Piccola's Projects: Washington DC

Well... Last night, I arrived at my sister Lisa's place in Maryland. I have never been to Maryland before!! :) It was sooooo great to see Lisa as I rarely have an opportunity to see family. We didn't do a lot the night I came into town, because I was exhausted and it was late, so we met up at Big Bats (bar and grill) to eat dinner and watch WI lose by one point in their basketball game. Grrrrr. :(

Washington DC was the next morning. Last week I had contacted my Congressman to try and secure a private congressional tour, but there wasn't enough notice and it's staring the "busy season". Apparently, you need about 6 months notice for a tour of the White House and about 2-3 weeks minimum notice for a tour through your Congressman. Oh well.

Before heading out, Lisa and I cooked breakfast. I made cheese omelets (WI style) and Lisa made chocolate chip pancakes from scratch. Yummy!! :)

I had been in Washington DC several years ago and walked around the entire mall, went to one of the Smithsonian museums (Air and Space), went to the White House, saw all the memorials, and went to the Library of Congress. I didn't want to duplicate my efforts this time around (and it WAS a lot of walking last time), so instead, I found plenty of things to do that were new to me. :)

A friend recommended taking the Metro, so I tried that out. Loved it!!!!! It's fast and convenient, but when you go back and forth, it does get a little pricey (I didn't realize they had day passes until I was on my way back to MD).

I should also point out that the DC Metro is quite different than the European rail system, which is what I'm used to. :) In Europe, you buy a ticket and get on the train. Occasionally they check your ticket during the trip, where you either have to show your ticket or you get kicked off. Here, you have to use what looks like a fancy vending machine to buy a ticket. I put $20 in and wanted to only use $10. They took all $20... Then, you have to insert the ticket (I learned there is only "one" way to insert the ticket) and the gate to the left of you opens up so you can walk through. I am a leftie and stand by the right side. I also learned that you cannot insert a ticket if there is a red "X" by the gate. People got annoyed at the "tourist" (who was also a blonde). :( After embarrassing myself the first time, it became quite natural thereafter!! :)

I wanted to go to the FBI, but that was "closed". The website said that the place to procure tickets to the US Congress was open at 7:15 AM, so I went there first (at 7:30). They lied... It opened at 8:30. Therefore, I went to stand in the long line for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. After 15 minutes of waiting in line, I got tickets for the 9:15 tour. More than enough time (so I thought) to hop back on the Metro and get tickets for a tour of the US Congress before they sold out and go back in time for the tour to the Mint. I waited at the now very long line for the US Congress, and learned (once I was in the front) that they only give tickets for tours at that time. Therefore, I had a decision to make. I could either get back on the Metro and run back to try and make the 9:15 tour of the Mint (which would be cutting it very close) or I could sacrifice that ticket (knowing the Mint typically sells out by 9 AM) and stay for the US Congress tour. I chose option B. :)

This was a Friday and there were a lot of school kids (8th graders), which I tried not to let bother me, but anyone who has ever been shopping with me knows that I don't do well in crowds or waiting in line... Thankfully, I survived. LOL I should also mention that there were video cameras EVERYWHERE and more police than probably all other states combined!!

The tour started with a 15 minute video (that should be required for everyone) explaining simply the difference between the Congress, House of Representatives, and Senate. We then went to 3 rooms - all of which were domed and had statues in them: the Crypt, Rotunda (which is directly beneath the Crypt), and Hall of Statues. I would have liked to see more than statues, but that's what I get for not booking a private tour earlier... The only other thing I didn't particularly care for was having to stand in one small area (with about 5 other groups in the same room - tour guides all talking at the same time) rather than be able to walk around the room. It made it quite challenging to see the statues/pictures and take pictures without getting other people in the shots.

The main dome was incredibly high and intricately decorated. The top of the dome was an artsy depiction of early government. (George Washington is next to the ladies in blue and green).

Along the wall of the dome is a 360 view of different stories from the past.

Below that are oil paintings with a few popular scenes from history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which is also on the back of the $2 bill) and Pocahontas.

There were marble and bronze statues in the lobby of the Visitor Center and in each of the 3 rooms we toured. Each state can give Congress 2 statues - either bronze or marble - to keep there. Initially, all 100 statues were going to go in the Statue room, but the floor started to sink. That's why they are spread out all over. Also, states started to try to outdo each other, and the statues were getting taller and taller. Therefore, they needed to put a 10 foot cap on the height of the statue. States can (at any time) trade in a new statue for one of the old. They can also use anyone they want - the person doesn't need to be from that state and doesn't even have to have visited that state. WI's 2 statues are of La Follette and Marquette.

After the tour of the US Congress, I hopped on the Metro and ran back to the Mint to see if there were any tickets left. There were 2. I had one for 1:30 PM. :) With 2 hrs to spare, I decided I had time to go to the Holocaust Museum and the Arlington Cemetery. I should have gone to the Cemetery first as it required about a 15 minute ride on the Metro and a bit of walking, but to make things more interesting I went to the Holocaust Museum first. There isn't much logic behind this. You have to wait in line to get screened to enter the museum in order to get a ticket. The ticket is for a few hours down the road (unless you are there first thing in the morning). This means, you have to then leave, remember to come back for the time on the ticket, and wait in the same line again to be re-screened.

While waiting, I went to the Arlington Cemetery. It looked HUGE and being on a time frame, I decided to pay for a trolley tour. The trolley sat (with me and a few others in it) for about 15 minutes before taking off. It then would let you off at places like the changing of the guard, but instead of waiting 5 minutes, if you got off, you had to wait 20 minutes for the next trolley. As time creeped closer to 1:30, I skipped the changing of the guards (stayed on the trolley) and then got off the trolley at the Arlington House and ran down the hill back to the Metro station, only to arrive at the Mint with 1 minute to spare before the doors closed! Whew!! (Talk about cutting it close...)

After the Mint, I went to the Holocaust Museum, and then went back to the Arlington Cemetery (which only took 40 minutes to do the entire thing by foot) to watch the things I initially missed. It's not so bad since it's on the way to the Pentagon, and I had also wanted to see the Pentagon Memorial.

Here are pictures from the Arlington Cemetery.

This is the grave for Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the man who designed Washington DC! There is a Metro Station called "L'Enfant" as a result.

The tomb of unknown soldiers is guarded 24/7. What you see in the pictures below is the changing of the guards by the tomb. This is for all soldiers' bodies that were recovered, but that the US were unable to identify.

And here are pictures of the Kennedy's tombs, which are right below Arlington House, and have a great view of the cemetery and DC.

I also went to the Women In Military Service Memorial.

These are pictures from the Holocaust Museum. There was a Children's exhibit about a boy named Daniel and his story through the Ghetto and Concentration Camp. The "adult" area also went through all this and much more, with vivid images and descriptions. Some parts were heartbreaking, while others made me sick to my stomach. I cried silent tears a few times. Despite reading about it in school and in books and films over the years, it is still surreal that something as cruel as this took place to fellow human beings, who did nothing to deserve it.

There was a memorial area with candles all around reminding me of church to remember those that died. It was somber and I lit a candle and said a prayer that something like this would never happen again.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing was one of the highlights of the day! For those of you who don't know what this is, it's where the US prints its money. Contrary to popular belief, 95% of the money printed is used to replace old money (which is burned). 5% is used to increase the current supply. While at the Mint, we did a walk through to see each step of the process (other than waiting for the ink to dry). Each sheet contains 32 notes (called "notes" before it is actual "money"). To prevent counterfeiting, there are a number of security measures put into place. In fact, every 7-10 years, there is a new design printed for each bill, and it takes the "design guys" about 2-3 years to come up with a new design! It was wild to see stacks of sheets of money worth millions of dollars just a few feet away from me!!!!

We couldn't take pictures (for obvious reasons) inside, but the pictures below are from the lobby and gift area. As you can see, if I was a stack of bills, I would be worth well over $1M!!!! LOL And in case you were wondering, the pillar to the left of me is shredded bills. :)

I stopped by the Pentagon and viewed the Pentagon Memorial, which is located right next to the part of the building that was destroyed by the terrorist attack on 9/11. The building is now fixed, but you can see from the lighter color marble which part was rebuild.

Before leaving DC, I stopped by the Washington Memorial. The cherry blossom trees are in full bloom and look spectacular! The fragrance from the soft pink petals fills the air, and you can see fallen petals even in places with no trees in sight. On top of that, the weather was perfect - warm, sunny, with just a slight breeze and a few clouds in the sky. It is the type of scenery to put a smile on the faces of even the most grumpy people.