Towards the end of the summer, I had the fantastic opportunity of visiting Washington DC with my family. Other than waiting inside Dulles Airport, I've never had the opportunity of visiting the East Coast and I must admit that it was quite an experience.
I flew into Baltimore on a Red Eye flight and found myself waiting around the airport for 4 hours waiting for the first public transit opportunity to Washington proper. Apart from the initial annoyance, Baltimore's Thurgood Marshall Airport treated me quite well. There is a really nice overlook lounge complete with rocking chairs and long padded benches; what a perfect place to take a nap. After taking the bus and then subway to the city center, I rendezvoused with my family. The next few days were spent exploring the DC area visiting the usual sights. Luckily for us, we hit the perfect touristing window as the summer rush had largely subsided but the school groups had yet to appear. This meant virtually no lines at any of the places we visited.
My mom was involved in conferences during the day, so my brother, father and I explored the city. We visited the usual sights (whose cliche photos can be found in their entirety by clicking here) As we were walking we also had the opportunity to see some sights that are not so often seen. My favorite of these was the FDR Memorial on the Tidal Pool between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials.
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| From Washington DC and Baltimore |
It was beautifully appropriate and served as a great reminder of one of our most influential presidents.
Dad loved the Botanical Gardens on the mall and took great pleasure in identifying the various trees surrounding the Capital and White House
Daniel had a lot of fun in the Air and Space Museum and the Library of Congress, but also had a very memorable conversation with a forward squirrel on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
As a family, we made the trek to Arlington Cemetery. It was a quite a solemn occasion and was especially impactful due to the grave of John F. Kennedy next to the freshly interred Ted Kennedy.
After this, the rest of the family went back home to Omak.I, however, stayed in the area for another 3 days as I had an acquaintance in Baltimore who put me up for the nights. (Thank you Xylena for you great hospitality!!)
With the family gone, I made a mission of seeing some of the sights that they had passed on. I started my morning with a trip to Ford Theater where I had the apparently rare opportunity of viewing straight into the booth where Lincoln was assaulted (supposedly the door is normally kept closed). The theater has been beautifully preserved and retained by the Park Service and has returned into operation as a fully functional playhouse.
Along my way to the US History I stopped by the Old National Post Office Building. This building had a view that was much better than that of the Memorial and also had an interesting history. After being built, it became quickly obsolete and was under the sword for many years as its architecture was not in vogue at the time. Luckily a group of concerned citizens blocked demolition efforts and instead helped pave the way for its rehabilitation. The trip to the old tower is operated by the Park Service, most of the floors have been converted into private offices and the lower floors have become a small food court and mall.
The US History Museum was full of interesting oddities and facts but I was most impressed by C3P0 and Stephen Colbert :P
After that, I stopped by the Smithsonian Castle, and the DNC National Headquarters before rendezvousing with my friend Alex Lark who was interning in the office of Washington Senator Patty Murray I also stopped by the Congressional Officebuildings to flip off Michelle Bachmann (her door at least).
After such a long day, I took the train to Baltimore where I met up with my friend.
She graciously allowed me to drive her awesome little Subaru to get around town. (I am quite thankful for this as Baltimore doesn't feel nearly as safe as Seattle). I started off by visiting Fort McHenry which was gearing up for the Bi-centennial of the War of 1812. While there, I got to help raise the full size replica of the flag that would have been waving during the Forts Bombardment.
Next I took a quick drive down the freeway down to Annapolis: Maryland State Capital and home of the US Naval Academy.I had a quick lunch of Oysters on the Half-Shell (a Chesapeake specialty) and explored. I was really surprised at how small this town really is. It felt to me quite like Winthrop of Leavenworth. It's a city held captive by the tourism it draws by its identity.
Despite this, Annapolis seemed friendly enough and the Academy tour was quite thorough and entertaining.The next day I spent driving around Baltimore. I started by visiting the grave of Edgar Allen Poe. This cemetery is probably the coolest I've seen in the US. It is full of interesting graves accompanied by interesting stories.
From there, I saw that the House of Poe wasn't too much further away. I naively decided to walk the 8 blocks and found myself going through a failed African-American housing project. I felt quite foreign walking past the unemployed sitting on the steps of boarded up and bombed out buildings. Poe's house was right in the middle of all this, with the folk all around seemingly oblivious to the historicity of the neighboring house. How appropriate.
My next stop was near Camden Yards where I saw the Birthhouse of Babe Ruth. Just up the street was Baltimore's oldest Cemetery, nestled right in the middle of the University of Maryland medical campus. This cemetery was locked up, but held the graves of the Armistead's and of Francis Scott Key. Determined not to let a high wall or fence stop me, I followed my MO and scrambled over.
From there I went into northern Baltimore where I stopped by a museum, saw the US's first statue of George Washington, ducked into the Peabody Library, and hopped on a plane back to Seattle.
Overall a great trip. Enjoy the photos (commentary is coming soon)
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