Well, I'm just back from the Nations Capitol - this trip was a guy trip, just Fred and I after my retired boss Jay couldn't make it. It was a fun three days of visiting museums, monuments and seeing many of our nations treasures. 

Between you and me, this first photo is a little digitally doctored.  I took the photo of the Whitehouse by holding the camera above the wrought iron fence at the South Lawn and the added Fred and I from another photo taken at the same location - the only real difference is the fence is gone :)

We left 5am sharp as our Itinerary called for. I had this trip planned months in advanced, long before the Trade Center Attack and all the scare about Anthrax in Washington and even here in New Jersey. 

We arrived at The Embassy Suite Hotel in Chevy Chase, MD early enough to get a complimentary breakfast and early check-in to our suite. Fred was extremely pleased at the huge upscale Chevy Chase Pavilion that made up the first 3 floors of this posh hotel. We tossed our bags on the two full size beds and made our way to the Friendship Heights, Metro Subway entrance in the basement of the building.

Both of us forgot our cameras, but decided to walk to the Whitehouse after a quick walk to the base of the Washington Monument, which was closed for renovation - which I think was Bull, it was just renovated less than 2 years ago. If there was a threat to the building or if they were increasing the safety of the monument, than maybe - but not renovations.

The South Lawn of the Whitehouse is the view you always see on TV. The rounded center is NOT the oval office as many think, the oval office is on the North side, where all the press always gather. But Helicopter One ( actually Marine One for you DCphiles ) lands on the South Lawn, so it is still a pretty cool place. 

Here is the Chevy Chase Pavilion, shown in the foreground is the Embassy Suite Breakfast area. The Mall hosts 40+ upper scale stores and eateries. This is also where the Cheese Cake Factory is found - a restaurant that Tracey and I have eaten at during many trips.

Then off to the Natural History Museum to see the 3D IMAX showing of the Galapagos Islands. It was very nice, some great effects, but I still enjoyed the showing of Into the Deep at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore better. We looked at all the stuffed animals, Hope Diamond and dinosaurs, but couldn't find a single mummy - which I had seen on an earlier trip to this museum. I'm sure it was temporary exhibit. 

We walked across the Mall to the Air and Space Museum for an hour and a half of viewing really neat stuff. It looked a little different from my previous trip, most noticeably the Wright Brother's Airplane hung directly over the main Atrium instead of up high near the Spirit of St. Louis as it did previously. There was tons of things to see there of course, but we were on a mission to take everything we could in, so we looked but read little of the placards - so it's obvious that we often missed the reason for many exhibits.

Then lunch and back to the hotel to unpack and take a break.

That night we ate at the Cheese Cake Factory as planned. It was an expensive meal though and the atmosphere was very different than the place in Baltimore. I thought DC's was much stuffier and less relaxed. I had a New York Strip Steak and Fred ate a Shrimp and Pasta dish - we shared Tex-Mex Egg rolls and Jalapino poppers. It was to bed early after a very long day.

Day Two

We were up early and  had breakfast, again today hardly no one was in the breakfast area showing us the effects of 9/11/01. Trickle down from that devastating day has truly set us back many notches from our boosted economy of a few years ago. 

Here is Fred standing along side the Reflective Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Behind Fred to the right is the Viet Nam Wall. This is the same area that the fireworks are launched from on the 4th of July. You older folks remember Martin Luther King Jr. speaking on the steps at the memorial behind Fred.

We had plans to buy two $5 all day passes, but I ended up with a $10 fare card and Fred got a $5 one, which worked out fine. The problem was that the $5 all day doesn't start until 9:30am ( after rush hour ) and we were at the turnstile at 8am. We went right to the Smithsonian Exit of the Metro Again.

We walked directly toward the Washington Monument and made a left toward the Holocaust and Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We picked up tickets at the Holocaust as the lines were forming. They didn't bother with TIMED ENTRY, unlike the time my father and I went many years ago when people were lined around the building and literally down to the Potomac River. 

A sad note is that our President tells us to go about life as normal, but many of the buildings were closed to the public. The one that bothered us the most was the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, where I had all the plans to buy an uncut sheet of 32 one dollar bills and a five pound bag of shredded US Currency valued at over $10,000. But Nooooooo!!! The doors were closed tight and THIS SIGN was screwed to the door. You think they'd at least kept the gift shop open - ugh.

So back to the Holocaust and inside after a walk through the metal detectors ( yes - all the buildings have them ) we went to the information desk to pick up some info for a school project Fred had.

We made our way up to the forth floor by elevator which is where the museum tour starts. You slowly make your way through a counter clockwise circle and down each floor passing through time from the beginning to the end of the war. I had hoped that the museum had rotated films or had displays that were new from my previous trip, but that was not the case. The collections of films endlessly looped on and on and nothing appeared different from my trip nearly 8 years earlier.

We left there after taking some photos in the public areas, no images were allowed to be taken in the main exhibit areas. Then on to the American History Museum and it's endless collection of priceless memories from our nations attic.

We slowly snaked through the many sections including, American Presidents and First Wives, Inventions of electricity, communications, steam engines, automobiles, tunnel and bridge building, weapons, TV memorabilia, etc.

Fred was most impressed by two things, Fonzie's Jacket from Happy Days and Michael Angelo the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume from the movie of the same name.

They had a small section of TV and movie items including, the Lone Ranger's mask, a neoprene dinosaur egg from Jurassic Park, the Howdy Doodee and Charlie McCarthy puppets and my personal favorite Archie and Edith Bunkers chair and small triangular table from All in the Family.

We also made it into the preservation area where the are preserving ( note: not restoring ) Old Glory, the Nations Flag flown at Fort Mc Henry during the last battles of the Revolutionary War. Old Glory was Francis Scott Key's inspiration for our National Anthem. It was sealed in a huge room - mind you this is one massive flag ) laying flat below a powered platform where repairs can lay safely just inches from it's surface and easily move around by operating a joystick type controller. 

The flag had been vertically on display for nearly 40 years in the main lobby ( second floor ) of this Museum, but only raise for about 1 minute every hour for public display. After walking around, we ate lunch in the basement cafeteria and shopped briefly in the to large gift shops also found in the basement.

Time again to rest and we made it back to the hotel and actually, except for Fred taking a swim later, we really didn't do much the rest of the day.

Day 3

Up early and packed. We checked out and stuffed the car with everything but we weren't ready to leave. The parking ( $15 a day ) was good to 5pm, so we had a whole other day to spend in DC. 

This photo is of a statue near the Viet Nam Wall. Several statues are here, the most poignant is the Nurse's Memorial. Something I found strange, all these statues are hollow and a slight tape on any of them gives a resounding ding noise. Be prepared to walk a long way from here back to either the Smithsonian or Foggy Bottom Metro Stations. I'd suggest that you learn the bus routes or take a cab, you'll be glad you did.

We had forgotten the cameras on day one and had planned to get back to the Whitehouse, so we did. We took the train to the Federal Triangle Exit and let me tell you, it is a very impressive exit and really close to the South Lawn. We walked through all of the barriers meant to limit traffic to pedestrian only and came up to the gates with the Whitehouse in the background. 

We each took photos of each other and a young lady offered to take a pic of Fred and I together. I reciprocated and took a photo of her. Side note: I asked Fred to hold my reading glasses, well he put them down on the short wall at the base of the wrought iron fencing and I didn't notice them missing until we made it to the Lincoln Memorial.

Something different this time, a new wooden stockade fence was being erected along the majority of the Reflective Pool which lays between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The wood was ripe and putrid smelling, I guess a nasty sap smell that really reeked. 

Only thing I can figure is that is a safety wall to keep the public from getting too close to where the fireworks are launched on July 4th. Getting people THIS CLOSE will definitely increase the number of people who can attend. PS - Tracey and I did July 4th in DC about 5 years ago - STAY AWAY and watch it on TV, it is not worth the hassle of being corralled with 800 thousand people.

We walked the steps up to Lincoln's statue and took several photos, then made the long walk to Foggy Bottom Metro Subway Station. It was many blocks and all up hill. Hindsight, I would have flagged a taxi and gladly spent the $5 to get us there. 

Here is a rose placed at the base of the Viet Nam Wall. Notice a cigarette reflection near the stem of the rose - I tend to think this may have been the brand that the fallen soldier smoked. 

We then went to Dupont Circle ( the Metros DEEPEST Subway Entrance ) and spent 45 minutes trying to get our bearings because FRED LOST MY GLASSES!!! I squinted to read the maps we had and Dupont has many roads merge into the circle. Our goal was to find our way to the National Geographic Museum - what a disappointment.

When Tracey and my parents went with me years ago, this was a huge interactive science exhibit, big screens, touch and play with everything. That is what I had expected and actually, I had hoped it had gotten even better. But Noooooo!!!!!!

They removed the whole science thing and replaced it with a TV Studio and the only display was a small wrap around section of fairly lame African art. Now, this is a massive building and I can't imagine why they couldn't keep the interactive stuff.

We left there, very disappointed and made our way to Farragut North Metro, which was much closer to the National Geographic than Dupont Circle was. In the basement, next to the subway was a great eatery, very clean where you buy lunch by the pound. Tons of dishes to choose from and when you make your plates up, they are weighed and charged $4.95 a pound. We ate most of our food and agreed that we should hit the road early to try and miss all the outer loop traffic.

Some last minute shopping at Chevy Chase Pavilion and on our way. It took 4 hours to get to Fred's house, taking Rt. 40 a long and rural road that crossed all of NJ and then another hour back to my place. Fred made it home in time to go Trick or Treating and I made it home to a hot meal and an even hotter heating pad!

We had a great time and I think we'll go back again someday. But I hope this time that Tracey can go too.