Sunday, May 16, 2010

Adventures in D.C.

How am I supposed to choose the photos from D.C. when there are over 450 of them? Hmmm...

And the adventures...oooh the adventures. It is a big town, but when you get down to it there are only a certain number of buildings that contain the very powerful people. And my class went to those buildings! In fact, sometimes the powerful people came to us.

Our schedule began on Monday and continued through late Thursday night. Each day was filled with presentations from former White House Press Secretaries, former Senate and Presidential advisers, and current Congressional Members and Senators. We also heard from Congressional staffers, media consultants, lobbyists, and campaign managers. All of this, thanks to a philanthropic lady who put our program together. Her name is Christine Torretti, and she is very active in getting women into not only politics but positions of leadership.

Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the U.S. Capitol. I spelled it Capital all the time but apparently the "ol" version is used there. This is what we saw when we walked out to the sidewalk:



Since I arrived a day after some of my classmates, they already had their feet on the ground exploring D.C. I took a cab with Becky over to the Lincoln Memorial, and immediately was taken with this view:



All I could think of was Forrest Gump. If you don't get it, well then you need to go watch Forrest Gump.
Behind me was Lincoln's enormous memorial, up a very large flight of stairs. I was humbled at how large he was.



We then trotted over to the Vietnam Memorial. It was nice and quiet.



We had an appointment to meet a Parks Guide who was going to talk about the World War II Monument. What a beautiful thing to see:



It got very cold, very fast so we headed back to the hotel.

The next day I had museums on my schedule, and Becky was happy to go with me. We first went to the Ford Theatre, where Lincoln was shot. That had to be the most bizarre feeling, being right there where it happened. The theatre is newly remodeled and they have plays there.



Across the street is the Peterson House, where Lincoln was carried after he was shot. It is a very tiny home, maybe 20 feet wide. The bedroom is in the very back, and the bed where Lincoln died is still there, encased in glass:



That was a very solemn moment, being there in that room. But Becky and I had no idea how solemn our day would be....

We walked down the street to the National Archives, and for the most part we just kind of gave an "Oh wow, that's neat," whenever we'd look at something. But then we wandered into the "Rotunda." We didn't know what to expect in there. It was dark, no photos were allowed. As soon as we entered there was a large climate control glass cabinet with the original Magna Carta in it.

Then over to our left was a set of stairs with a security guard. He only allowed a small group of people in at a time, so we waited for a moment. We were advised not to form a line at any of the displays, and we were also told not to be too shocked when we approached the Declaration because it's very badly faded.
The Declaration?

Yep, the original Declaration of Independance, the original Constitution, and the original Bill of Rights were on display. Oh, here come the tears. Becky and I were sniffling, as we both gazed at such an amazing piece of history. That of course inspired us to spend lots of money at the gift shop. Dang it!! We fell for it.

We visited the Air and Space museum that afternoon as well as the Museum of Natural History, then limped home to the hotel. Oh, a side note, the Natural History had the Hope Diamond on display. It's not the size of a bowling ball, like I imagined. It's like this:



What a rip off. I said that as I looked over people's shoulders to see it, and they brushed me off like I was a lunatic.

The next day I had plans to jump on a bus to Virginia where the other Air and Space museum was located. It was an hour bus ride, past the Pentagon, past Arlington National Cemetary. I was immediately taken with the huge size of this facility. After walking around I realized why it was so big:



The Enola Gay, which is humungous.



The Space Shuttle Enterprise, which is gigantic.

I am standing next to a glass case with Gus Grissom's NASA uniform in it.



Oh and the SR-71 Black Bird spy plane....



There were hundreds of aircraft and NASA artifacts to check out. Hundreds. I can't believe I got to see that all in person.

After that tour, I caught the bus back to D.C. where I walked over to the Museum of American History. I went because near the bus stop I saw a poster that said the "ruby slippers" from the Wizard of Oz were there on display.

Indeed, they were. And so was Fonzie's jacket, Julia Childs' kitchen, and a huge piece of the Berlin Wall. (which I touched)

But this is what I saw that made me fall to pieces. The original American Flag, sewn by Alice Pickersgill (NOT Betsy Ross!!!) during the Revolutionary War.

No pictures allowed, but I did notice between tears (I really did cry this time) I saw the security guard wander away. So I got a photo. Probably the best photo I own.



One of the stars was cut out and presented to the family of a soldier who died in the war, it was buried with him. There were several pieces of the flag cut from the bottom right corner, by people seeking a souvenir. All in all, the flag is in very good shape considering its age. What a beautiful sight.

I will find more photos to share as I get more settled in at home.