A Week in the Nation's Capitol

Very Tall Double Decker Tour Bus
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Mike celebrated his 80th Birthday today. It wasn’t very special since he had to drive the motorhome to our new location where we will stay for a week or so. Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland is a just a short bus and Metro ride toDC and it is a wonderful place to stay. After getting set up we attended a talk they give every day with info on what to do in the city and how to get there. I called Diane Feinstein’s office and got us scheduled for a tour of the Capital Building on Monday. We are as ready as we can be for our upcoming adventure.

Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery
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On Thursday we caught the 8:40 AM bus from our park to the Metro Station in College Park then we took the Metro into Union Station. Once there we purchased a sightseeing tour on a double deck bus that went to several sights around the city and allowed you to hop on and off plus it was good for two days. This bus was really tall - you almost got a nosebleed sitting in the top seats. They kept warning us to watch out for tree branches and it was only about 40 degrees in the morning. We didn’t care we sat there anyway. There are so many things to do and see here it's hard to know where to start. We decided to get off the bus at Arlington National Cemetery. What a beautiful and reverent place. We got there about 11:45 and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown is every hour on the hour. We raced up the hill (BIG HILL) only to discover we had gone to the Kennedy Gravesite instead. Jackie is buried there too now and the eternal flame is still burning. The view of the city from the gravesite is amazing. When we caught our breath we relaxed and strolled through the beautiful monuments. It is unbelievable how many gravesites there are. We watched the guard change at 1:00. A guard is always on duty at the gravesite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – in all types of weather. After the changing of the guard there was a wreath laying ceremony. Arlington is a must see for anyone visiting the DC area. We caught the tour bus back into the city and attempted to have lunch at the Department of Agriculture cafeteria (a place recommended to us) but we arrived too late. Grabbed a dog off a street cart and visited the Old Post Office building which has a huge bell tower (I think the one that Mike’s famous bell ringer fell from). You can visit the bell tower by riding two different elevators – one a see through car that rises over the atrium which is now full of shops and the other an old wooden one. We took the trip and really enjoyed the views from the top. It is an interesting old building - but then this is a town full of them. By the time we caught the Metro home we were absolutely pooped!

View of the City from Kennedy's Gravesite
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Friday morning we headed out again only not quite as early. We took the Metro to a station near the White House and went to get a view of it. Something was going on and they had everything closed off on the back side so we walked around to the front and got a few photos. We could hear the helicopter landing on the lawn but couldn’t see it. We hopped back on the tour bus and headed to the National Cathedral, which is a fairly good distance away. The National Cathedral, completed in 1990, is the culmination of a two-century-long plan for a majestic Gothic style cathedral. The Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world, second largest in the United States. The top of the tower is the highest point in DC. We took a tour and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the history of this amazing building. St. Albans School is a part of the church and many of the Washington VIP’s children attend or have attended. After our tour we hopped back on the bus and got off in Georgetown. We headed toward the Potomac River to find a nice place for lunch and ended up at Washington Harbor, a beautiful area with several eateries. After a wonderful lunch we headed on foot along the Potomac past the Kennedy Center and then visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, and Washington Memorial. Every one brought tears to my eyes – so many lives lost. At the Korean War Memorial there is wall that says “ Freedom is Not Free” – how true. The World War II Memorial is new since our last trip to DC and it is amazing – certainly worthy of the far reaching affects of the War. One side represents the Atlantic and the other the Pacific. All the States have columns and each is adorned with a wreath. There is also a section honoring all of the allies. There is a reflecting pool and fountains too. Wow, it is amazing. Before heading home we wandered past the White House again and this time were able to get close enough to get some good photos. We must have walked at least 5 miles today – oh my aching back and Mike’s aching hips!

Beautiful Grounds of Arlington
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Saturday November 1 (my first day of Medicare) we decided to take a rest and drive into Annapolis. What a joke that was. We ended up taking a walking tour of the Historical District and the Naval Academy. Annapolis is a beautiful old city, founded in the late 1600’s, located on the Chesapeake Bay. It is also the capital of Maryland. Many of its early residents were very rich, many big tobacco farm owners who lived in large Georgian style mansions with enormous gardens. In 1767 this is where Kunte Kinte (of Roots fame) arrived in America. The State House here is the oldest in continuous legislative use since built in 1772. It features the largest wooden dome in the country. The Continental Congress met here for 8 months and George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army here. The Maryland Governor’s house located in the Historical District and is quite beautiful. The Shiplap House is the oldest surviving house in Annapolis, circa 1715. There are many other historical homes and buildings and we enjoyed our walking tour very much. The historical homes (which are not very large) sell for over $1,000,000 and there are strict rules as to how they can be updated. The US Naval Academy is right in town and was opened in 1845. John McClain, Ross Perot and Jimmy Carter are famous alumni. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the grounds or “the yard” as it is called. There is a beautiful Chapel (which was closed to the public today) and the largest Dormitory building anywhere – Bancroft Hall. There are 4400 Midshipmen and they are all housed in this building. It is built in the style of Versailles and has many extensions to hold so many students. We were able to go inside and view one of the dorm rooms. The stairs from the main rotunda lead up to Memorial Hall which is dedicated to USNA alumni and those who died in operational activities. On weekends the Midshipmen are on liberty – the plebes and 2nd year students must be in uniform but the elder classmen are allowed to be in civies. All of the Midshipmen graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree. We were so fortunate to visit on a day when Navy was playing Tulane University at home and that is a big thing here. All of the Midshipmen are in uniform and at 2:30 they marched to the stadium with the band playing. It was so impressive. We had lunch there and wandered around the grounds and the Visitor Center. When we headed back to the car we could hardly move. We have never walked so much in such a short time – and this was supposed to be an easy day. We’re considering renting a wheelchair and taking turns pushing each other on our next walkathon. All in all it was an amazing day in Annapolis – a must see for anyone visiting this area.

So Many Graves
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Sunday November 2 we took the Metro into town and went to the Air and Space Museum for the day. What a great place with so many interesting exhibits. We saw two IMAX movies and visited every exhibit. They kicked us out at 5:30 and we decided to walk the Mall to view the Monuments at night. They were beautiful. I took some photos but most of them did not turned out good. Headed home pooped again but we stopped to eat at a local Italian restaurant which was delicious.

Monday November 3 we headed to the Senate Office Building and Diane Feinstein’s office where we met with our tour guide. Two other couples joined us. We entered the Capitol Building through the underground tunnels and tram – very interesting. I was amazed at the beautiful fresco corridors which were painted by Constantino Brumidi also called the Michelangelo of the Capitol. We visited a meeting room, the Old Senate Chamber, the Old Supreme Court Chamber, the Rotunda, the Statue Room and the House of Representatives Chamber (the Senate was not open for tours). The Statue Room was originally the House and Senate at the time of Washington and Adams. There is a spot on the floor which marks where Adams desk was located. From this spot you can hear what is being said all the way across the room because of the acoustics. There are stories of Adams pretending he was asleep while listening to many interesting conversations. Each state is allowed to have two statues representing them in the Capitol, the most controversial is the one of Jefferson Davis. One of California’s is Father Junipero Serra. When we left we had to exit by a side door since they are preparing the front for the upcoming Inauguration. From the Capital we headed to the Museum of Natural History and spent the rest of the day there. Saw the Hope Diamond but couldn’t convince Mike it would look good on me. There is a new Ocean Exhibit that is really exceptional and we caught a 3-D IMAX move there. When we left this evening we had a few tears in our eyes since we won’t be back in the city. I’m hoping to convince Mike to come back in the Spring – I love this place!!!