Reporting From...
Wave 946
Sunday
The 6th of September, 2009 at 04:22 PM
Hello everyone. I'm reporting to you from Arlington, Virginia in a nice little one bedroom apartment owned by my cousin, Erin. Kellie and I have been out-of-town for 8 days now. We are 10 minutes from Washington, D.C. which is where we have been spending the majority of our time.
The buildings, monuments, and memorials perspirate a rich mixture of artistry, majesty, and history. The collective grandness of the National Mall is literally overwhelming. A week is an insufficient amount of time to appreciate all this area has to offer.
Kellie and I have made several trips back and forth between Arlington and Washington DC. We had a daily itenary which was devised the night prior to our departure. By the end of our sight-seeing escapade, we were able to see the following monuments, memorials, and museums (chronologically displayed after our arrival on Saturday, August 29th):
- Sunday - August 30th, 2009
- Iwo Jima Memorial
- Arlington Cemetery - Including JFK's grave with eternal flame, and recently buried Edward (Teddy) Kennedy.
- 911 Memorial adjacent to the Pentagon
- National Museum of Natural History - Includes Hope Diamond Display
- Monday - August 31st, 2009
- Washington Monument - Includes going to the top via the elevator to overlook all the immediate Washing DC area.
- World War II Memorial
- Abraham Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Memorial
- Korean War
- National Museum of American History - Includes 1 of the four pairs of Dorothy's ruby red slippers, the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner, and some of the first ladies clothing/accesories.
- National Archives - Includes Declaration of Independence, Constitution of United States, Bill of Rights, one of the Magna Cartas, and a shoe Shaquille O'Neil gave to President George W. Bush.
- Tuesday - September 1st, 2009
- National Capitol - Including Tour of older parts of the building
- Supreme Court
- Library of Congress - Jefferson Building. Includes a tour of the internal architecture, and display of one of the four Gutenberg Bibles in the world. Considered a "perfect" bible because it has all the volumes and is printed (not handwritten) on animal skin.
- National Air and Space Museum - Includes Neil Armstrong's space suit.
- National Gallery of Art
- Twilight Monument Tour by Old Town Trolley Tour Company. Included timed stops at FDR's Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, and Lincoln/Korean/Vietnam Memorials.
- Wednesday - September 2nd, 2009
- National Zoo - Including visual appearance of 3 Panda Bears. There are only three other zoos in the United States that have captive Panda Bears.
- Thursday - September 3rd, 2009
- Bureau of Printing and Engraving - Including tour of how paper money is created from front to back.
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- US Holocaust Museum
- White House
- Ford Theater and Museum - Including a program presented by a Park Ranger on the President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
- Abraham Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam War, World War II Memorials on foot in the evening for a second time. Family arrived and we tagged along for the fun.
You can probably imagine how tired we were after all this touring, and we won't show you pictures of our blisters :) It may be difficult to picture the scale of Washington DC, but after you spent some time walking from one site to another you could say it's larger than expected.
Either way, we've had a great time touring this wonderful area. I'll follow this post in a couple days with the reason why we arehere. That way I can keep you all in youthful suspense, maybe. Until then, happy trails.
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Comments
Joyw
September 7th, 04:01:19 PM
Hi, kids, what an adventure you two are on! We’re so glad you’re seeing as much as you can, blisters be damned. Can’t wait to see some of your pictures and hear all about it. Be safe, have fun, and we’ll talk when you get back home. Love, Joy
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