A Capital Sojurn

 Hello again friends . We were about to go “shacky wacky” after being at home so long and it was time to get out of town.  Washington D.C. was far enough.

We had the entire trip planned out, except for the weather. Hey, we’re from Oregon so what the heck do we care?

First day was a get acquainted day and we wandered to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and found lotsa art and lots of tranquility. Wonderful, comfortable, restful benches there.

The fountain at the Sculpture Gardens.  

A Calder stabile and a chrome tree

For those old enough to remember typewriters

Direct from New Castle, home of the Indiana Dietz clan

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was a natural for us… and a whole lot of school kids on tour. It was fun seeing them have fun. You have to admire the adults on chaperone duty.

The rotunda at the Museum of Natural History

Next stop was the National Gallery of Art.  No timed entrance needed here, not a popular stop for most tourists.

Rotunda at the National Gallery of art.

That evening we had dinner and a show. First stop was Georgetown.  It was so interesting and picturesque, but next time we’re in town, we’ll spend more time there. Had a delightful dinner then strolled along the Potomac River, past the Watergate complex to the Kennedy Center. 

Kennedy Center on the right.  Watergate (actual scene of the actual crime) on the left

Patti Lupone was just great and still has the lung power! The Kennedy Center red carpet added to our experience, so did the cocktail upstairs.

The Kennedy Center

L'Enfant Plaza Metro station.

We hit the Metro next day to get to our appointment at TheWhite House. Too bad Jill didn’t come downstairs for a meet and greet.  Our tour went from the East room to the Green, Blue, and Red rooms. Lots of scheduling and lots of metal detectors to walk through to get inside.

The Red Room.  Next to the Green and Blue rooms.  The place was built before Cyan and Magenta were invented.

Doing the tourist thing in front of a very photogenic door

Next day was our bus tour. This is the way to go. Although we encountered a whole lot of construction at various sites it was still a thrill to get to the Jefferson memorial (which we had never done before.)

One of the Hop-on Hop-off busses we just "hopped" off.

Jefferson Memorial, under remodel

Lincoln Memorial, under remodel

Vietnam Memorial

Arlington and Robert E. Lee's house

All along the National Mall, the food trucks were lined up. Part of the experience.  Fast food all over town.

Every block around the National Mall looked like this

Hundreds of school groups in matching t-shirts all over town. Kudos to the wranglers.

The Navy Memorial was a very positive place to be. Many Veterans were touring, part of an honor flight.

Another tourist photo at the Navy Memorial

We did visit the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives. Even though there were many signs stating “no flash photography” someone may or may not have been reprimanded more than once for certain infractions of the rules. We went downstairs for a bit of lunch in a cute little cafe . One unbelievable memory was the blind cashier.

National Archives. I got scolded before I turned off auto focus on my camera

Felt patiotic while eating lunch.  Inspiring slogans galore

Final stop for us was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. So many vehicles and exhibits that were meaningful, but a few were missing due to the construction. Hello, how about the X1 behind a plywood barrier? Grrr.

The actual plane

The actual command module

We highly recommend the Holiday Inn at the National Mall. A block and a half from the Metro and the Mall. And it was always good to get back to put our feet up! Aloha

Tasty Travel Tunes

The Washington Post March - The United States Army Field Band

Send the Marines - Tom Lehrer

If Donald Got Fired - Randy Rainbow & Patti LuPone (recorded in 2020, remarkably relevant today)