Washington D.C.-2002

This was my first time in Washington D.C. I had a great time and saw so much.
D.C. at night.

The Air & Space Museum

Sputnik Replica

Mercury Pod

Gemini Pod

The Spirit of St. Louis flown by Charles Lindburgh

Wright Flyer

Skylab

Skylab Shower

Inside Skylab

Plane flown by Amelia Ehrhart

German Messerschmidt

Apollo 11 Pod used to go to the moon.

Suits worn by Aldren & Armstrong on the moon.

Lunar Lander

I had a chance to go through the National Holocaust Museum. It was well worth it.

The Washington Monument

Pictures that I took of D.C. From the Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial

The Vietnam Wall/Memorial

Korean War Memorial

FDR Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

The White House

The Capitol Building

The Old House of Represenatives Hall in The Capitol

The old Supreme Court in The Capitol

The Supreme Court

The Museum of American History

Archie & Edith Bunker's chairs

Flag for Teddy Rosevelt's Rough Riders

George Washington's Uniform

Drum played at Lincoln's Funeral

Lincoln's hat he wore to Ford's Theater where Booth shot him.

German Enigma Device used on German u-boats during WWII.

Lunch counter from South Carolina Black sit-in.


Arlington National Cemetery

Kennedy's Grave and Eternal Flame

Tomb of the Unknowns & Changing of the Guard

Challenger Shuttle Memorial

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon-Washington's Home

Mount Vernon Boat Dock

Washington's 16 sided barn

The National Cathedral in D.C.

I wanted to see Ford's Theater, but it was closed when I was there.

August 6 My plane left at 1 p.m. so my dad drove me to the airport. I connected in Dallas to another flight and continued onto Baltimore. I landed in Baltimore at 9:30 p.m. where a neighbor's brother picked me up. He drove me from Baltimore to Washington D.C. to my hotel. I said thank you to him and went into the hotel, watched some TV and then went back to bed.

August 7 I got a wake-up call at 7 a.m. and got ready for the day. I walked to the Navy Yard Metro Station and took the Metro to the Smithsonian Station. From there I walked to the Washington Monument to get a ticket so I could go up the monument later. I chose a time of 4:30 p.m. When I was finished getting my ticket, I walked over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Office hoping to get a ticket to go in there too. As I waited in line, I found that the line was not moving. There was one person taking care of tickets. I waited almost one hour and gave up.

I then walked to the Air and Space Museum. I took the 11 a.m. tour of the museum (all the Smithsonian Muesums are free-tours too). It was incredible. As you can see in this album, the museum has everything from Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and The Wright Flyer to the original Sky Lab. I very much enjoyed this museum. After the tour, I looked around some more in the museum and then went into the Food Court ther and had a barbeque chicken sandwich for lunch.

It was not time to walk to the Holocaust Museum, because I had a 2 p.m. appointment there. I went through the permanent exhibit which took an hour and forty-five minutes. We weren't allowed to take picturs inside the exhibit. It was interesting (lots of written information), but not nearly as intense as Auschwitz was. While I was in the gift shop there, a guard made us stay in the shop. I noticed a bomb-sniffing dog in the main lobby. There had been a bomb threat apparently.

From the museum, I went back to the Washington Monument and went up it. The view from the four sides was incredible. I then walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Koren War Memorial. These memorials were all very close together. Then, I continued circling that area by walking to the FDR Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. It was a real thrill for me to see all of these sites, especially the Lincoln Memorial.
By the time I was done at the Jefferson Memorial, my feet were hurting pretty good. I took my map out that I had gotten from the hotel to see if there might be any restaurant advertisements listed on it. I noticed a German Restaurant. That's where I decided to eat. I got a cab and went to the restaurant. I had Bratwurst. It was very good. I then took a cab back to my hotel, swam for 20 minutes, went back to my room, watched some T.V. and then went to bed.

August 7 I got a wake up call at 6:45 a.m., got cleaned up, and had breakfast in the hotel. From there, I took the Navy Yard Metro to the Smithsonian stop. I decided to try the Engraving and Printing Museum again. I got there at 8 a.m. for tickets. The line was just not moving so I gave up and walked to the White House. I took some pictures there and then got a cab to take me to the Dirksen Senate Offices across the street from the Capitol Building.

I had prearranged with Senator Bennett's aide to take a tour of the Capitol. My appointment was for 9:15 a.m. She took us via the Senators' subway system to the Capitol. We saw the Rotunda, the old Senate chamber, the original room where the Supreme Court was held (including where the Dredd Scott decision was handed down), the House chambers from the 19th Century and the Crypt room where George Washington was to buried when he died. Incidently, he is not buried there. He is buried at Mt. Vernon.

I had found out while at the Senate Building that the Supreme Court Building was still open (I had read on the internet that it was closed in August). I walked up to the Supreme Court and was able to go into the actual courtroom and listen to someone describe what happened there. This took about 15 minutes. This was one of the things I most enjoyed in Washington D.C.--to be able to sit in that courtroom where so much history has taken place.

From there, I walked down to the mall and to the Museum of American History. When I got there, I took a tour for an hour, had some lunch--a hamburger and onion rings--in the food court, and the continued walking around the museum. This museum has so much memorabilia that it is overwhelming. I really enjoyed this museum, but it was a bit overwhelming.

After the museum, I took the metro out to the Arlington Cemetery. I decided to take a bus tour around the cemetery, because my feet were hurting from standing so long. The bus stopped at JFK's grave-site, the tomb of the unknown soldier where I watched the changing of the guard and finally at the Robert E. Lee house inside the cemetery. When I was finished at the cemetery, I took the metro back to the mall and looked at my map for a place to eat. By now it was almost 8 p.m.

I decided on an Italian place and took a cab to it. I ate a calzone and then took a cab back to my hotel and went to bed at about 10:45 p.m.

August 9 I got a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call, got cleaned up and had breakfast in the hotel. I then took the metro and bus to Mt. Vernon. By metro and bus, it takes about one hour and fifteen minutes to get there. This was worth it to me, because it only cost me three dollars instead of taking a tour bus which would have cost me about ten to fifteen dollars for the same trip. When I got to Mt. Vernon, I went straight to the tomb and was able to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony for George Washington. The ceremony consists of layign a wreath at his tomb, saying the pledge and reading the prayer that Washington said when he left the office of the presidency. I was the one who read the prayer. It was a big thrill for me to see the tomb where Washington and his wife are interred. From there I walked to the Mansion and toured it.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take pictures inside the mansion. I then took a tour of the grounds and gardens. I was really impressed with Washington's farming understandings. I then took a tour about what it was like to be a slave at Mt. Vernon. This was very interesting. After this, I walked down to the pier and sixteen sided barn where Washington harvested his wheat. When I was done there, I stopped at the gift shop, got some postcards, and then returned to D.C. via the bus and Metro.

I got off the Metro at Dupont Circle and took a cab to the National Cathedral. I made it just in time for the last tour--4:40 p.m. As you can see, both Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller are interred there. I then took the bus back down to Dupont Circle. I stopped there and had some dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Then, via Metro, I went to the National Archives for my dad. I found, with a lot of help, the ship manifest for when my grandmother came to America in 1939. I then went back to the hotel by cab and called dad to find out what else he wanted. I went to bed about 10:30 p.m.

August 10 I got up at 7:30, got cleaned up and had some juice for breakfast. I took the Metro to the Archives stop again. Ford's Theater was just two blocks away. It turned out that the theater was closed for renovation, but I did see the house across the street where Lincoln died. I then went back to the archives and did some research for dad. After a lot of searching and frustration, I found the ship manifest on which my Grandpa George came over in 1929. I subsequently ran out of time and took the Metro back to the hotel to get my bag.

I then took the metro and a bus to Baltimore to the airport. I had some pizza there and then flew out at 3:45 p.m. I connected in Chicago and arrived home at about 9:30 p.m.

This was one of the best trips I have ever done. I saw so much and experienced so much. I will never forget it.