I think it’s only fair to warn you up front that this is going to be a long post!  I decided to stay in Harpers Ferry for another day, and to make a day trip to Washington DC.  There’s just so much to see and do in DC that it would have been a shame to miss it, and as it turns out, you can do a lot in one day, because many major attractions are close and the DC metro is fantastic!  I drove to Shady Grove station, where there was plenty of free parking on the weekend, and got on the red line headed for Metro Center.  I can’t say enough good about the metro here — trains run on time, stations are clean, everything is easy to understand — it’s by far the best way to get around DC.

Metro Center station is only a couple of blocks from the White House, so that was my first stop.  Although I could see it well enough, there seemed to be an event happening on the grounds, so I wasn’t able to get near enough to get a good photo.  It’s quite possible to get a tour of the open areas of the White House if you plan in advance though.

As a matter of fact, the openness and accessibility of everything was something I really noticed today.  The Smithsonian works by the principle that knowledge should be accessible to everyone, so there are no entry fees to any museums or the National Zoo, which seemed to surprise many of the foreign visitors.  Most museums have a quick security check at the door, with your bags run through a scanner as you step through a metal detector, very similar to airport security, but much, much faster!  Landmarks like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials have no security screening.

Lincoln Memorial

My first stop after leaving the White House was the Lincoln Memorial, at one end of the National Mall.  After my visit a few days ago to his birthplace, and then being immersed in Civil War history at Harpers Ferry, I was really looking forward to seeing it again, and it didn’t disappoint.

I’m generally not overtly patriotic, but it’s hard not to be in a place like this, and I’m guessing that most people feel a bit moved in the presence of the Great Man who seems to exemplify what is best and most decent about the nation.

It was a beautiful day, and he has a wonderful view looking down the mall.

Washington Monument

With the Washington Monument so prominent in the distance, that was my next destination.  Once again, I was able to walk right up to the base of the monument and touch it, with no security or ropes to keep people back.  There were some people going in to do the climb to the top, and I assume that they were screened, but it’s actually remarkable how a lack of security can make you feel safer!

I’d like to say here that it’s really not possible to take a bad picture in DC on a sunny day.  As you can see, the clear blue skies and bright green grass set off all the white marble beautifully.  Some day I’d like to do the climb to the top, but for today I had other things on my to-do list.

National Air and Space Museum

I remember the National Air and Space Museum fondly from when we visiting there when I was a kid, but I’m actually not sure why, because it seems to have so much more for adults.  Or maybe I just didn’t notice the kiddy stuff this time. 🙂   If you like aviation history, they have the Apollo 11 Command Module, named Columbia, that carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon and back in 1969.  Columbia was the only part of the craft to return to Earth, and if you look at the bottom you can see where reentry burned away some of the heat shield.  [In case you’re wondering, the replica Lunar Module was there too — the running joke is that many people assume that the one on display actually landed on the moon, but of course when the Eagle landed there, it never flew off again.]

They had an interesting display of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project as well, which was a joint US-Soviet space flight in 1975 that was representative of the détente policy of the time.  I assume that these are replicas or spares.

Another one that I remember from past visits is The Spirit of St Louis, the actual plane flown by Charles Lindbergh on the first trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris.

If you prefer a bit more modern history, they also have Space Ship One, the rocket-powered suborbital aircraft that completed the first manned private flight in 2004.  It’s shown on display in reentry configuration, with the rear half of the wings and the tail folded up to add drag while maintaining stability.

And here’s the original radiator from the Hubble Space Telescope.  The holes are the places where debris hit the surface, but are much larger than the actual impact sites — NASA took cores of all the impact sites in order to determine the space density of the objects that created them.

Or if drones are your thing, this was a fantastic display!  That’s the Predator on the right, and the Screamin’ Demon on the left, among others.

 

National Gallery

I don’t consider myself an art fan by any means, and usually find art galleries a bit dull, but I do love the National Gallery.  It has it’s share of dark and moody works, and dead pheasants draped dramatically over scattered fruit, but also has pieces that actually speak to me.  I think that’s the best thing about the place, that it really does have something for everyone’s taste.  The museum itself is also really worth seeing, with a green and white marble interior.

I’m not sure why, but people tend to whisper around art.  The silence and the interior green spaces give a Zen feeling to the museum in places… assuming you can overlook the fat kids throttling the swan (I know, I know, it’s ART, and I’m a Philistine).

In any case, here are some of my favorites from the museum’s collection.  First a few that everyone will recognize, but it’s amazing how much more depth and vibrancy these have in real life, as opposed to prints made of them.  I recommend seeing these in person if you can, as these pictures I took of them will also not do them justice.  Also notice the wonderful frames on many of them.  (Titles and artist in the caption under each picture.)

 

 

 

Then I discovered a side gallery full of the most wonderful landscape paintings, and I was hooked.  I don’t seem to appreciate portraiture much, but I do love a good landscape that sweeps me into it!  These below especially caught me because of the detail of the work.  I’ve included a close up of the whale ship rigging in the first picture, but the others were just as detailed, and gave a wonderful sense of vivid reality to the images.

 

 

 

 

And of course everyone will recognise these famous portraits — Unimpressed George Washington, and Clean-shaven Abraham Lincoln!

I spent a rather long time in the National Gallery enjoying the paintings and the feel of the place, but also enjoyed the sculpture garden outside, where I found these gems.  I didn’t get the  name of the first one so I’ll have to make something up!  I’ll call it “Tribute to Qbert.”

This was called “Thinker on a Rock.”

And this one was really eye-catching, called “Graft.”

National Museum of Natural History

Are you getting tired of reading?  I was getting very hot and tired of walking by this point, but I was on a mission, so I kept on!  The National Museum of Natural History was my next port of call, another place that I remember from childhood visits.  The huge elephant in the room was still there to greet visitors in the lobby.

I first went down the Hall of Mammals, aka the dead animal gallery.  I find this little guy quite charming, but not sure I’d want to meet him in the forest at night.  Apparently it’s called a Chinese Water Deer, but in my own mind I think of it as Vampire Death Bambi.  Yes, those are fangs.  On a deer.

The big bison was also a wonderful sight, in spite of the rather random hare thrown in for good measure.  The bison doesn’t seem impressed either.

The Hall of the Ascent of Man was next, proving that, in spite of what my Australian friends think, most Americans DO believe in evolution, and it’s taught as fact everywhere!

They’re even up to date enough to have included the Hobbit, homo floresiensis (correct spelling, I checked!).

I saw the Hope Diamond in the Hall of Rocks and Minerals, all 45.52 carats of it.  This boy and girl seemed mesmerized by it!

But there were so many beautiful and fantastical gems and minerals to see!  This is just one of many halls lined with all different colors, shapes, sizes, and textures!

But of course, this is a Museum of Natural History, which means…. DINOSAURS!!  Who doesn’t love a good old giant skeleton?  They only really had two monsters on display, the first of which was the Triceratops.

And of course, the crowd favorite, the T Rex.  Hee hee… tiny arms!  And by the way, he did have a tail, it was just wrapped around the back of the display.

 

National Capitol

The final stop on my whirlwind tour of the capital was the Capitol.  (For enlightenment on the difference between ‘capital’ and ‘Capitol,’ see here: http://grammarist.com/usage/capitol-capital/!  Yes, I had to look it up…)  Unfortunately, there was restoration work going on today, so I wasn’t able to get inside to see the Declaration of Independence that’s on display there.  Still, it’s an impressive building even from the outside.

So that’s everything.  I told you it would be a long one, but good job for sticking with me!  I was quite tired of walking by the time I left the Capitol, so I made my way back to the metro and took the red line back to the FJ waiting for me at Shady Grove.   I did a lot and saw a lot today, and yet there’s so much still to see!  I’m glad I took the time to visit, though, and will be back again someday.  But tomorrow I’ll move north again.