Washington DC 2014

August 10, 2014

Arlington

Last day in DC so we headed to Arlington National Cemetery, as  I wanted to make sure Bobby got to visit this impressive place.   

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

First stop was the visitor’s center to get a map, then we headed to the Unknown Soldier tomb to watch the changing of the guard.   Bobby had never seen this and was very impressed.  I’ve seen it 3-4 times but still very impressive!   It takes 10 min., so you can get hot while watching, there is NO shade.   The tomb was created in 1921, first guard was placed at the tomb in 1925 but only on special occasions and in 1937 the full time guards were created.   The tomb is never unguarded, not even during the Sept 11, 2001 or Hurricane Sandy!

Challenger & Columbia Memorials

We then wonder around the tomb area looking at the grave sites, here are many (over 400,000) but three that we saw that impressed me were the mast from the USS Maine,which sank in 1898, tributes to Crew of the Columbia space shuttle that died in 2003 & the Challenger Space Shuttle crew that died in 1986.  

President Lee’s home is not far from the Unknown Soldier tomb, so we walked up there to see the view of DC.   Incredible!!!   

President Lee's home

We did not tour the house as there was a 30 min wait and it’s very hot and muggy today.   We were overheated and wanted shade!  In the gardens near the house are the oldest grave sites in Arlington, dating back to 1864. During the Civil War the garden was used as a burial grounds.

Next we walked down to President Kennedy’s grave site.   It's sad to see Pres. Kennedy, Jackie, their unborn daughter and son Patrick (only lived 2 days) all are there.  

Pres. Kennedy's grave site

Nearby is his brothers Bobby and Edward Kennedy, they have simple grave sites compared to many of the others in this cemetery.  

We then headed back to the visitors center, looked around and then headed to the train.   Thought about going to the Pentagon, but it’s hot and we are very tired.  Will be nice to not do anything this afternoon!!!

August 9, 2014

Zoo was calling our names, so we caught the train around 8:30.   It takes about 1 hr to get there via train (orange and then transferred to the red line), not bad,
considering parking is horrible per the website and it was, every parking lot was full.   This zoo is owned by the Smithsonian, so it’s free.   Believe me, it’s well used!  Lots of families enjoying the day!

Walked around and saw all the animals, they say this is the largest zoo in the USA.  We learned its 125 years old this year.   It’s located right in the middle of NW DC, obviously they’ve built all around it.

They have some very unique things that we’ve not seen and then off course they have all the normal animals, just different varieties than we are accustomed to seeing.   My favorite thing was the Pandas & big cats…never get tired of seeing these!  In fact when looking at the Pandas, we saw the baby, but it was up a fir tree.    So cute!

We are now home and will probably do nothing the remainder of the evening.

August 8, 2014

John Marshall...Supreme Court Justice

Bobby took me out to breakfast, then we caught the train to the capital.  It’s the same route (orange), just a different stop. 

When we got across the street from the Capital, the bomb squad was arriving and would not let us go to visitor’s center.  We learned there was a suspicious bag and they closed the capital.  We stood around for about 5 min., they were questioning a person, so we decided to visit Supreme Court House first.   We didn’t want to be near the capital in case a bomb did go off.

Supreme Court

The court room was closed for annual maintenance so we did not see that portion.   We did watch a movie about how the process works, very interesting.   Learned that there have been 112 Justices throughout time and now we have 9 (currently 6 men & 3 women) serving on the bench at this time.   The longest serving justice was John Marshall, he served 34 years (1801-1835) and the first woman was Sandra Day O’Connor who retired in 2006.

Next was the capital…apparently the bag was left by a visitor that had gone to get something to drink and left his bag.   Bet he won’t do that again!

Capital

Got tickets for the 11:30 tour, our guide gives you head sets, so it was easy to hear him describe all the art work and statues.   After watching a 15 min. movie, you meet your guide that shows you the Crypt (lower portion of the rotunda), Rotunda & National Statuary Hall (hall of statues).  If you want to see the House & Senate portions, you have to get tickets from your representative or senator.   We did not do this, could have today, but had enough to see.   We did learn that each state can have two statues in the Capital.  They can be of anyone they choose, some choose presidents, heroes, someone that made a mark on history (Rosa Parks, MLK, Philo Farnsworth from Utah (invented the TV)) and they don’t have to be a resident of that state!

Rosa Parks

After our tour, we got some lunch at the cafeteria, as we still had portions of the capital to visit.   Then we headed to the Library of Congress via the tunnel.   It’s amazing how long it was!  Think we walked 2-3 blocks.    In the Library, which is utterly beautiful, you get to see the Gutenberg & Mainz bibles.   The Mainz bible is a handwritten bible and the Gutenberg is a printed version of the bible, both dating back to 1450’s.   

Library of Congress

We also saw the Jefferson Building, which houses Jefferson library.   It opened in 1897 and Mr. Jefferson gave his personal collection in 1815 (after the British burnt it in 1814) of 6,487 books.  It cost Congress $23,950 to purchase them, the price was determined by the size of the book…smallest was a $1 and largest $5, with prices in between.    I’m sure that today these are worth a whole lot more!!!

Next we walked to the front of the Capital to take pictures.   You get amazing pics from this side!   Then we went across the street to the Botanical Gardens, our last stop for the day.

  
August 7, 2014

Amelia Earhart

Toured four of the Smithsonian’s today, first was the Air & Space Museum.   It’s filled with history from the Wright Brothers thru the Apollo Space trips.   It’s was very interesting to see all the planes and read the details.  We particular liked the Wright Brothers and I liked the Amelia Earhart information.   We spent over 3 hrs in this museum, but you could spent a lot more if you watched all the movies, read everything, etc.

From the Air & Space Museum

We then headed to the Ag building again for lunch.   It’s just good food and cheap.

Afterward we headed to the Smithsonian Castle.   It’s the headquarters and visitors center for the Smithsonian’s.  They have a wing on the history of the Smithsonian and some of the older stuff they’ve collected.   For example, they have a piece of the Berlin Wall, Napoleons napkin, a colored person water fountain, animals, largest tarantula (Goliah Birdeater) ..it eats birds, just to name a few.

Looking up National Mall at Capital

Next was the Natural Museum of history.   It was packed and I mean packed, with kids!  Extremely difficult to get near the exhibits but at least we saw the Hope Diamond!   They have sections on minerals, manuals, skeletons, butterflies, etc. for you to look at.  

Hope Diamond

Last stop was the History Museum.   It’s the 200 anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner so you get to see the original flag; it’s huge and obviously worn and tattered.  Very impressive but they don’t allow pics.   You also get to see things like Dorothy’s red shoes from the wizard of OZ, First Ladies dresses, dishes used in the white house, stuff on the wars and how American got her independence and they also had a section on transportation.  Here they had a section that featured Portland, OR and in particular Sandy Blvd.  They time frame was just after WWII, so I did not recognize all the buildings but knew the Fred Meyer Store that they showed.   It was very interesting to see Portland featured in the Museum.

Dorothy's Shoes

 

Caught the train around 4:30 and now we are home for the evening.  Feet are tired from walking 7 miles today.   It’s amazing how the miles add up!

 

August 6, 2014

WA Monument

We wore out our feet today!  We walked over 11 miles as we walked around the National Mall and saw all the memorials, which are wonderful.   I don’t think we missed one, but if we did, we’ll catch it tomorrow.  The National Mall is part of the National Park system, so throughout the day, I collect stamps for my book.   Think I got 20+ stamps!

WWII Memorial

Started out the day by parking at the metro garage about a mile from us, caught the Orange train and headed to town, once we bought our 7 day pass.   This is the most convenient & cheapest way to travel around this town.   Since we are staying in Fairfax, VA it took us about 20 miles and we got off at the Federal Triangle stop.  It put us across the street from the History Museum (part of the Smithsonian’s).  

First stop was the Washington Monument.  You have to get a free ticket, which took us about 15 min.   We got a 2:30 tour (they give out 3,000 a day and they are usually gone by 9:30…we got lucky to get one), so we decided to head towards Lincoln’s memorial.  Along the way we stopped at the WWII.  This is absolutely gorgeous.  

Lincoln Memorial

 Next was Lincoln’s memorial.   We were disappointed in that it was so dirty.  Looked liked the statute had not been washed for many months, no longer white but a dirty white.  However, this is still a tremendous memorial, gives you that feeling that you can hear him giving his famous speech.   From his steps, you get a great view of the Washington Monument and the capital behind it.

Mr. Lincoln

Nearby is the Vietnam Memorial.  Bobby thought this would look a lot different than it does; it’s impressive but very sad to see all the thousands of names on the wall.   We found a friend from Bobby high school days on the wall.   There were lots of people doing the same.

We then headed to the Korean War Memorial, here you see the men as they moved along the beaches, etc., it’s very well done.   Here you get to see some of the numbers of the dead, injured, etc.  So very sad that war takes so many of our men/women.

Korean Memorial

A little further down the mall is FDR memorial, what an impressive place this is!   Love all the saying engraved on the walls, the water falls, statues, etc, one of my favorites.

A memorial I had not seen was the MLK memorial.  It’s very different, not anything what I had expected.   I liked it, Bobby did not.

Vietnam Memorial

Next was Jefferson memorial…what can I say, it’s very impressive but like Lincolns, was dirty.  Sad!!!

By now we’ve walked over 6 miles and feet need a rest so we head to the Holocaust Museum in hopes of find a cafe?   The guard gave us a suggestion to visit the USDA (dept of agriculture) and eat there.   Excellent and inexpensive!!!

Jefferson Memorial

We had about an hour before we have to be at Washington Monument for our tour, so we go into the Freer Gallery.   They have art from the Asian Cultures.   It was amazing to see the dates on the exhibits…some as old as 345.   The Peacock room was beautiful with all the pottery in various colors of a peacock.

It’s time for our tour, so we walk down the Mall to the Monument.  They are running a little late, so we have to wait about 30 min. for our tour.   Once you get into the building you take an elevator up 550+ feet to the top floor.   Here you have a 360 degree view of DC.  Impressive!!!!   Might have to do a tour at night!

Time to head home, so we head to the metro and catch the train back to the parking garage, arriving back home after 4.   Long day but oh so worth it!

Virgina 2014

August 5, 2014

Left Williamsburg, VA around 7:30, fueled the coach and then hit the road for DC.  We arrived at the Elks lodge in Fairfax, VA (just across the river from DC) around 11:00.    Had a few spots with traffic that slowed us down, smooth drive otherwise, except I hate driving thru these big cities!!!

Got settled in and then we went to the Kaiser Hospital about 10 miles away so I could get my blood work done for my kidney Dr in Portland.   Had to get the paper work faxed, so it took a little longer but got home around 2. 

Did odds and ends and then headed to the Elks to sign in around 4.   We got back around 5:00 and will watch TV the rest of the evening.   

Tomorrow we’ll take the metro into DC…wish us luck!!!

August 4, 2014

John Smith

 Last day in Williamsburg, so we decided to see Historic Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg.   We stop for breakfast at the Old Mill Restaurant and we‘re reminded that Virginia is the birthplace of America and has had 8 presidents come from this state (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, Taylor & Wilson).  There’s way to much to see in 3 days so someday we’ll have to return to see the rest.

First stop was Jamestown, here is where the first settlement in America occurred in 1607.   You learn why they chose this site, about the way these people lived, how they suffered from starvation during the winter of 1609-10 (the population went from 300 to 60…they even became cannibals), how they learned to grow tobacco (John Rolfe helped cultivate it) to make money, how the wars affected them and of course we learn about the individuals themselves.   For example: John Smith, Nathaniel Bacon (lead battle that burnt the fort in 1698), John Rolfe (married to Pocahontas), & Pocahontas, were just a few that helped make this site the capital of America.

While at this site, we walked around both old and new towne.  Old town is where the original fort was built and new town is where they expanded the fort into more of a city.  The only original building still standing is the church tower; the church is actual dated 1907.  

Church at Jamestowne

Blowing glass

They have a group of archeologists digging up the fort and surrounding areas in search of artifacts, etc.   They’ve been digging for over 20 years and have found over a million artifacts, of which many are on display at the Archaearium near the fort.   In there they have human remains, pottery, knives, nails, buttons, animals, etc.  Very interesting!!!

Next we took the driving tour; you drive around the Jamestown island that occupies the fort.   You read plaques but don’t really see anything.

We then drove to the glasses building.   Here they make the famous Williamsburg blow glass.   It’s beautiful and we really enjoyed seeing the creations that created.  Did not buy anything, just don’t have the place to keep this kind of stuff…even though I really wanted one of the vases.

Colonial Williamsburg

Nearby is Jamestown settlement, we stopped but it more of an amusement park so we did not go in. 

Capital Bldg at Colonial Williamsburg

Forgot to mention, that while driving up to Williamsburg the other day we saw a black bear in the opposite lanes.   Looked like a car had hit him, hopefully he was just stunned.  While visiting the National Parks, we see lots of wildlife, in particular deer and bald eagles.

Next we drove to Colonial Williamsburg, here it’s a recreation of the town once it became the capital after the fort was burnt in 1698.   We walked up and down the main street, looking in some of the shops, etc.    

It’s hot and I’m tired, so we head home around 2:30.  Got home and decided to cool off by going swimming, so relaxing after walking 6 miles.

August 3, 2014

Battle at Yorktown

Today is a history lesson for us, as we visit the Yorktown Battlefield.   The war between America and the British has been going on for seven years, when the battle of Yorktown occurs.  It’s said that this battle is what won Independence for America, even though the actual war does not end until Sept of 1783.   Of course we would not have won without the help from the French. 

Moore House

General Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington at this site on Oct 18, 1781 and the meeting to negotiate the surrender occurs at the Moore home, which we toured.  The actual surrender took place on the 19^th, at a field about a mile from the house.   You learn that many famous names are associated with this battle:  George Washington, Alexander Hamilton & Lord Cornwallis (British) just to name a few, Hamilton is the same person that you see on the $10 bill today.

National Park Visitors Center

While at the National Park visitors center we watched a movie, describing the events that lead up to the surrender.  We then took a guided tour of the battlefield and learned more of the details.  Next we hopped on a trolley and toured Yorktown, which is located on the York River.  We got off the trolley at the river walk to walk around and have lunch.  We also learned that the George P Coleman bridge that crosses the York River at this site, it's one of two double span bridges in the world and the only one in the USA.  It has two 500' spans that swing clockwise to all the large commercial ships to pass thru.

Victory Memorial

Then we took the auto driving tour to learn even more about the battle.   On this tour we visited the Virginia National Cemetery where over 2,000 soldiers are buried from this war.  Of the 2,000 only 1/3 have names on their stones, the others are unknown…sad! 

George P Coleman Bridge

After all this information, we now are experts on the Yorktown battle!   Only in my dreams…lol.

The Williamsburg Pottery factory is close to the Rv park, so we stopped to walk around, bought some items for our golf tournament in Havasu.   This facility has 4 large buildings, it’s about a mile up and down.  We got our miles in for the day!!!

 

August 2, 2014

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Atlantic Inter-coastal water way

Left Avon, NC around 8 AM and arrived at Williamsburg, VA around 1 PM.  Uneventful drive, scenery was great in spots but for majority, it was just driving thru small towns until we got near Norfolk.   We traveled the 664 hwy and got to drive thru the tunnel that goes under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  Bobby loved it!  It’s considered one of the seven engineering wonders of the world.   The drive to it gives you the opportunity to see Chesapeake Bay and some of the many ships that utilize this bay.

We are staying at Williamsburg Outdoor World RV Park (another Encore park), in Williamsburg, VA.   This one is a first come park but we found a site near the office that is excellent.   This park has lots and I mean lots, of trees.  It’s beautiful but hopefully no major storm comes in and takes out these trees!   The first spot we picked, they had to trim many branches just so we would not scrape but luckily someone on another row left and we got their spot, much nicer.

Bldg near the bridge...just liked it

Entering the tunnel

Once we had lunch, Bobby went to do the laundry and I went to Walmart.   On the way home, I saw Williamsburg Pottery company sign so went to investigate!   Their pottery is known worldwide.  They had several pieces which I may go back and purchase, however they were having a Christmas in July sale and I picked up a few things for Christmas!

Tomorrow we’ll see Jamestown, Yorktown, Etc.