Today started off at the world's most famous address - 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Yes, the White House! Home to every U.S. President since John Adams (the 2nd U.S. President), there are no party lines when you stand on Pennsylvania Avenue and look north, passed the water fountain, at the front entrance to America's House. It was quite surreal to imagine the likes of FDR, Kennedy, or Reagan walking about the grounds as we peered through that black wrought iron fence. Indeed, it wasn't without a little more cultural exposure to protesters,whom we just had to go read their anti-war, anti-hate, anti-this, anti-that advertisements. What a great experience all the way around!
The rest of the day was spent on the Mall at two of the most popular museums:
The National Museum of American History, quite honestly, started out to feel like a waste of time. I couldn't stop thinking about what better things we could be doing in Washington D.C., than reading about the evolution of cargo ships and choo-choo trains. After lunch, however, we discovered a couple of the most extraordinary exhibits in the museum. The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden displayed items such as Abraham Lincoln's top hat, Thomas Jefferson's desk, and Ronald Reagan's jellybean jar. The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, a military museum in itself, had a piece of the World Trade Center, Colin Powell's uniform, and a phenomenal Medal of Honor display. Additionally, we walked through The Star Spangled Banner exhibit, which displayed the original flag from 1814 that Francis Scott Key saw when he wrote our national anthem. Those three exhibits alone made this museum one of my highlights.
The National Museum of Natural History turned out to be one of the favorites for each of the kids; they LOVED this museum! Hundreds of dead animals mounted in life-like positions was quite fascinating. But the mammoth in the lobby, the T-Rex, the 2,000 year old mummy, and the Hope Diamond were a highlight for all of us.
As one could imagine, you could spend an entire week in each of the Smithsonian Museums. Our day was pretty complete with these two and the White House. So we went back to our room a bit earlier than normal, ordered out for pizza, and went swimming. Nice!
Semper Fi!
I wasn't all that enthused by the Museum of Nat History, but I LOVED those exact exhibits you mentioned at the Museum of Amer History!!! I'll never forget the Star Spangled Banner.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU so much for sharing!
You're right about the Smithsonian. I'm sure one could spend weeks there. Have a peaceful, fullfilled flight home. DETAILS (in three words)!
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