NYC/DC Adventure Day 9

Saturday was our last day in Washington DC so we had to make the most of it!
We hitched a ride in to DC with David as he was on his way to the boat show in Annapolis that day, so we were solo in our nations capitol. We had tickets to the White House and had to be there at a certain time so we rushed across the street only to find out there was a no bags, no cameras, no nothing policy! The rangers told us we had up to an hour and a half to report for our tour and the Natural history Museum was the closest place we could store our bags, so we were off! As we were leaving, they started shutting down streets and gates, and we heard a cop say it would probably only be like that for 20 minutes or so...obviously Bush was on the move. We hiked down, stored our stuff and hiked back only to find everything was still shut down. Ok, so we stood there for a while, watched a few high profile cars go in (I swear I saw the Secretary of the Treasury, still nothing. We decided to finally take a load off on a bench and over an hour later we were let back in. We get checked off the list, go through security and finally get into the White House. We were kind of wandering around and following the crowd when josh finally asked if we should be waiting for a tour guide, but oh no this was a self guided tour...of 4 rooms! We were in and out in 10 minutes! It was so lame! And I have no pictures! Moral of the story: don't tour the White House!

On to more exciting things of the day, we decided to walk back over to the International Spy Museum, and on our way we ran into Navy Day! It was the Navy's birthday and they had some fun stuff going on at the Navy Memorial so we decided to stop and check it out. It was awesome! They had a bunch of vehicles there, and we were able to chat with some of the Corpsmen and hear about all the cool gear they use in the field. I even got to try on about 30% of what they wear in the warzone. Not as heavy as I thought it was going to be, but it was only 30%! We also got there just in time to see the Drill Team perform and they were amazing! I don't know how people do that stuff. We grabbed some pizza for lunch then checked out the Navy robots there and got to talk to some SEALS who were showing off their diving gear and crazy guns, which Josh loved.


After Navy Day, we finally made it to the Spy Museum, and it was crowded! We waited at least a half hour to get in but it was pretty neat once we finally got there. The place was seriously huge and seemed to go on forever with actual spy equipment, spy stories, artifacts, lots of interactive stuff and went through all the way to modern day events. We highly recommend it!
When we were finished learning how to be spies, we went over to see some final monuments. We walked past the Washington Monument, the odd monument that it is, then along the reflecting pool visiting with more DC squirrels on our way to see the Vietnam Memorial. Maybe its the letters left by friends and family, maybe its the veterans still hanging out telling stories, but this memorial is probably the most moving in DC next to Arlington. We spent quite a bit of time here reading all the letters from random school kids and stories that were left by loved ones.
As the sun was setting we went to visit Mr. Lincoln, and sat on the steps with about a hundred other people enjoying the beautiful weather and reflecting on our last day of vacation. We met back up with David and saw one last monument before leaving DC: Albert Einstein.

Sunday came with not a lot of time to do much so before heading to the airport, so we slept in and enjoyed some local breakfast before driving out to BWI. On our way we stopped at the NSA to see if the museum was open, which it was not. We were followed by the men in black and monitored as we looked around the plane display. When they figured we weren't a threat or spies (if only they knew!) they decided to leave and we were on our way back to Phoenix.

NYC/DC Adventure Day 8

Friday came with another full day in DC and lots to see!
Our day began back in DC at Representative Harry Mitchell's office in the Rayburn building, where we had to meet up for our tour of the Capitol. We were the first to arrive so we were able to look around his very spacious office and get to know him a little better by what he had there...including some interesting reading material. Unfortunately the Congressman was back in Arizona on the campaign trail so we didn't get to see him, but his office staff were very cool and friendly. Josh even got to see what it was like to be a Congressman for a day!

Off we went on our tour, which was lead by an intern. Luckily we had a pretty small group without a ton of small children, which we later found out the intern was very grateful for! He was able to tell us a lot of fun facts and knew all the history so the tour ended up being really great. We saw some interesting things like the giant ornate doors ordered for the building but were the wrong size so they were randomly stuck into a wall in the capitol, the rotunda, the original Supreme Court Chamber and the House Chamber in which you have to go through a massive amount of security just to see. We also got to experience the 'whisper' spots that I had been telling Josh about.


After the tour, we walked over to the Library of Congress which neither of us had been in before. It was a very beautiful building and I can only imagine how awesome it would be to go and do homework there everyday, and summon someone to go find the book you need. They even have internets!

Next it was over to the Supreme Court building where we were hoping to catch a debate since the court was actually in session. We were there too late though, as the actual hearings only happen in the mornings! There was this very strange character walking around though, obviously foreign and taking strange pictures and video so I decided to snap a picture of him...you know, just in case.

After the Supreme Court, David decided to take us on a little walking tour of some smaller monuments, but because they were setting up the capitol for Inauguration Day (already!)some were under construction and some we didn't get to see at all. We settled for the Grant Monument and as the day was drawing to a close decided to take the metro up to Arlington National Cemetery.

I agree with David when he says this should be the monuments to all the wars. He also mentioned how on Sundays you could come down and see funeral after funeral of the current Gulf War dead. I think its really too bad that this is not an image shown on television every day, but I digress. We headed up to the Kennedy's graves, which have also changed a lot since I was there last. I guess the Kennedy's own that entire part of the cemetery now, and there are nice water features and stone.



Then we went to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (which is falling apart) and how lucky were we to get there just in time for the changing of the guard. Very, very cool ceremony.

After it was over the Sargent let us know that it was 5:00 and Arlington was now closed and a base of the US Army so we had to leave. We hopped on the metro and headed back to Virginia.

NYC/DC Adventure Day 7

Thursday ended up being somewhat unplanned and impromptu, but we had a great time anyway!
We began the day with the tour of the archives which included the Magna Carta, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and other various written artifacts. On our way we passed by the first FDR Monument outside the archives, which by what David said was exactly what he wanted: "something no bigger than my desk". I guess that wasn't good enough for the rest of us!
Next it was off to the American History Museum, but when we got there it was still closed for remodeling! They apparently have been pushing the date for the re-opening back for a while, so we wandered next door to the Natural History Museum. This was a pretty interesting place but I think a better museum for kids than adults. They did have an awesome fish display, and I managed to find two living fossils!


Our next stop for the day was the old Post Office for some lunch and a quick tour of the bell tower. I cannot believe it but we had some really great 'fast food' sushi and Japanese food at the food court! The view from the bell tower was pretty good and a great free way to see DC from above.
Our final stop of the day was over to the International Spy Museum, but we got there just a little too late and they had already sold the last tickets for the day. The shop was still open though so we spent a good hour wandering through it and looking at all the neat things they had for sale. We even found a spy!

NYC/DC Adventure Day 6

After a slow start to the morning, we decided that we wanted to see guns...lots of guns.

So off we ventured to Fairfax, Va to visit none other than the NRA Headquarters. I must say I never thought I would step foot in the NRA building, especially on a vacation, but I'm glad we did! Although I'm not sure they would have let us in if they knew we were vegetarian!
It was guns, guns, and more guns! And...lightsabers? Yes there was an original prop Luke lightsaber on display. I had no idea this qualified you for membership into the NRA. The museum we went through was actually really cool and a fantastic history on weapons and America. They had everything from a matchlock rifle that came over on the Mayflower, to Revolutionary War through Gulf War, old west, hunting, and police weapons. They even had a huge display of an actual working Coney Island target 'arcade'. I can't believe I'm saying this but if you are ever in Fairfax, go see the NRA museum!
After spending several quality hours with guns, we headed into DC to get in some monuments. Our first stop was the newer FDR monument, which has expanded even more since I was there last. They finally decided to add a statue of him in a *gasp* a wheelchair, along with lots of water features and a statue of his lovely Elanor. But we didn't care about any of that, we just wanted our picture with Fala!!

Our next stop was a quick one at the George Mason monument. For those of you who don't know, Mason refused to sign the United States Constitution, because it did not abolish the slave trade. Here, he and David ponder the meaning of life...or maybe whats for dinner.
Next it was off to the Jefferson Memorial, which is sinking, so its a good thing we fit it in. They have re-routed part of the sidewalk and edge of the monument because of its sinking into the tidal basin, so I'm curious to see what will happen to it! It's a beautiful monument.
We continued on around the tidal basin to the World War Two monument. I cannot put into words how spectacular this monument was! It was beautiful, and every aspect of it was well thought out, and its HUGE! Here you see Josh taking pride in his home state of Montana, where the only 'no' vote was cast for the US to enter WW2.
Unfortunately it was getting dark, and we ran out of sight-seeing time, so it was off to dinner and back to Alexandria to spend another evening poring over David's extensive book collection.