.

 

Peterson House - across the street from Ford's Theater, this is the location Lincoln was moved to after he was shot in order to die in private, owned by family friends.

Ford's Theater (taken by Loren).

After we finished breakfast, once the line had gone down (they let people in in large groups at half-hour intervals) we went across the street.  I had bought tickets to get us into the museum and into the theater itself for a half-hour ranger talk on the theater.  The museum held lots of information and some interesting artifacts like the coat Lincoln was wearing when John Wilkes Booth shot him, the actual pistol Booth used, etc.

John Wilkes Booth's derringer used in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (taken by Loren).

 

The coat Lincoln was wearing the night he was shot. 

At a certain time, everyone is supposed to head upstairs and go into the theater itself, which has been reconstructed into a working theater (it went through decades of office space, storage, and general disrepair) and restored to the way it would have been at the time Lincoln was there, including the box in which he sat when John Wilkes Booth shot him.  A ranger gives a short talk about the history and what would have happened that night, and then you are released into the lobby to browse the gift shop or continue about your day.

Ford's Theater, reconstructed to how it was the night of Lincoln's assassination.

It was already in the 90s at 11:30am, but fortunately our next stop was a block away: The National Portrait Gallery / American Art Museum. I particularly wanted to stop here just for the Portrait Gallery half, but it's connected seamlessly in the same building in the American Art Museum, and I soon discovered I could easily spend forever in this museum, rather than the short hour or so I'd allotted to see the portraits before lunch.  What we did see was amazing, and we hopefully will be back soon to spend time here.  This was easily the best museum I've been to in D.C.

 

The National Portrait Gallery & American Art Museum

 

Portrait of Ben Franklin - this painting was used as the basis for the engraving on the $100 bill.

Portrait of General George Washington (taken by Loren).

 

Portrait of President Abraham Lincoln (taken by Loren).

 

Portrait of President Bill Clinton, by Chuck Close (taken by Loren).

Portrait of President John F. Kennedy (taken by Loren).

Charles Lindbergh (taken by Loren).

President George H.W. Bush (taken by Loren).

Portrait of Dizzy Gillespie (taken by Loren).

Portrait of Benny Goodman (taken by Loren).

(taken by Loren).

(taken by Loren).

Teddy Roosevelt's White House 1903 Steinway (as reference in the White House entry).

Afterwards, Loren and I wanted to go to a restaurant in Chinatown we'd gone to on our day trip to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in October, and we were quite close, so we went to Ming's on H Street.  It's very nice inside, and has a wide menu (it's fusion Chinese / Japanese / Sushi).

It was a little less than a mile from Ming's to our next museum, the National Museum of American History, but due to the weather we took an air-conditioned cab.  The National Museum of American History has great potential, and has a lot of really great exhibits and things to share, but unfortunately this museum does not have very knowledgeable people in charge of creating the displays.  Things are scattered, exhibits are somewhat haphazard, and explanations are lacking.  That being said, there are many great things to see there, including the original Star Spangled Banner (an amazing thing to see in person - no photos allowed, unfortunately, but they wouldn't do it any justice anyway).  We spent the most time in this museum, going our separate ways and getting lost in the exhibits.

National Museum of American History

Loren and C3PO, the actual costume worn in Episode VI.

Julia Child's kitchen.

George Washington.

Martha Washington's dress.

Mary Todd Lincoln's dress.

Louisa Adams's (John Quincy Adams's wife) harp.

Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball dress.

Counter from the Greensboro sit-ins.

 

Original Muppets - from a show called Sam & Friends.

Items from American comedy - Fonzie's jacket, Minnie Pearl's props, a slapstick, etc.

Instrument exhibit.

We were in this museum until it closed, then head over to the Air & Space Museum, which was open until 7:00 that evening.  I remembered this museum from when I was little, but that didn't take away from any of the excitement at seeing some of the crafts in there again.  There are many famous air and space crafts in this museum, and Loren particularly loved it.

National Air & Space Museum.

National Air and Space Museum.

Sputnik.

Spirit of St. Louis.

Apollo 11.

First manned aircraft to fly (the Wright Brothers' plane).

Historical sheet music written about flight.

We went to dinner nearby, and came back for a free observatory hour, but it had become very cloudy and the event got cancelled so we just called it a day and went back to the hotel.  All in all, it was a great way to end the trip.

D.C. '11: Around the Town

Before I make my last D.C. entry, I wanted to squeeze in all the moments and little ventures not mentioned in a full post yet - things I would have mentioned if I'd done a complete day run-down each day, but couldn't figure out a way to squeeze in on these specifically-topic'ed posts I've been doing as catch-up.

Get ready for a photo bonanza!

View from our hotel window - many landmarks are visible, including the pentagon (where the street to the right ends).

View from our hotel room - Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Building, Air Force Memorial (left-right of visible landmarks).

View from our hotel window - Arlington National Cemetery and the National Cathedral in the distance.

The Pentagon - any time we took a car or taxi in and out of the city from our hotel (which was in Arlington), we passed it (taken by Loren).

Lafayette Square - the park immediately north of the White House.

The Treasury building - the statue in front is Gallatin, whom the school at NYU I attended for one year was named after.

Wellness Cafe on Pennsylvania Avenue SE - looks like a little vitamin shop, but go to the back and there is a sandwich counter that is delicious and reasonably priced!

Salmon burger from Wellness Cafe - yum!

A glimpse of Marine 1 (the President's helicopter!)

The Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (unfortunately, the reflecting pool is under construction).

The Lincoln Memorial.

All four of us at the Lincoln Memorial (taken with Loren's camera).

My dad at the Vietnam Memorial (monument wall of names not pictured) (taken by Loren).

The Korean War Memorial.

The Korean War Memorial.

The FDR Memorial.

The FDR Memorial - "I Hate War."

The FDR Memorial.

View of the Washington Monument from the FDR Memorial across the Tidal Basin.

Sunset from the Jefferson Memorial.

 Thomas Jefferson Memorial (taken by Loren).

 Thomas Jefferson Memorial (taken by Loren).

Department of Agriculture, complete with corn growing out front (taken by Loren).

Statue of Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy near Dupont Circle on "Embassy Row."

The "Hawk 'n' Dove" pub, where government office workers (during the summer, LOTS of interns) hang out and grab some drinks at the end of the work day.

Side view of the Capitol Building.

Sunset from the west steps of the Capitol Building as we watched a free Marine Band concert.

My dad, enjoying a free Marine Band concert on the west steps of the Capitol Building.

 

A small Dixie combo, formed by members of the Marine Band, giving a free concert on the west steps of the Capitol Building.

A video of the Marine Dixie Band - they were so fantastic!

Next up: D.C. Museums! The very last entry for this trip!

D.C. '11: Arlington National Cemetery

Another of the Washington, D.C. "essentials" is Arlington National Cemetery.  Not only is it a sobering experience, walking amongst the thousands of graves reserved specifically for those who served as members of our armed forces and their families, but there are other important sights to see, graves and otherwise.

 (taken by Loren).

You can stroll through the grounds yourself, weather permitting, and see all sorts of smaller sights, taking in the tranquility... but unfortunately, during the summer months this is not always possible.  It got so hot and humid that soon walking was impossible, and merely existing was a challenge, it was so oppressive.  Fortunately, the cemetery's visitor center runs a tram to the three biggest points of interest, with announcements of other things as you pass.  On my next trip, I will take a full morning and really explore, but on this day, we were desperate to get out of the heat.

Before the day turned into that humid hellhole, we walked out to the Iwo Jima memorial at the northernmost end of the grounds.  When we got there, a tour bus full of military members of several different nations was there - it was neat to see so many diverse nations on some sort of military retreat together.  Jordan, Saudi Arabia, a few African nations... we weren't sure what it was, but it was cool nonetheless.

 Carillon bell tower given to us by the Netherlands in thanks for our help in WWII (taken by Loren).

 The famous Iwo Jima memorial.

Everyone buried at Arlington gets this exact regulation tombstone, in perfect rows (exceptions mentioned later) (taken by Loren).

On our way back to the visitor's center we stopped at the relatively new Women's Memorial.  It's a big building with many exhibits and tributes to the female members of the armed forces throughout our nation's history.  And it's AIR CONDITIONED.

The outside of the Women's Memorial (taken by Loren).

Memorial to women veterans (taken by Loren).

By the time we got back to the visitor's center it was clear we could not continue our sightseeing on foot.  We purchased tram passes and caught the next one.  The three stops are the Kennedy grave site, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and Arlington House, and the announcer on the tram points out other interesting things as they pass.

Thurgood Marshall's grave, in an older part of the cemetery reserved for important people - judges, 4/5-star generals, etc.

The mast of the U.S.S. Maine, removed from the ship in 1905 shortly before the ship was taken out to sea and sunk with military honors.  The mast was then installed in Arlington National Cemetery in honor of those who lost their lives when the ship sank in Havana, Cuba, in 1898.  This sinking was the event that started off the Spanish-American war.

The first stop on the tram is the Kennedy gravesite and eternal flame.  From the Arlington Cemetery website:

     "The grave area is paved with irregular stones of Cape Cod granite, which were quarried around 1817 near the site of the president's home and selected by members of his family. Clover, and later, sedum were planted in the crevices to give the appearance of stones lying naturally in a Massachusetts field.
     Lighted by Mrs. Kennedy during the funeral, the Eternal Flame burns from the center of a five-foot circular flat-granite stone at the head of the grave. The burner is a specially designed apparatus created by the Institute of Gas Technology of Chicago. A constantly flashing electric spark near the tip of the nozzle relights the gas should the flame be extinguished by rain, wind or accident. The fuel is natural gas and is mixed with a controlled quantity of air to achieve the color and shape of the flame."

The view from the site is also beautiful, as JFK himself had once remarked.  From there you can see out over D.C. and the Mall.

View from the Kennedy grave site.

John F. Kennedy's grave, the eternal flame, and Arlington House.

Jackie is buried next to John (taken by Loren).

The next stop was the Tomb of the Unknowns and the Memorial Amphitheater.  From Arlington Cemetery's website:

     "The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and has never been officially named. The Tomb of the Unknowns stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater.
     The white marble sarcophagus has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classic pilasters, or columns, set into the surface. Sculpted into the east panel which faces Washington, D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor.
     The Tomb sarcophagus was placed above the grave of the Unknown Soldier of World War I. West of the World War I Unknown are the crypts of unknowns from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Those three graves are marked with white marble slabs flush with the plaza."

Memorial Amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknowns (taken by Loren).

Memorial Amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in any weather, by very elite members of the military who volunteer to do the service.  We were there for the changing of the guard, which is a popular event to witness every half hour during the summer (every hour during the winter and at night).

The photos I will post of the guard on duty and from the ceremony are all Loren's, since he braved the direct sunlight in 100+ degree weather without a break to be up close for the entire ceremony.  These photos were later discovered on his Flickr by Army Specialist Shane Vincent (the guard at the tomb when we got there, who was then relieved in the ceremony), who requested Loren's permission to use them inside the Tomb Quarters and informed him of everyone's name.  It was a very sincere and flattering personal message, so exciting for Loren to have been contacted by him!

Specialist Shane Vincent, performing an about-face during his half-hour sentinel walk guarding the tomb.

Front: Corporal Jason Everill, changing the guard; Center: Specialist Shane Vincent; Back: Specialist Collin Anthony, beginning his half hour on duty guarding the Tomb.

After getting back on the tram, we decided to skip Arlington House, as we did not want to prolong our time in that heat and were starting to get hungry.  Hopefully, sometime in the future I will be able to come back when the weather is more kind, and spend more time enjoying the experience and less time desperately looking for somewhere to escape the heat.