Monday will be the inauguration for the second term for President Obama. In honor of that moment, I decided to do a blog or two or three on Washington, DC, our nation's capital.
Even though I have loved history my whole life, it was only a few years ago that I actually went to Washington. There are two major airports, Dulles and Reagan, but I can't tell you about either of those because I took the train. My first view of the city was the beautiful Union Station. It has beautiful marble floors, columns, etc. Some restaurants are open late for those whose trains have delays.
The main place to see it the National Mall which runs from the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial. You can spend a whole day just walking down the Mall. If it's good weather, bring a picnic for lunch.
Along the Mall are the many museums of the Smithsonian. It is actually many buildings, all with their own names but under the giant heading of the Smithsonian. The best thing is that all those museums are FREE to visit. My two favorite are the Museum of American History and the Air & Space Museum.
The American History Museum has historical and pop cultural artifacts. Some of the biggest draws are Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz and dresses from many of the First Ladies. You can spend many hours looking at all the exhibits.
The Air & Space Museum houses things such as a lunar craft and the Wright Brothers' plane. There is even a separate building farther off for some of the bigger objects. Housed there are a space shuttle, the Concorde plane, and other fighter jets. You just have to catch a shuttle bus to visit the annex.
Down the Mall is the Washington Monument. It is free to visit this monument, although there is a fee if you reserve the tickets online. ***Tip-Go about 8:00 in the morning to pick up your timed tickets. There are not lines and you can see the other monuments on the Mall with relatively no crowds.***
Walk down the Mall to visit the World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and other memorials. Each help bring about the history of that time period and cannot be missed.
At the end of the Mall is the Lincoln Memorial. You cannot fathom how huge the statue of Lincoln is unless you are there. On the sides of the memorial are carved the Gettysburg Address and his inauguration speech. It is a very moving tribute to a wonderful President. Turn around at the top of the steps and get some great views of the whole Mall.
More to come. . .
Even though I have loved history my whole life, it was only a few years ago that I actually went to Washington. There are two major airports, Dulles and Reagan, but I can't tell you about either of those because I took the train. My first view of the city was the beautiful Union Station. It has beautiful marble floors, columns, etc. Some restaurants are open late for those whose trains have delays. The main place to see it the National Mall which runs from the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial. You can spend a whole day just walking down the Mall. If it's good weather, bring a picnic for lunch.
The Air & Space Museum houses things such as a lunar craft and the Wright Brothers' plane. There is even a separate building farther off for some of the bigger objects. Housed there are a space shuttle, the Concorde plane, and other fighter jets. You just have to catch a shuttle bus to visit the annex.
Down the Mall is the Washington Monument. It is free to visit this monument, although there is a fee if you reserve the tickets online. ***Tip-Go about 8:00 in the morning to pick up your timed tickets. There are not lines and you can see the other monuments on the Mall with relatively no crowds.***
Walk down the Mall to visit the World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and other memorials. Each help bring about the history of that time period and cannot be missed.
At the end of the Mall is the Lincoln Memorial. You cannot fathom how huge the statue of Lincoln is unless you are there. On the sides of the memorial are carved the Gettysburg Address and his inauguration speech. It is a very moving tribute to a wonderful President. Turn around at the top of the steps and get some great views of the whole Mall.
More to come. . .
No comments:
Post a Comment