Washington DC Trip- Part 2

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 also 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.


Arlington National Cemetary

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.



The Holocaust Mseum

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 only reason to go is for the view and I think you get a much better one from the Newseum.

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.

Washington DC Trip- Part 1

About a month or so ago we took a week long vacation to the nations capital. It was my first time, and Rachel's first time in many years. Here's a quick rundown with the some photos during our trip. I'm going to break it up over a couple days because we did a lot in a week. (We have all our photos on our Flikr site if you want to take a look)

National Archives

Over the past couple years, I've really become a geek when it comes to history and artifacts. So being a quasi-memorabilia dealer I found the Archives to fascinating. This has the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other important documents throughout the history of our country. This is an absolute must see.

THE GOOD: The penmanship of these old documents was unbelievable. As an autograph nut I do have an appreciation for a nice signature, but the thought of someone spending the time to perfect every word of these long documents is just too cool. When I was there it reminded and amazed me that our country was created by the principles these men laid out that over 200 years later, and they still ring true today.

THE BAD: The Declaration of Independence was pretty much impossible to read. The Constitution has held up over time, but the DOI didn't look as good as it it did in National Treasure.


The National Gallery of Art


My and Rachel's taste in art it is very similar, so going to art museums together is usually a pretty good day. Both of us really like impressionists like Monet, and Post Impressionists like Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Seurat. The exhibit was very impressive especially in the sculpture department. If you are a fan of Edgar DeGas, you have to go to this museum. It has to have the finest collection of art from him in the world.


THE GOOD: The collection was very impressive. I always find it neat to actually see famous sculptures and paintings that I've seen in books or TV right in front of my eye. Then it's kind of scary to think that they are worth 1o's of millions of dollars and I take a couple steps back. They had a special exhibit by Martin Puryear which was kind of lame, but his "Ladder for Booker T Washington" shown in the photo was definitely the best piece of his they had on display.

THE BAD: I don't know if it's possible for something to be too big, but the NGOA may have been. We spent close to a full day there and we didn't even go into the East building. Besides that, the musuem didn't have a nice flow it it. At times we found ourselves wondering what direction we were supposed to go in next. Kind of frustrating, but overall a great museum.

SIDE NOTE: If you like art and going to be in DC I would HIGHLY reccommend checking out the Phillips Collection Museum. This place was much better than we thought it would be. It was fairly small (took about an hour to go through) and had works from Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezane, and other famous artists. Great exhibit even if you have to pay to get in.

The White House

I was really looking forward to this, and although it was cool it didn't quite live up to expectations. We planned for this to take the entire morning, but the entire tour took about 20-30 minutes. I fully expected there to be some kind of tour guide, instead it was a self guided tour through about 6 rooms of the White House. I wasn't expecting to rub elbows with "W" or anything, but I did expect a little more. Still, worth doing if because nothing, it didn't take up a whole lot of time.

THE GOOD: I can now say I've been in the most famous house in the world. I think there is something to be said for that.

THE BAD: Make sure you plan ahead...Way ahead. You actually have to schedule an appointment with your congressman to get in the White House. It wasn't too big of deal for us, but we got lucky because our Congressman's secretary did most of the work. If you plan on going, be sure to schedule several months in advance.

The Monuments

These take up a HUGE chunk of time (if you decide to walk to them all like we did), but it was worth the tired legs. I've seen and read about all the monuments, but they really didn't do them justice. They are just spectacular. I can't really decide which is my favorite, but there seemed to be an understated tranquility at the Jefferson Memorial which I really enjoyed. In fact, one quote on a panel really impressed on me how much our fore fathers were forward thinkers, and how lucky we were to have such intelligent people forming this country.

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

THE GOOD: Everything...There was a ranger near the Lincoln Memorial which gave us a great background on the statute. The Vietman Memorial was incredibly moving. The World War II Memorial was beautiful, and the FDR Monument(s), were okay, but I think some of the statues need some restoration.

THE BAD: Unfortunately we did not get to go in the Washington Monument. Apparently they only let a certain number of people inside every day, and we didn't get there until late afternoon so we missed out.















The Capital

We scheduled a tour with an intern from Congressman's office, which I thought enhanced the experience. The rotunda was unbelievable, and I was surprisingly intrigued watching Congress in session. It's kind of like hockey...sucks on TV, but pretty decent in person.

THE GOOD: Just amazing architechture and art work on the inside and outside of this building. We got lucky because on our tour the intern took us through the underground hallways which connect offices to the Capital.

THE BAD: The brand new museum and visitors center wasn't open yet. It's supposedly pretty impressive and went about $50 million over budget, so I guess I got something to look forward to next time.




















COMING TOMORROW........PART II