poohmaine's trip to Washington, DC: COMPLETE 10/23
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zacksmom_1993 · 09-19-2005, 02:15 PM

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report. It makes me want to go back to DC immediately!

When I was watching the John Roberts confirmation hearings last week, I kept hearing about how he would be enjoying great food in the Senate cafeteria. Glad you got to enjoy it too! Can't wait for more.

Karen

DawnDenise · 09-19-2005, 05:24 PM

More great updates and photos!!! Keep it coming!!

katspjs · 09-20-2005, 10:35 AM

Great report and photos. What a great bargain on your lunch! More please!

poohmaine · 09-29-2005, 06:39 PM

After the Botanic Gardens, we stopped on a bench on the lawn of the Capitol for some rest for our weary feet, while Ben took some photos at the nearby Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

The Calvary Group statue at the Grant Memorial

Calvary Group Bronze detail

Then we headed to the Thomas Jefferson building of the Libary of Congress.

We had 20 minutes until the next scheduled tour. We picked up the free "LOC Discovery Guide for Kids and Families" at the information desk. This guide is wonderful. It takes the dry, boring LOC and makes it interesting for all. It contains facts about the architecture, the LOC history, things to search for, etc. in an easy-to-read, kid-friendly, colorful guide. Also, the LOC has set up exhibit cards for kids to collect, and there is a pocket for them in the back of the guide. It is very well done.

We were directed to the Bob Hope exhibit to explore while waiting for the tour to begin. I am not a big fan, but Bob Hope was an amazing person, and the exhibit has some interesting film and artifacts from his life.

The tour began on the ground floor. The tour lasted about 45 minutes. It is an amazing place, for the architecture of the building, for the paintings, for the beautiful mosaics, and of course, for the mind-boggling library materials themselves, all 130 million items on 534 miles miles of bookshelves; the largest library in the world! And 10,000 items are added every day!

The Great Hall

Another view of the Great Hall

The beautiful stained glass and mosaics of the Great Hall ceiling

The beautiful mosaic of Minerva at the top of the stairs to the balcony that overlooks the main reading room

A view of the Great Hall from the second floor

After the tour, we were all very tired. We headed back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at the Japanese American World War II Memorial, which was on the same block as our hotel. This memorial honors the Japanese Americans who lost their lives fighting in WWII, but it is also a reminder of how this country imprisoned many innocent Japanese Americans in work camps for the duration of the war. It is simple, sad and beautiful.

The symbol for the imprisoned Japanese Americans, a crane encircled with barbed wire

The fountain at the Japanese American Memorial

**chezp** · 09-30-2005, 01:59 AM

Another great update - both the Japanese American Memorial and the Library of Congress are beautiful. Neither are on our itinerary for our forthcoming trip, but perhaps they should be, looking at your photos. You've given me some good food for thought there...

**Colexis Mom** · 09-30-2005, 12:13 PM

Another great update

zacksmom_1993 · 09-30-2005, 12:37 PM

I'm loving your beautiful photos. I was last in DC on a snowy week in January, so it's so nice to see the greenery. The Library of Congress was absolutely my favorite stop in DC. Cheryl, you should definitely consider adding it to the itinerary.

I was so tempted to become a member and get my own little shelf of books in the library. Can't wait to hear more!

Karen

lauren-roxy · 09-30-2005, 12:50 PM

Another great update and awesome photos!!

FanOfMickey · 09-30-2005, 09:18 PM

I am enjoying your trip report, can't wait to read more! I hope to make it to the National zoo someday, I would have loved to have seen those baby cheetahs, I love baby cheetahs, I think they are the cutest baby of the animal kingdom

loobyoxlip · 10-02-2005, 06:48 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[In case you don't know, the staff in your senator or representative's office can get you tours. Call them ASAP when your dates are final, because each senator or rep only has so many passes per day.] Our senator, Olympia Snowe, has a wonderful staff. We were able to get both tours!

[/ QUOTE ]

I did NOT know that - thanks for the tidbit. Your pictures are great. The senate subway looks cool

Happymommy · 10-03-2005, 02:03 PM

I love your tr!!!! I can't wait for more, it really makes me want to get back to DC!!!! The White House Tour is really cool-- we did it years ago, I can't wait to hear about it!!!! I love your pics of the Japanese-American memorial, I've never been there-- its now on my to do list for our next trip!!

poohmaine · 10-06-2005, 09:09 AM

Everyone was really tired. Ben and Hayley napped while Evie and I took a swim in the roof pool. We didn't reaaly swim, more like floated!

For dinner, we went to an Irish pub called the Dubliner which was a 5 minute walk away. They served tradition Irish food and also sandwiches and burgers, and a children's menu. The atmosphere was loud and fun. They had tables outside on the sidewalk, but it was still too hot for us, so we sat indoors.

Inside Dubliners

We were all pretty tired after dinner, except for Ben. He went out to take some night photos of the Capitol. About 20 minutes later, he called to say there was a concert by the Navy band on the Capitol steps that we might enjoy. Evie and I were already in our jammies, but we jumped up and in 10 minutes later we were out the door and walking to the concert.

The Navy band gives free concerts all summer every Monday night. The band faces the Capitol and the audience can sit on the stairs to face them or sit behind them on the lawn. It was a beautiful night and the band was fabulous. The only photo we took of the band is blurry, but you get the idea.

Blurry Navy band

Sunset from the Capitol steps

Okay, now we are really, really tired. We walked back to the hotel and went right to bed at 10.

**Colexis Mom** · 10-06-2005, 09:27 AM

Another great update

Love the picture of the Monument

poohmaine · 10-06-2005, 09:52 AM

Thanks to all who are reading my report and are replying with encouraging comments. If only one of you benefits from my experiences, it makes it all worth it. Plus it's nice for me to remember how much fun we had and what we saw, it seemed to be over so quickly!

Today everyone got up sloooooooow. Ben and Hayley wanted a big breakfast so they went to the Dubliner aggain. Although the breakfast was delicious it was extremely expensive (unlike dinner last night). Evie and I made do with the free stuff downstairs.

The Holocaust Museum did not open until 10, but you need to stand in line for tickets, so we left for the Metro at 9. We had to switch lines to get to the Smithsonian stop which is the closest to the museum. There were only 20 people in line when we got there. The museum docent said there are usually hundreds in line, but that the end of August the number of tourists decreases dramatically. Good to know!

Since we were told it was a relatively slow time in DC, Ben and Hayley went next door to the US Bureau of Printing and Engraving (otherwise known as the mint) to see if they could tickets for today, too. And they did for a 1:45 tour.

We were let into the museum right at 10. I don't want to spoil the experience by telling you too much about it. It was by far the most memorable, amazing, and exhausting museum experience I have ever had. It is so well done.

The flow of the exhibit takes you through the history of Nazism and the rise of Hitler through the liberation of the concentration camps by the allies after the war. To personalize the experience for you, you receive a small book at the beginning that tells you about the real-life experience of one person.

As I walked through the exhibits, first I was interested. Then I got very angry. Then I was filled with unbelievable sorrow. By the time I got to the end, in the Hall of Remembrance, I lost it and cried for a while. I am not of Jewish ancestry. I do not personally know anyone affected by the Holocaust . . . but this museum is so well done, it got to me. I can only imagine how powerful it must be for someone who lived through it.

I learned so many new things I didn't know. So did Ben. Hayley was similarly affected and moved. She was fascinated and appalled at the same time. We had to drag her out of there after 3 hours so we could eat a quick lunch at the museum cafe before our mint tour. Evie started out okay but was soon overwhelmed and kind of shut off after a while. The museum recommends children be 11 or older, and I think that's a very good idea. It's powerful stuff.

The mint tour paled in comparison. (In their defense I don't think anything could have matched our Holocaust Museum experience.) It didn't last long as there were only 15 of us. In the pre-tour area there are display cases, one has a million dollars in it. There is a pre-tour movie to explain the history of US money. Then you go on the tour. Ben and I found it fascinating to watch bills being made, but the fumes from the ink made Evie sick to her stomach, and Hayley was bored.

Our guide was not the most knowledgable and engaging speaker, either, so that didn't help.

You're wondering, where are the photos? No photos allowed in either of these places. Sorry!

poohmaine · 10-06-2005, 10:16 AM

After way too long in the mint gift shop (which the girls seemed to like much more than the tour itself), we set off on a walk around the Tidal Basin to visit the Jefferson and FDR Memorials, then over to the Lincoln Memorial, down one side of the reflecting pool to the Vietnam Memorial, and end at the World War II Memorial. (Yes, it is as long a walk as it sounds!)

Hayley rests on the steps of the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving

Something I haven't mentioned before was the constant noise from the cicadas in almost every tree in DC. We don't have them up here in Maine, so we didn't know what it was at first. They are loud! And they were very loud on our walk around the Tidal Basin.

I also won't bore you by going into detail about each memorial. There is a ton of information on each one on the Internet. If you have any questions, you can PM me.

Jefferson Memorial (there was scaffolding all over the inside of this memorial, the only shot we took was this close-up of Jefferson)

View from the Jefferson Memorial

My favorite memorial was the FDR Memorial. I really liked the concept of the outdoor "rooms" that represent each part of his presidency. The waterfalls in each room were lovely.

The girls with a statue of Fala, FDR's dog, at the FDR Memorial

The girls join the bread line at the FDR Memorial

Evie sits in FDR's lap

Evie in one of the FDR waterfalls

Lincoln Memorial

View from the Lincoln Memorial

The reflecting pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial was FILTHY. The sides were covered with duck and geese droppings. The stench was unbelievable. The grass was also not mowed, so it was impossible to walk along the pool without stepping in poop.

A fountain at the WWII Memorial

Another view of the WWII Memorial

It was about 7:15 now. We were all tired. We took the Metro back to Union Station and ate dinner at the food court. It has a very wide selection of almost every food you can think of, something for everyone.

Hayley tries udon noodles

We dragged ourselves back to the hotel and went to bed about 9. All that walking today, we were pooped!