I Do Stuff…

path along the Reflecting Pool

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For most federal holiday they happen on Monday or Friday and often the government shifts around the day off to fit this ideal model.  So having Veterans Day in the middle of the week just felt odd and out of place.  On top of that Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast and decided to sit on top of Virginia ALL day.  I was planning on getting outside to do a little hiking but that got washed out, literally.  So when my dad called saying he was going to DC to visit the Vietnam Memorial, possible Arlington National Cemetery, and the Smithsonian’s American History Museum I decided that was a better day spent than inside my house.

We got some what of an early start, I went to his house around 10am so we could take Metro into the city.  I was not overly concerned with high traffic today, middle of the week and rain would keep most people away.  Plus the more people I talked to it was about a 50/50 split on who had off.  Needless to say there was plenty of parking in the garage and seats on the train.

When we got to the Smithsonian stop and took the long escalator ride up we got our first taste of just how miserable the weather was going to be.  I was hoping that the further north we traveled things would improve, but of course that was wishful thinking.  The wind would howl blowing cold moisture soaked air, layers of warm cloths were the only defense against this onslaught of mother nature.  A good rain jacket or umbrella was a must too.  My dad’s umbrella decided to break down and provide only minimal defense against the rain, but for today it would do the job well enough.  The rain falling was never heavy, just a steady, even, rainfall.  Enough to make it not fun to be outside.

Vietnam Memorial

The walk from the Metro stop to the Vietnam Memorial is about a mile and half, not that far, but no fun in the rain.  We made the most of it and I was able to get a couple nice shots considering the day.  We passed the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial before we reach our destination.  Around the memorial were a ton of veterans mingling and reminiscing about days of old.  The cold and rain were not enough to keep these guys from honoring the memories of their fallen brothers.  It was inspiring really, I imagine many of them dealt with much worse in the jungle to let a little rain bother them today.  We tried to get close and walk along the wall but police had it blocked off to the public.  An officer said they were preparing for a ceremony at 1pm and we should come back around 3pm if we wanted to get closer.

We spent a good amount of time standing around looking at the wall talking about Vietnam and the current war.  The conversation around the memorial was definitely different than the one on the train ride up or the walk over.  My dad was in country for 17 months as a MP at a southern airfield.  He has never talked about it and I never bring it up.  But I know it affected him.  We talked a little about what the American public was like back then and again now.  To me it is eerily similar now as it was back then.  The public is loosing patience with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, just like in the late sixties with Vietnam.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.  Will history repeat itself?

lobby of the museum

With our sole searching done we trudged along towards the American History Museum.  They recently remolded the museum and opened it back up to the public, plus we wanted to get out of the rain.  Walking along Constitution Avenue we quickly noticed that the roads were blocked off, not even pedestrians were allowed to cross the road.  We knew it was for someone important, and we assumed the President.  A few minutes later we see police motorcycles drive by followed by three heavily armored limousine and 10 or so black SUV’s.  The motorcade even had an ambulance thrown in for good measure.  One of the SUV’s looked like it could have communicated with Spirit and Opportunity on Mars.  That’s just the way he rolls.

Getting to the museum we made a quick stop at the cafe on the first floor for some lunch and much needed hot coffee.  It felt good to be inside and out of the rain.  Next we got a map of the museum and started exploring.  The guide we talked to recommended the Star-Spangled Banner, Julia Child’s Kitchen, and American Presidency.  But before we saw any of these we started with America on the Move since it is on the first floor.  My dad loves trains so it was an obvious first choice.  It is pretty amazing to see how far we have come in this country.  But when you considering how massive it is, it’s no wonder we love to travel.

Next it was up to the third floor and work our way down.  The big attraction here is the Price of Freedom display which shows every war America has been in.  From our countries the little known wars in our early history all the way up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan we are bravely fighting.  We took our time especially walking through the Vietnam section.  I am pretty sure it brought bake memories for my dad.  He pointed out on a giant map the place he was stationed in country which was pretty neat.

a funny statue of Washington

On the second floor is the Star-Spangled Banner, this is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what eventually became the national anthem of our country.  When I was a kid the flag use to be displayed so when you walked in from the Mall entrance it was the first thing you saw.  As time went on they covered it and would only display it for a brief time during the day.  Now, it is entirely encased in a environmentally controlled chamber away from people and light.  Throughout the flags history people have not taken the best care of it.  Large sections were cut out and sold and at one time it was displayed outside on the museum wall.

We had time to check a few other section of the museum in our limited time.  Of course we couldn’t see everything in the few hours we had, but we saw everything we wanted to.  It was great spending the day with my dad in the city.  It reminded me of my youth when he would take my brother and I up regularly to check out the museums.  Even in my thirties going to the museums with my dad is a lot of fun.

lobby of the Natural History Museum

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I must say I picked a horrible day to travel to the city.  Saturday it did nothing but rain all morning and into the afternoon.  The weather reports I saw that morning indicated the rain would stop and the clouds would blow through by the afternoon.  I wanted to walk around the tidal basin to snap some shots of the cherry blossoms.  Their peak was the weekend before, so I was not having much hope, but I was determined to make it up there this year.  While waiting for the weather to clear I decided to stop by the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

When I arrived at the Smithsonian Metro exit, despite my best efforts to miss the rain it was still falling.  Even though it was only a drizzle, I don’t like getting rained on.  Fortunately the walk to the museum is short, only a couple of blocks at most.  As I got closers I could see this huge line of people pouring out the front entrance onto the Mall.  As a native, I know about the entrance on Constitution Avenue and would try my luck there.  No love there either, two long lines snaked down the stairs and around the driveway.  After a few minutes in the rain I was passing security.  The guy did a cursory check of my bag and I walked through a metal detector.  I am almost certain the metal detector was not plugged in.

ROAR!

Inside, the ground floor was jammed with people, not to surprising considering the nasty weather outside.  It also reopened recently after being closed for remodeling, and throw in spring break with a lot of tourists visiting the city from who knows were.  There was all this commotion inside, a sea of people constantly moving and shuffling along.  I was really looking forward to a nice quite day at the museum but I could see that was not going to happen.  Instead I just headed up to the first floor to start exploring.

What a wide variety of exhibits on display.  I walked through the large Sant Ocean Hall, one of the many permanent exhibits on display.  Other exhibits I saw included soil, bones, dinosaurs (ROAR!), moon rocks and meteors.  I even attempted to see the Hope Diamond, but that was a lost cause, way to many people and I didn’t care to fight crowds.  But I did walk through the rest of the gem exhibit and saw some cool stuff.  Not only precious materials like diamonds, jade, gold and silver.  But also things like coal, granite, and a radioactive rock.

Then there was the Orchids Through Darwin’s Eyes exhibit that had a full display of various living orchids.  And the video about were all us mammals came from.  And another video I saw on the Rastafafari movement, something I had only heard about briefly.  The video explained where it came from, what is about, and like most religions the persecution its believers have gone through.  Walked through the savanna of Africa with different animals on display and a whole bunch of words.  So much to see I couldn’t see it all in one trip.

cherry blossoms

When I finally left the museum the weather did clear and it turned into a nice day.  The sun was shinning with a blue sky so I walked across the Mall towards the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms.  Unfortunately 95% or so of the blossoms had already fallen and leaves started to appear.  That’s what happens when you arrive late to a time sensitive event.  To makeup for blossoms I did find a tulip garden.  It was in full bloom with a large variety of colors, got some good shots here.  Even without the cherry blossoms I still managed some shots of the tidal basin, the trees, and the Jefferson Memorial across the water.  The Jefferson Memorial was calling me while taking my photos so I took the short walk to the memorial.  They had a small stage with a live band playing, all part of the waning days of the cherry blossom festival.  I was surprised by the number of people hanging out on the steps listening to the music.  I stayed for a few minutes, but spent most of my time walking inside and around the memorial.

As the sun started to set I headed back to the Metro station for a short ride back to Springfield and my car.  The weather could have been better, but it turned into a nice day in the city.