Washington D.C. - Hot! Hot! Hot!

It's been a year since we've blogged.  Way too long.  But, Summer has rolled around and it's time for vacation.  This year, we're off to Washington D.C.  A week in the Nation's Capitol that just so happens to coincide with one of the hottest weeks in over 25 years.  At least a lot of the things to see are indoors.  

Anyway, our trip began with a flight from KCI to Dallas - Fort Worth.  

Libby, as always, is excited about going on vacation!

Yes, this is the view out the window, and yes, that is one of the engines.

Sara can get pretty excited too about going on vacation!

After landing at DFW, we had some time to kill so it was off for a quick bite to eat (Texas BBQ is OK, but not great) and take in the airport sites via the tram that runs between terminals.  Anything to kill time.

Lori and Libby on the tram.

Sara and I on the tram.  No idea what either one of us are looking at!

We landed at Washington National-Reagan Airport on time.  Thankfully, our bags arrived too.  We hopped on the shuttle to our hotel for the week (The Radisson in Crystal City) which was only about a mile from the airport.  The hotel was 8 stories (we were on the top floor) and had an outdoor pool on the roof of the 4th Floor.  The pool would become a welcome respite to the heat every day of our trip.

Sara enjoying the relative relief of the pool.

Libby coming up for air.

Thursday - The Capitol and the Mall

 

Woke up pretty early on Thursday morning.  This was the one day that we actually had something planned.  We had tickets for the tour of the Capitol at 11:40.  We did not rent a car for the trip (it would have cost us $20 / day just to self park at the hotel).  Thankfully, the hotel was only a block and a half from a Metro station.  For a total of less than $130 for all four of us, we had unlimited use of the Metro for the entire week.  A great deal, plus the girls like riding trains.

We took the Yellow line to L'Enfant Plaza.  There were closer Metro Stations to the Capitol, but we wanted the girls to have their first view of the City be from the National Mall.  Walking out onto The Mall near the National Air and Space Museum at 9:45 in the morning, it was already in the low 90's and humid.   

Hey - I've seen this before!  A scale model of the solar system resides on the National Mall (this is Uranus).  The same group put one of these here in Kansas City.  I did the layout and site design work for them.

The National Mall looking west towards the Washington Monument.

The National Mall looking east towards The Capitol.

The National Air and Space Museum

The Girls in front of The Capitol.

Walking around the Capitol, there are a lot of interesting architectural features if you know what you're looking for,  This was a light fixture at the old boundary wall at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds. 

Yes, the lights still work!

Looking at the Capitol from the southwest.

Getting even closer.  This was about as close as you can get physically to the building.  You can see the security fence at the base of the stairs.

The view of the Capitol from the southeast.  No fencing here, but plenty of security.  The sign on the rope line says "Members Only".  Those "Members" are folks in the House of Representatives.

It was so blasted hot outside that we decided to try and get in on an earlier tour of the Capitol.  The new Capitol Visitor's Center is under the plaza just to the east of the Capitol steps.  It only cost a bit over $600 million.  There are several display areas, two theaters, gift shops, bathrooms, meeting areas, etc.  Best of all - air conditioning! 

The main arrival area inside the Capitol Visitor's Center.

We were able to get in on an earlier tour.  Along with a couple of hundred others, we were ushered into one of the theaters to see a 10 or 15 minute movie that was kind of a "Welcome to the U.S." along with a history of the Capitol.  We then broke up into smaller groups of around 35 where a tour guide took us to a couple of different areas within the Capitol.  We did not get to go to the House or Senate Chambers.  Those require tickets directly from your congressman or senator.  They were all taken by the time we decided to vacation in D.C.

The ceiling of the rotunda inside the Capitol.

The floor area of the rotunda.

Looking up into the dome of the rotunda.

After touring the Capitol, we walked through a tunnel which traverses about a block to the east across 1st Street SE to the Library of Congress.  Very cool building on the inside with a lot of interactive kiosks and displays for the girls.  We were able to get a view from the gallery of the main reading room, but unfortunately, pictures there were not allowed.

The main entry hall in the Library of Congress.

Sara enjoying one of the interactive displays.

The exterior of the west side of the Library of Congress.

After the Library of Congress, we walked a block north to the Supreme Court.  The building is much bigger than what you see from the TV shots of the main entrance.  Lots and lots of marble.  We were able to peak into the court chamber, which is actually pretty simple and sparse, but again, were not allowed to take pictures.

The west face of the Supreme Court building.

There are two self-supporting multi-story circular stairwells inside the Supreme Court building.  This is looking up one of them.

After the Supreme Court, we were starting to get pretty hungry.  We walked a couple of blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue to Good Stuff Eatery which is a burger joint owned and operated by Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef.  Really good (and inexpensive) burgers and fries (they had a fry dipping bar).  Plus, they accidentally gave us a couple of extra beers. 

In front of Good Stuff Eatery and Spike's other place - We, The Pizza.

After lunch, we hiked a couple of blocks to the nearest Metro station to continue the sight seeing for the day.

A typical neighborhood a couple of blocks southeast of the Capitol.

The girls waiting for the next train at the Capitol South Metro Station.  We took the Blue line two stations west, then switched to the Yellow line to go one station north.  It was better than walking!

Next we were off to the National Archives which is of course home to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Again, no photography allowed, although I completely understand why.  The Declaration is extremely faded.  It's hard to even make out John Hancock's signature.  The Constitution and Bill of Rights are in much better shape.

The National Archives from the southeast.

After the National Archives, it was off to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum which is caddy-corner to the southwest from the Archives.  Lots of stuff to do and see here.  Plus, more air conditioning. 

The girls in front of a Moai from Easter Island.

The rotunda inside the Natural History Museum.

We were in the mammals area of the museum and turned a corner when Sara stopped in her tracks.  There was a good sized exhibit on monotremes (like echidnas and the platypus) and Sara is obsessed with anything platypus. Sara now had her favorite museum.

Sara and her big grin in front of the Monotreme display.

Probably the most famous item on display at the Natural History Museum is the Hope Diamond.

Sara found another platypus in the Museum - this time in the "Bones" area.

After seeing most of the Natural History Museum, we decided that we had enough.  We were worn out from the heat and being touristy.  So, back to the Metro, and back to the hotel.

 Friday - Another Day at the Smithsonian

Today we decided to hopefully do a little less walking outside.  There were still more museums to go to on the Mall, so off we went.  Today's first stop was over at the National Air and Space Museum.  By the way, I haven't mentioned it yet, but just about every attraction (Capitol, Smithsonian's, etc.), is free.  In fact, we only paid to get in one place.  We'll be there in a couple of days.

The National Air and Space Museum - and Libby's head.

Walking in to the Air & Space Museum and looking around the main entry hall is literally looking at the most historical machines in aviation history.  The only exception is the Wright Flyer, which is currently in a special exhibit on the 2nd Floor.  In the Main Hall you can see The Spirit of St. Louis, The Bell X-1 (first plane to break the sound barrier), the X-15 (fastest aircraft in history), Friendship 7 (John Glenn's capsule), Columbia (the Apollo 11 command module), and many others. 

John Glenn's Friendship 7.

The Spirit of St. Louis

The Museum has galleries covering the different eras of flight.  This is a ME-262 jet fighter from World War II.

Lori likes to take pictures with inanimate human figures.  I'm surprised then that she doesn't take more pictures with me.

A view from the second floor looking across the museum and out the windows.  The National Archives is the building in the background.

As I mentioned earlier, the Wright Flyer is in a special exhibit up on the second floor.  It's great because you can walk around it now and see it up close from all angles.  This is the original aircraft from 1903.  The fabric covering has been replaced twice in the past.

The Wright Flyer from ahead and just to the left.

The Wright Flyer from behind and to the right.

Before building airplanes, the Wright Brothers built bikes.  Here's one of only five Wright Brother's bicycles still in existence.  It's pretty remarkable how little the basic bicycle has changed in 115 years.  I guess we don't ride on wooded wheels anymore.

The girls just had to get in the picture.

Taking a break.

Yup, that's the Spirit of St. Louis.

I think we spent between three and four hours inside Air and Space.  Our next stop was over at the Smithsonian's American History Museum.  This was about a half mile walk through the heat.

The front door of the American History Museum.  Sara must be trailing behind.

Inside the Museum, there are a lot of cool things from the past 235+ years of American history.  One of the problems though is that the Smithsonian has so much stuff with so little space to show it in.

Libby with her best George Washington pose.

Lori and Sara trying to wring out the laundry.

Some of the fun stuff - Dorothy's ruby red slippers - part of the special exhibit on 1939.

On the left: Eddie Van Halen's guitar.  On the right: the most famous swimsuit of all time.

Visitors to the Museum unfurl a reproduction of the War of 1812 era flag in the atrium.  In the room behind the wall in the background is the original flag that flew over Ft. McHenry which inspired the writing of "The Star Spangled Banner."

After a couple of hours in the American History Museum, it was time for dinner.  After another ride on the Metro, to a station that let out into a Macy's Department Store, we ended up at the Capitol Brewing Company.  No trip would be complete without a trip to a brew pub.  Dinner was fine, and the beers were good. 

Lori and Sara enjoy a couple of pre-meal beverages.

One of the neat things in the D.C. area is a program called Capitol Bikeshare.  It's basically a program where you can rent bikes, mostly for running short errands, but can also be used for commuting or just being a tourist.  The program costs $5 a day or $75 per year to join.  The first 30 minutes of a trip are free, with an incremental cost for a longer trip.  There are 120+ stations like this in Arlington and in D.C.  You can grab a bike at any station and drop it off at any other one.  The bikes have hand brakes, three speeds, have an adjustable seat and have a rack on the front. 

The Capitol Bikeshare station near the Crystal City Metro stop.

I've mentioned a few times that it was hot.  Hot as in the low temperature never dropping below 85.  Hot as in temperatures in the low 100's.  To top things off, the heat index today was a robust 121.  When we got back to the hotel, the pool temperature was 91!

Saturday - The Art Tour

Today was a little more low key.  Back on the Metro and off to The Mall again.  Today, we were going to go to a couple of the Art Museums.  The closest stop to the Art Museums was the National Archives stop on the Yellow line.

The National Archives from the southwest.

Along the way, we passed through the Sculpture garden for the National Gallery of Art.  It's a park like setting with various sculptures, mostly modern art and a pool that doubles as a skating rink in the winter.

One of the gates into the Sculpture Garden.

Time to call the exterminator.

After the Sculpture Garden we went to the West Building of the National Gallery of Art (it's not a Smithsonian).  Lots of portraits and landscapes.  Honestly, it wasn't the most interesting Art Museum that I've been to.  I think the Art Institute in Chicago and the Nelson in Kansas City are much cooler.

The back entrance to the West Building of the National Gallery of Art.

An atrium inside the National Gallery of Art.

One of the hallways between galleries.

After putting up with as much as we could inside the west building, we walked through a below grade corridor with moving walkways and sparkly lights to the East Building of the National Gallery of Art which houses their modern art collection.

The girls in front of a window behind which is a waterfall - pretty cool effect.

Modern Art museums can have some pretty strange stuff as part of their collections.  Some stuff you wonder why it's considered "art", while other stuff is pure genius.  Some stuff just makes you say "Wow!"

This is a rather large painting (roughly 7 feet by 8-1/2 feet) called Fanny / Fingerpainting

Looking up close though, you can see that the painting is made up entirely of the artist's fingerprints with various amounts of paint and pressure.

A view inside the National Gallery of Art - East Building.

After lunch, we walked over to the original building that housed the Smithsonian Museum.  Today, it's just called The Castle.

The entrance of the Smithsonian "Castle" and the sculpture of Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Seeing that we were on the west end of the museums on the Mall, we were not that far away from the White House.  So we decided to hoof it over there.

The Washington Monument.

The south lawn of the White House.

A closer view of the White House and South Lawn.

Some "Free Syria" protesters after taking some photos with the White House in the background.

Sunday - Red Bikes and Spy vs. Spy

Remember those Capitol Bikeshare stations and bikes?  Well there was no way that I was going to go the whole vacation without renting one of those.  Today was the day.  I let the girls sleep in, but I was up and at the Crystal City Metro Bikeshare Station before 8:00 AM.  With a swipe of my credit card, I was a member for the day.  Another swipe gave me a code to enter on a key pad which released one of the bikes.  Time to ride!

The station at Bell and 18th Street.

My ride for the 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Already have the seat raised.

There is a paved trail that runs up the west side of the Potomac called the Mount Vernon Trail.  Lots of cyclists and runners on a Sunday morning. 

The Mount Vernon Trail with the Potomac to the right.

The Potomac with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

The trail runs along the west side of the Potomac from Mt. Vernon (south of Alexandria) to the north side of Alexandria.  The trail also connects with Washington D.C.'s extensive network of on-street bike lanes and dedicated bike paths, one of which runs 15 miles or so outside of the city to the northwest (through Rock Creek Park).  I wanted to keep it simple, so I just decided to ride to see the sights around the National Mall.

On the Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac.  The Lincoln Memorial is in the background.  If I turned around, I would be looking at Arlington National Cemetery in the distance.

After crossing the Potomac, I stopped to take a look at the Lincoln Memorial.

Rode east along the remnants of the Reflecting Pool to the World War II Memorial.  It's roughly halfway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Another view of the World War II Memorial.

I continued east across the Mall, past the Washington Monument, and onto a dedicated bike lane on 15th Street.  I rode north on 15th Street, past the U.S. Treasury and Old Ebbitt Grill before taking a left onto Pennsylvania Avenue (which is now pedestrian only between 15th and 17th) to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

A surprisingly small crowd in front of the White House, even on a Sunday morning.

Not the best picture of me, but proof of the ride.  And yes, I am sweating like a pig.

After the White House, it was back south on 15th, through The Mall and onto the path around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, which is probably the most inaccessible of all the major monuments.  Plus, it was undergoing some rehab which made access even worse.

The Jefferson Memorial and some construction fencing.

Next, it was back to the Mall where I rode east past the Smithsonian complex to the Capitol.

The east face of the Capitol.

The Statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol dome

The Supreme Court building - located across the street from the Capitol.

The northwest side of the Capitol.

I had the bike rented out for over an hour, so I thought that I should find a station to return the bike.  Luckily, there was an Android app for that.  I quickly found the nearest station was at 10th and Constitution between the IRS and the Department of Justice. I returned the bike and made my way on foot to the Federal Triangle Metro station which was only a block away.

The bike - no worse for wear.

Back at the hotel, it was shower time.  The girls ran out for a quick breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and I met them a bit later at the Metro Station.  Back into the City where our main fun for the day was our visit to the International Spy Museum, a privately run place that was obviously about the history of spy craft.  This was the one place where we had to pay admission.  Unfortunately, there were was a no photography policy here, so there are no cool pictures to show.  We did spend a few hours inside and the girls enjoyed it.

The International Spy Museum.

After the Spy Museum it was a quick snack at Gordon Biersch.  Libby demonstrates her ability to drink root beer and strawberry lemonade at the same time.  Sara, looks stunned at Libby's abilities.

The Girls' thought it would be fun to get a better look at the White House so we made our way over there to get the "postcard" shot.

Libby and Sara in front of the White House.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Arlington National Cemetery.

The front gates at Arlington National Cemetery.

Row upon row of fallen heroes.

The Tomb of the Unknowns.

The Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

World Heavyweight Champion and US Army veteran Joe Lewis is buried at Arlington, just down the hill from the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The Kennedy grave site.

The view of Washington D.C. from the Kennedy grave site.

We made it back to the hotel for another round of swimming.  We had dinner for the second night in a row at a pizza place in Arlington called Cafe Pizzaiolo.  Tonight is was pasta and a pitcher of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA for the grown-ups.

 

Monday - The National Zoo and Honest Abe

Today was our last full day of vacation.  The forecast said that it would be the coolest day of the week with the chance of some rain.  We would be spending most of the day outdoors at the Zoo.  

The Zoo is about a half mile walk or so from the nearest Metro.  The escalator out of the Metro to Street level has to be the longest escalator we've ever seen.  It took 2 minutes and 15 seconds for the ride to the top.  I'm glad that it was in working order!

The main entrance to the Zoo.  No gates, no fee to get in.  It was just like walking into a park.

Yes, we got to see one of the pandas.  This guy (or gal) stayed in this exact same position the entire time we watched.  Pretty exciting!

There is a large elephant area at the zoo.  They get to wander around a pretty huge area.  The whole area is probably 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile long.

Why, I don't know, but Sara wanted a picture with the anteater.

The oldest residents of the zoo - the tortoises.

Later in the day we were witness to a daring, albeit slow escape attempt by one of the tortoises.  This one somehow made it over or through the vertical stakes you can see to the left and attempted to climb over the perimeter rocks to freedom.

So close to escaping the big house, but there were wranglers there to lift the big guy back to where he was being kept.

Look!  It's a playground for goats (brought to you by State Farm Insurance)!

It wouldn't be a zoo without tigers, right?

All in all, the National Zoo was just OK.  I guess I kind of expected some more exotic creatures.  No giraffes, no bison, no koalas.  It was really pretty basic.  Honestly, the Omaha Zoo is much better.

There were still a couple of hours of light left, so we asked the girls if there was anything else that they wanted to see while we were in D.C.  Libby said that she wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial.  So, back on the Metro Red Line, a quick switch to the Blue Line at the Metro Center Station, and over to the Foggy Bottom Station.  From there, it was about a 3/4 mile walk down 23rd Street, through the campus of George Washington University, to the Lincoln Memorial.

On the way to the Lincoln Memorial, you pass the US State Department.

Finally, the Lincoln Memorial came into view.  It's a pretty impressive structure.  Just like everything else in D.C., lots of marble.

The northeast corner of the Lincoln Memorial.

Libby and Sara in front of Abe.

Looking east from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  That should be the Reflecting Pool in the foreground.  There is obviously a major construction project underway to put in a completely new structure.

Just to the northeast of the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  As usual, there was a pretty large group gathered to pay their respects.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial from a distance.

The north wall of the Memorial.

That was about it for sightseeing.  Time to get back to the hotel and pack up.  The walk back to the Metro was pretty much uphill all the way.  We did stop for some refreshments for later in the evening.  I found a 4-pack of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.  That beer is now crossed off the bucket list.

Tuesday - The Trip Home

The trip home was pretty uneventful.  We flew back to Kansas City through O'Hare in Chicago.  The planes were on time and we didn't have any problems finding the car in the parking lot at the airport.  

Other than putting up with the heat, we had a great time.  The Girls got a history lesson and saw some pretty cool stuff all at the same time.  Although we were there for six days, we still didn't see or do everything.  Lori didn't get to see the Hirshhorn Museum, Libby and Sara would have loved to have gone to the Newseum and to the top of the Washington Monument, and I would have wanted to spend an evening at the ballpark to see the Nationals (they were on a road trip).  There is always next time.

This is usually the first picture of vacation, not the last.  The shuttle bus was waiting when we originally parked our car, so we didn't have the chance to take the photo to remember where we parked.  We remembered anyway.