Library of Congress
Rachel loves to read. Me on the other hand....not so much. So my enthusiasm to go to the Library of Congress wasn't great, but boy am I glad we went. There was an exhibit on Bob Hope which was pretty cool, and they also had a few other older documents that I found interesting. The best reason to go is to check out the architecture and art work inside. Un-Freaken-Believable. The photos don't do justice the absolute beauty of this place.
THE GOOD: Not only does this place have every book imaginable, but it a
lso played a major role in National Treasure 2 (What can I say...I thought it was good).
THE BAD: The tour sucked!! Whatever you do, don't waste your time going on their tour. The guide was so boring that we ditched it after 15 minutes because the guide was unlistenable.
Air and Space Museum
I had heard pretty good things about the Air and Space Museum, but I do have to say I was slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there were tons of things like the Wright Brothers first plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and tons of NASA artifcats which were interesting. The problem I had was I felt the museum hadn't been updated since the mid 80's. Much of the displays seemed very dated and I think it's time for them to bring the place up to date. It's definitely worth checking out, but
don't get your hopes up.
THE GOOD: The historical artifacts are everywhere. I love memorabilia and the place was filled with the stuff.
THE BAD: I-MAX was a waste of money. We saw something on the sun featuring Al Roker (I don't know what they have in common except they are both huge......AAA- OHH!!), but it was horrible. It's was supposedly in 3-D, but I think it was more of a "black hole for tourists money" (Okay....I'm done. I Promise).
The Newseum
The Newseum was one of the best stops on the trip. Unfortunately we arrived early in the afternoon and had to rush through it before it closed. This is exactly what a modern museum should be. It's great for both adults and kids, and has tons of interactive exhibits and mini theatres to watch short films. I give major kudos to whomever had the idea, because it went above and beyond expectations. Highlights included: Full Piece of the Berlin Wall, Antenna from atop of World Trade Center, Pulitzer Prize winning photography and tons more.
THE GOOD: They had a 4-D movie was pretty cool. We happened to be in there with a large group of kids from a local school, and it was hilarious to see them try to catch the 3-D bubbles as they appeared to be coming at them. It was 1000% times better than the crumby I-Max show. They also have a great balcony that gives you one of the best views of the Capital in all of Washington.
THE BAD: It's not free. I don't care...it's well worth the $20, so don't let that keep you from going. This place rocked.
This was another amazing place. I didn't know much about it before we got there, but it's one of those landmarks that mean so much more than I could put into words. The changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier was extremely memorable.
This was a very sad, moving, yet highly important musuem in DC. It's scary to think that it really wasn't that long ago that these horrific events took place. It was a great history lesson/reminder and words and pictures can't do it justice. All I can say is just go.
US Treasury
It was cool watching them make money, but unfortuately they didn't give us any.
The tour only took about 30 minutes so it's deifnitely worth checking out once.Supreme Court
Court wasn't in session and they were fixing up the court room, so we pretty much got screwed. They did have a cool staircase that I got some good photos of.
Old Post Office
Don't waste your time. It looks cool on the outside, but the
National Zoo
I've been to a lot of zoos and this one would rank in the top five. Great for kids, and seeing Pandas were kind of neat. They are also adding a new couple new exhibits for the Elephants so it will be nice to check that out in the future.
The Food
It can get a little bit pricey, but overall it was pretty good. I can't eat crab so I missed out on their world famous blue crabs, but I did give Mulligatawny Soup a try and I have to say I was impressed.
Transportation
The Metro was the best, cleanest, most efficient piece of public transportation I have ever taken. For $25 we got a weeks worth of rides that got us everywhere we could have gotten.
Considering most people are on a budget these days, this is a good time to take a trip to DC. Prety much everything is free, and the few places you do pay to get it are well worth it.
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