Washington D.C. Part 4 Non Smithsonian Museums.

Although the Smithsonian are unbelievable, they are not the only awesome museums in D.C. There are a few others that are well worth your time. Most of the other museums have an admission. Considering how many free things there are, it is easy to justify paying the fee for museums that interest you.

National Gallery of Art- The two buildings that make up the National Gallery are right in the middle of the Smithsonian. In fact I am sure most people think they are part of the Smithsonian.

This museum is free. There are two buildings. The East Building is shapes like a giant triangle, it houses mostly contemporary art. While I was there in the spring, the West Building was having some work done on it. Some of the art was brought over to the East for display including some Monet.

The West Building is the one I really enjoy. Get a map! The building is huge. At a quick count there are 91 rooms on the main floor ( don't hold me to that). The ground floor has sculpture ( including "the Thinker") and also special exhibitions. The rooms on the main floor are arranged by century and country of origin. The oldest rooms are of 13-15th century Italian paintings. Its an amazing feeling sitting in a room full of 600 year old paintings that were made during the Renaissance. My favorite rooms along with many other people are the French Impressionist paintings. Also high on my list are the American paintings most notably Gilbert Stuart ( born in Rhode Island). He is the artist that painted the portrait of George Washington on the dollar bill. I could easily spend a day at the National Gallery. We only planned a few hours and time went by so quickly, I didn't see nearly enough. One thing I can tell you to do is spend the $5 for the audio wand. You press in the number from a painting and you will get a history of the painting. Not all paintings are numbered and have a commentary, but enough do to make the wand well worth it. If you like art, give yourself as much time as you can spare for this museum.

National Archives- The Archives is the building that houses the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, the Magna Carta. There are many other documents that you can see on display. Be forewarned, there is a line that stretches outside. Going into the display area is like walking through a receiving line at a wedding. You start at one end of the room. All documents are on a back wall. You move to the next one as at the speed of the person in front of you goes. At the end, you walk out the exit door. Although its not the most fun experience in Washington, you have to go and see these treasures at least once.

International Spy Museum- Charges an admission fee. It is well worth the price of admission. After you pay, you walk into a waiting area with a bunch of computers. You answer questions to see if you can pass for a civilian in a foreign country even though you are a spy. Its a fun way to kill time. After a short amount of time you go up an elevator to the top floor. The museum begins there. You work your way down learning about spies throughout history. You learn all about samurais and the KGB. You move through history until you get to famous spies in history, like George Washington, yes that George. Its a great museum.

National Museum of Crime and Punishment- Admission I love this place. Its a little like the above museum. A large percentage of this museum is dedicated to criminals throughout history. There were photos of mafous villians like Billy the Kid and Al Capone. There are pirate flags from famous pirates. The car used by Bonnie and Clyde is there. If you like that kind of history you will love it. Futher down, you learn about forensics. There is a nice diagram of what meth can do to you with some nice before and after pictures. The basement is where John Walsh films America's Most Wanted. You can walk through the studio.

Holocaust Museum- If you want to learn about the Holocaust this place is amazing. I am of the belief we should learn about the bad things that happened in history. This way we won't maske the same mistakes others have made. Also,living in our American suburban neighborhoods,it is hard to imagine the horrors these people felt during such a dark time in human history. I will not pretend walking through a museum could ever make me feel the terror the Jews ( and other minorities) in Europe felt. I can tell you I have a better understanding. Go for yourself, just be prepared to be depressed for the rest of the day.

Bureau of Printing and Engraving- Free This is where the money is made. From your tour you will see pallets full of money. You will need to get your tickets early in the day the same as you would the Washington Monument. Once you have your tickets you can go other places until your tour time arrives.

Department of the Interior Museum- With my love of National Parks I really wanted to go there. Unfortunately it is closed for renovations right now. If you ever get to go, send me an email to let me know what its like.

National Geographic Society Explores Hall- Free THis museum is north of the mall a few blocks. I was expecting stuffed tigers, big screen tv's of pandas and tribal women with saggy boobs. Although I think they change exhibits frequently, it was just some exhibits about inventions to help people in developing countries. Not hat I expected.

Cocoran Gallery- An art museum right next to the White House. Ten dollar admission. I never made it there. If you go to the website, you can see what they have in there galleries. Quite an impressive collection of art, I was disappointed we ran out of time

Ford's Theater and the House Lincoln died in- You almost have to go to Ford's Theater. You can see the seats where the president was shot. A ranger will have you sit down and answer quesions for you. Across the street is the room he died in along with the original bed

There are many other museums that I know very little about. I can't give you any info about the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Latin American Art Museum, Capitol Chidren's Museum, Women in Arts Museum or the Folger Shakespeare Library. They could be awesome. If you visit any of these, let me know what you think.

Themes

Basically I don't have New Year's resolutions this year. Everyday during the winter is a constant struggle to keep my weight down until I come out of hibernation in the spring. Also, I hope to get the job I want within a couple weeks. I may have an interview next week ( fingers crossed). Usually I try to think of places I want to visit during the upcoming year. For whatever reason, my years usually end up with a theme.


One year, I went to New Hampshire all summer on my day off from baking. I would get done baking donuts at 2 am Thursday morning. I'd pick DJ up and drive to New Hampshire. We would fish a pond in the lakes region, trying to be there at first light. We would fish about 4 hours then drive to the mountains. Our next goal would be to secure a campsite. We would hike a 4000 foot mountain and then head back to camp. At camp we would make supper and I would try to stay awake long enough to see the stars. Usually I would pass out within 10 minutes of darkness though. Next morning we would go on another hike then drive home and I'd be back at work Friday night at 7 pm. It was exhausting, but we loved it. We spent the whole summer looking forward to our Thursday/ Friday routine

The following year, before school got out for the summer and we could go to New Hampshire, we were down at the Cape Cod Canal sight seeing. The herring were in the run. There were a bunch of fishermen and the fish were biting! I got to talking to one of the fishermen asking my usual million questions. While we were talking he hooked a keeper striper and let DJ ( only 6 at the time reel it in). Seeing that fish was love at first sight. That afternoon I was at Walmart buying a $30 surf rod. Next morning I was at the canal at 5 am. I caught a couple keepers. Since I was baking, I was driving to the canal after work almost every morning.

When the herring run was over I hired a fishing guide in Rhode Island, to teach me surf fishing. When we were driving from spot to spot, I was asking question after question and writing answers in a notebook, I brought for that purpose. That entire year I was fishing at least three nights a week. I would drive to Narragasnsett and Charlestown, RI like I was commuting to work. Thursdays being my night off, I would fish all night.

The following year I bought binoculars and a spotting scope, kind of on a whim. Next thing you know I'm seeing birds I didn't know existed. I started going to wildlife refuges. I was seeing one life bird after another. We visited every local refuge in Mass and Rhode Island. That year, birding was the theme

One year, although I did my normal fishing, we did a lot of daytrips. We managed to do 46 daytrips ( yes I counted, we have already discovered I'm a dork). We did things from concerts, museums, birding, baseball games. Other than concerts, many of the daytrips we do are free or close to free. When Crystal's friends ask her about cheap daytrip ideas, I usually get a phone call for advice.

Another year baseball was our theme. We went to three Red Sox games about 10 Paw Sox games ( usually on a promotional nights) and 3-4 Cape Cod League games. DJ was playing little league, so factor in the 14 games of regular season, a couple scrimmages, and three playoff game, then the 20 or so games of All-Stars and baseball was definitely the theme of the summer.Of course I still did some fishing and hiking, but I have never had a year where I saw so much baseball.

This year didn't really have a theme. The spring was about birding and fishing. The summer revolved around my western trip. When I got home I really didn't do a lot of anything as I had the post vacation blues for a while. The fall I went fishing a couple times but mostly I saved money for Christmas. DJ's mom got into the car crash November 3. Since then I have been taking care of her daughter Amber. Life is different hanging out with an 8 year old girl. There is a little to much iCarly and not enough R rated movies like renting Salt and going to the Fighter. Still having Amber around is a lot of fun. Now that DJ is a teen seeing the world through a little kids eyes again is pretty cool.

I don't actually plan " themes" for the New Year. They usually just happen throughout. Seeing that first striper or buying the binoculars were things that just happened. I did not plan on birding that year and had no idea how many birds are around. If I did plan "themes" I would be more of a geek than I already am. I usually try to come up with some ideas for things to do the upcoming year. They are usually places I've never fished or are some distance away ( this will be my next post) I just do what I enjoy at the moment. If I feel like birding a couple of days in May instead of fishing I will. Usually though my plans are decided by weather. If the weather is cloudy I fish. If the tide is right in the evening or night, I striper fish. Sunny days will usually involve hiking and birding. Cloudy days are carp days. If we get warm northeast winds in spring I trout fish in Falls Pond because I know from experience that wind turns the trout on big time!!! Most of the time strong winds will send me to the movies. Birds don't like wind, I can't control my canoe and the ocean can get too dirty to fish. I don't mind rain, but wind can ruin my day. Of course all of this is dependant on free time I get from DJ's athletic events (track and baseball)

Once I get into a new hobby like birding, saltwater fishing, or hiking, I become somewhat obsessed. I will buy and read through any info I can find on my new passion. I bought many back issues of On the Water magazine when I found stripers. I learned to read tide charts, the wind, and moon phases. I can tell you what time today's tide will be just by looking at a calender with moon phases on it. I have a tremendous appetite for learning about things I am interested in. The winter after my first season striper fishing I read everything I could get my hands on. I bought books on fishing the surf, locations in Rhode Island I would memorize directions to fishing spots I had never been too. I basically gave myself a course in stripers, including field trips. I was driving to places like Barrington River, Watch Hill and East Beach during February scouting locations for parking and access points for the summer.

I plan on doing a lot of fishing this upcoming summer. Less birding and more fishing. I don't go to Red Sox games as often as I once did. I am not sure what this years theme will be. If the theme is catching a bunch of thirty pound stripers and some wild trout with DJ, it will be a great summer. I do have some plans for specific day and fishing trips I want to do this summer. That will be in the next post.

End of the Year Review

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a list person. I get made fun of by family and friends for my list making. I have a " journal" that I write down most of the stuff I do. It is really a series of lists as opposed to a " diary". I keep track of movies I've seen, separate lists of course for rentals and movie theater outings. I keep a list of books I've read, concerts I've been too, and daytrips I've been on.

I have a couple oddball lists in my journal for things like athletes with cool names ( like NY Giants defensive player Mathias Kiwanuka) and cool words like Kalamazoo. Dork ?

- yes, lets move on.

One of the most important lists I do that I try to keep on top of is animals I've seen throughout the year. Of course this means WILD ANIMALS. Zoos do not count. I have two lists. The date I see an animal and a list of total species I've seen during the year. This year I had a goal of seeing more species than I'd ever seen by July 1 than I had ever seen during a full year. How did I plan on doing this? Easy- put in the extra effort. This means going out in the woods more than normal. It means, if I hear a report of an odd bird I would drive to its location and look for it. Also, there are some fairly common animals and birds that for one reason or another I have never seen, so I had to find them. Lastly, going on organized bird walks with people that know more than me, would guarantee birds I've never seen.

The most species I had ever seen in New England in a year was 148. This includes all vertebrates ( mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians). Keep in mind the easiest to see are birds. The hardest are reptiles and amphibians. Theres only a couple frog and turtle species, and other than garter snakes, most snakes don't exactly like to pose for a picture. When it comes to fish, I have a rule that a species only counts if I caught it or if its in the water. Fish species caught by someone other than me don't count. I chose July 1 as the date because my trip out west was in the summer. Of course I was going to see species that don't live around here so they don't count in my" New England list". If I fell short of my goal its not like I'd be crushed I'd still have 1/2 a year to achieve it.

Totals:

This year in New England I saw a total of 160 species. Of those 14 were life birds. This broke down:

Mammals 13

Birds 126

Fish 12

Reptiles/Amphibians 9

I had never counted any invertebrates before. This year I decided to identify butterflies. I did this all spring but did not go out much after my vacation. I counted 10 different species. All from spring and early summer.

New England lifebirds included Red Eyed Vireo, Sedge Wren, Great Crested Flycatcher, Marsh Wren, Savannah Sparrow, Black Throated Blue Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Wilson's Pharalope, Purple Finch, Least Flycatcher, Scarlett Tanager, Sora, Eastern Wood Peeweee.

As I mentioned, some of these species are fairly common. There are enough Scarlet Tanagers around. Purple Finch is a bird I'd probably seen many times but never identified. The best bird I saw was the sedge wren at Daniel Webster Wildlife Refuge. People were driving 2-3 hours for a peek at it.

Of course every year there are notable omissions. There are some species that I should have seen and just didn't. Here are some notables. Bald Eagle ( I never made it to the Merrimack River last winter) , tiger salamander, menhaden, smallmouth bass, yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, blue wing teal, white wing scooter, surf scooter, peregrine falcon, alewives, blueback herring, American Shad, white perch, eel

Some of these omissions are easy to explain. I easily could have had many more species of fish, if I'd have gone after those species. If I'd have gone catfishing on the Charles River, I would easily would have caught both bullheads and probably eels. If I went fishing for shad on the Indianhead river I would have seen shad, alewives ( herring) and possibly sea lamprey ( yuck) and possibly brook and brown trout ( stocked). I clearly did not fish for enough species. If I would have baitfished the ocean with squid or crabs, I would possibly have caught skates, dogfish and tatoug. One anomaly is white perch. I went fishing in Norton Reservoir where the biomass is probably 80% white perch, yet after a couple hours fishing and 25 fish landed, neither DJ nor I landed one.

As for birding, I put in a lot of time during the spring. Although I could have seen a lot more warblers, I was in the places they should have been at the times they should have been there. The one place I could have seen more birds was the ocean front during the winter. I only went once. I missed out on two scooter species, red throated loon, and possible sea species like gannets. I also didn't see any grey seals. I may have seen seals if I spent time at Beavertail over the winter. I have before.

On top of species, I keep totals of certain species every year to compare to the years before. These animals include deer, moose, bear, turkeys and bald eagles. Considering how much time I spent in the woods this year my totals for these species was pathetic ( at least in New England) I saw 8 deer, 4 turkeys 1 moose and no bald eagles or bears.

Since 2002 my deer totals were 22, 68, 66, 74, 27, 34, 38, 33. Seeing 7 is a ridiculously low amount.

Since 2002 my turkey numbers were 1, 0, 20, 14, 5, 70, 40, and 82 in 2009.

My high number of bald eagles was 9 and my high for moose was last year with 17.

WESTERN VACATION

I can't really count birds and animals I saw out west on the same list . Of course I was going to see animals out there that are not in New England. Unless buffalo magically start herding up on the dunes of the Cape, I can't see wild ones in New England. That said, I saw way more wildlife out west than I ever expected. I saw more buffalo than I can count. I saw 500 pronghorn and 500 mule deer. I saw 50 bighorn sheep.I saw 14 bears. I didn't spend time birding. Any birds we saw were while hiking or looking for big animals. Ohter than in passing I really haven't wrote about my western vacation. Since the blog is about New England and you can't drive out west in one day ( as you can to Shenandoah National Park or Washington D.C.) I've decided not to write about the trip. However, in an end of the year review, I would be remiss if I didn't consider 3 wolves stalking an elk herd a memory worth remembering.

Totals from out west:

Mammals 26 ( including 19 life mammals )

Birds 58 ( including 26 life birds )

Reptiles 9 ( including 4 life lizards )

Fish 10 ( including 3 life fish )

Life mammals were: Wolf, Bison, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Pronghorn, Mule Deer, Mountain Goat, Grizzly Bear, Pika, Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, Yellow Bellied Marmot, Black Tailed Prairie Dog, White Tailed Prairie Dog, Kaibab Squirrel, Rock Squirrel, weasel, burro and longhorn cattle

Life Birds: Three Toed Woodpecker, Red Headed Woodpecker, Trumpeter Swan, Western Kingbird, Sage Grouse, Blue Grouse, Eastern Meadowlark, Western Meadowlark, Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Violet Green Swallow, Lark Sparrow, Burrowing Owl, Vesper Sparrow, Magpie, Swainson's Hawk, Golden Eagle, Western Tanager, Black Headed Grosbeak, Cliff Swallow, Upland Sandpiper, Bullock's Oriole, Pine Grosbeak, Clark's Nutcracker, Lark Bunting, Stellars Jay

Fish and Reptiles: Cutthroat Trout, Flathead Catfish, Grayling,

4 types of Lizards including Sagebrush Lizard, Western Fence Lizard, Leopard Lizard, and one that I couldn't identify.

If you looked at the list you saw longhorn cattle on the list. That is one exception to my wild animal rule. I have wanted to see longhorns since I was seven. It may not be wild but come on, its a longhorn! The burros were wild. I saw them at Custer State Park. They will beg for food from passing cars. They do have freedom over 70,000 acres and winter outside.

As for the other animals, I know how lucky I was to see them. Seeing 14 bears including 7 grizzlies was awesome. I saw 3 black bears while backpacking. I can't tell you all the memories I made. Seeing bighorn sheep ON the trail and lying there as I walked by three feet away. The memories go on and on. The west is awesome!!!

Fishing-

This was my worst year fishing in New England. I did not catch many stripers. I only targeted keeper stripers at night a couple of times. My biggest was a 34 incher caught in Providence. When I went schoolie fishing during the spring, I didn't do bad. I had some decent nights. The numbers were way down, no one caught as many as they normally do. The fall fishing for stripers was terrible. Lack of bait may have been the reason.

As for carp fishing, I did so badly, I felt like a jinx to everyone I fished with. The only place I had any real success was Lake Tiogue in Coventry. My big fish was only 18 pounds. Eighteen pounds is a respectable fish, but a little on the small side for a biggest of the year. I did so badly carp fishing, I can remember everyone I caught this year. That is not good.

I did really well spring trout fishing. I caught a fair amount of rainbows out of Falls Pond. For whatever reason, I think trout fishing is easy. I almost always catch more than the people around me and I rarely get skunked.

Out west I had a blast fishing. DJ and I did a 3 day backpacking trip just outside of Yellowstone. On the middle day we fished a mountain lake. Using flies and worms we caught so many fish we lost count. We estimate we got about 60 trout between us. I was using a two fly rig and caught 2 fish on the same cast once. Most of the fish were brookies and a few cutbows ( hybrid between rainbows and cutthroat trout) we didn't catch any monsters but it was my best day of the year. We caught all these fish in less that three hours. Since the fish were still biting when we left, I suspect we could have caught 100 trout if we tried.

The next day, while hiking out I caught a decent brookie in another lake. It was around 14 inches. It is the picture in my profile.

A week later while in Yellowstone, DJ and I hiked out to another mountain lake. Although we did not catch 60 fish, we caught a few purebred cutthoats and arctic grayling.

I did manage to learn to fly fish this summer. Although I am not an expert at it, I can at least make a cast long enough to reach the fish and apparently quiet enough so I don't spook them.

Other than my western experience, this was not my best year fishing. I spent a lot of time birding and counting species. Next year, I plan on doing a lot more fishing. I won't be trying to see 160 species. Instead of taking trips to see warblers, hopefully I can catfish or fish Wachusetts Reservoir. I really want to go fly fish around here and as usual follow my favorite quarry ( stripers) up and down the Rhode Island coast

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Washington D.C. Part 3 Smithsonian Museums

As I have previously wrote, the Smithsonian" isn't just one museum. It is 19 museums and 9 research centers. I am only going to concentrate this post on the Museums in the downtown/ National Mall area. I have been to 10 of the museums. I have been to most of them more than once. During business hours on a vacation to D.C. I am usually in the Smithsonian Museums.
If you plan on a trip to Washington D.C. everything you could ever want to know about the Smithsonian from directions, hours, and exhibits can be found on the Smithsonian website. I can only hope to give short descriptions and helpful tips in a short blog post.

Here is a list of Smithsonian Museums

1. Smithsonian Castle- visitor center, you can get your questions answered there.
2. African Art Museum
3. Air and Space Museum
4. American Art and Portrait Gallery
5.American Indian Museum
6. American History Museum
7. Anacostia Community Museum
8. Freer Gallery of Art
9. Hirshhorn Museum and Garden
10. Natural History Museum
11. Postal Museum
12. Renwick Gallery
13. Sackler Gallery
14. National Zoo

I have not been to the Renwick Gallery or the Anacostia Community Museum so I will not waste your time trying to explain them. I wanted to go to the Renwick Gallery last time I was in D.C. but ran out of time.

General Advice:

All Smithsonian's are FREE of Charge. I think that is awesome. Some of the best museums in the world and they are FREE!!! For the most part the museums are open from 10-5:30. There are some exceptions, the zoo for instance stays open until 6 pm during the summer. The American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery is open until 7 pm. The Museum of Natural History is open until 7:30 pm during certain days. It would certainly be a good idea to check each museum for their specific openings before you leave on vacation.

These museums are huge! Do not plan on hitting the Natural History and the American History in the same day unless you want to see highlights only. I suggest getting floor plans of each museum before you go and crossing off the rooms and exhibits you don't want to see before you go. For example I love American History but I was not interested in the power machinery room or the " Lighting a Revolution Room" so I skipped them. Also remember the museums are so huge your feet WILL hurt after a few hours. Its best to see what you want and either skim through what you don't want to see or skip them completely.

If you don't carry a bag into the museum you can walk through the scanner without having to waste time for a bag search.

Most of the museums have cafeterias. The food is overpriced and the portions are small. Plan accordingly.

Many of the museums have docent led tours. I advise you not to take them. The museums are so big, and the docents only hit highlights. The tours typically last 1-1/2 hours. In that time you could have seen 5 times more than what they show you. Don't get me wrong, if you want to know the Hope Diamond intimately and learn all about its history, the docent will be very informative. I would prefer to look at it for a minute then look at the other jewels in the room. Some jewels belonging to Marie Antonette are in the same room.

Individual Museum Advice:

Air and Space- This is the most visited museum in the world. I guarantee you will see buses for field trips lined up outside ( even in the summer for YMCA, Boy's Club, Girls Club, etc...) Air and Space houses many of the famous aircraft throughout American History. The Wright Brothers plane is there. So is Chuck Yeager's X-1, the plane that broke the sound barrier. One of Amelia Earhart's plans and the fastest plane ever ( SR-71 Blackbird) are all housed in the museum. A couple of the more famous space modules and nuclear weapons are on display. There are also many rooms devoted to aviation. I like history much more than aviation. I found the planes and space modules awesome, but wish I didn't spend hours reading all the aviation stuff. I could have enjoyed my Air and Space experience more if I spent 90 minutes instead of 1/2 day there. If you love aviation you will find it hard to leave.

Natural History- Quite Honestly, I don't know why Natural History isn't the most popular museum in the world. It has something for everyone. For stereotypical kids there are fossils of all finds of things from T-Rex and an entire triceratops, ancient fish, to full size mastodons and woolly mammoth. For rock collectors, there are rocks, minerals and jewels so big and so colorful they will blow your mind. Not to mention moon rock and many meteorites. There are rooms full of skeletons from all types of animals from fish to mammals. There are mummies and ancient artifacts. There is something for everyone. At one of the entrances there is a head from Easter Island, that's right, Easter Island, the only one in the United States. It is tough to spend less that a full day at this museum and not feel like you missed stuff. Unfortunately, fatigue and boredom from reading all day will set in, but the National Museum of Natural History is awesome.

American History- This giant 3 story museum is right next to the Natural History Museum. Do not try to do them both in a day. Of all the museums, this one would be the best to have a pre-printed floor plan and a plan for the day. The aspects of American History are so different I doubt anyone would be interested in every room. Of course my favorite rooms were the American Presidency and the Price of Freedom. I did not go into Musical Instruments or Stories of Money for more than a couple minutes. The treasures of Pop Culture is very popular. I wish they would make it bigger. There are so many greats in movies and sports its a shame to limit the artifacts by such a small space.

National Zoo- The zoo is about 5 miles north of the mall. It is a tough bike ride if that is your mode of transportation. It is a big zoo with a lot of animals. Until recently, pandas made there home there. The highlights are probably the lions and tigers. The bird aviaries are cool too. My highlight as read on my May 17 blog post is the wood ducks in the pond near the bird house http://southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/2010/05/washington-dc-white-squirrel-white.htmldc-white-squirrel-white.html

The zoo is well worth the trip if you have transportation, you won't be disappointed unless you live in San Diego or the Bronx.

American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery- This is my favorite Smithsonian. Both of theses museums are in the same building. The only thing separating them is a center atrium. Although I admit the Natural History Museum is more "exciting", I love going to this one. If you remember your history books, you had pictures of famous people. Whether it be great presidents like Washington, Jefferson, or FDR, or frontiersmen like Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett or a host of other famous Americans, the picture from your history book is most likely in the Portrait Gallery.

Being in the American Presidents wing of the Portrait Gallery is awe inspiring. Its one of those places I feel like I am in the presence of greatness. There are rooms dedicated to explorers, Civil War heros and other great Americans. This museum is open until 7:30 so you can go to other museums first then come here during the evening. Its worth going to more than once anyway. It is not on the mall but a few blocks north, near the Museum of Crime and Punishment.

American Indian Museum- is the newest Smithsonian ( at least until African American History and Culture opens) . Considering how much I enjoy history and how much I feel Native Americans got screwed, I did not enjoy this museum at all. I expected full size pictures of great warriors like Geronimo and Sitting Bull. Instead there was much Native American crafts.There was a lot of contemporary art made by Indians. There were some conquistador swords and Spanish gold, but for the most part I am sorry to say, I found it boring.

Freer, Sackler and African Art- These museums although very different have a connection. That's right an underground tunnel connects them. Freer and Sackler both have Asian Art ,while African Art has, well your smart enough to figure that out! I went to these three one afternoon my second time in the Capitol. I was pleasantly surprised. I went through each in about an hour. I didn't read to much about the museum pieces. Just the basics like year, which dynasty ( Chinese) and stuff like that. I enjoyed these three galleries without burning out my brain with information overload. I found these galleries a quiet, refreshing change of pace from the big, loud, crowded museums.

Postal Museum- This museum is near Union Station. This important because it means you can get a delicious lunch after you go to the museum. The Postal Museum is what you would expect. It has a stamp collection, an exhibit dedicated to the Pony Express, a mail truck and other modes of mail transportation.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden- has modern art. I did not spend enough time in here to give you any idea what to expect. The sculpture garden outside is nice. There are sculptures from the pretty cool to the ridiculous. Walking through the sculpture garden is another of those change of pace things to do.

That is a rundown of the Smithsonian's I have been too. The National Gallery of Art is on the mall and it takes up two building. The West Building is as large as American History and Natural History. It however is not a Smithsonian Museum. It is a great place and I will talk about it extensively later.

127 Hours

I saw 127 Hours yesterday. In a word it was awesome. If you like desert scenery or a human interest story you will like the movie. James Franco was awesome. I have no doubt he will get nominated for an Oscar. He is on screen the entire movie, most of it stuck in the canyon and it never gets boring.

Here is a quick recap of the movie doing my best not to be a spoiler. Its about a guy named Aron Ralston who is a mountain climber and experienced in canyon country. Aron decides to go hiking in Canyonlands National Park without telling anyone where he is going. He tries to slide down a slot canyon and a he steps on a boulder and it comes loose. He falls and the boulder lands on his arm so he can't move. This begins his ordeal. Thats as much as I will give you

I get to go to the movies for free so its always tough for me to say a movie is worth the money. If I had to pay for a ticket, I would not have been disappointed. 127 Hours is the best outdoor movie since Into the Wild.

Washington D.C. Part 2 Monuments

Almost everyone that goes to Washington D.C. wants to see the important monuments. I can't picture anyone saying " When I was in D.C. I had no interest in seeing the Lincoln Memorial"

Okay, I can imagine it, but only from a southerner that hasn't accepted they lost the war. The monuments are famous and everyone wants to see them. Buses run to and from them all day. From the time the average tourist leaves the motel in the morning until 10 pm there is a constant flow of pedestrian traffic up to the monuments.

The beginning of this article will deal with the large more popular monuments while the back end will deal with smaller statues throughout the city.

The Washington Monument requires tickets to go to the top. It is best to get to the ticket booth by 7 am. The line forms at that time. The tickets are timed so you may get a ticket for 3 pm and have all day to explore the city then return to the monument for your time. The summer hours are 9am- 10pm. You could order tickets or by calling for reserved tickets. This would save you from getting up early, but you won't know what the weather will be like the day of your tour. The view is pretty awesome from the top. Way the pros and cons and make a decision. The tickets are free, but there is a $1.50 service charge if you order them in advance.

Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and FDR ( Franklin D Roosevelt ) are in West Potomac Park. You can make a triangle running from Washington Monument, to the Jefferson Memorial ( south) to Lincoln ( northwest of Jefferson). All three are free to go to and you can walk in at anytime, day or night. Its pretty impressive sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the view is across the reflecting pool ( where Jenny walked in the water in Forrest Gump) through the WWII Memorial towards Washington (reflecting) and beyond that the Capitol building.

The Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial are on different sides of the Reflecting Pool. The Korean War Memorial is one of the best. It has statues of many soldiers of all races and nationalities " walking" through enemy territory. There is a black wall that reflects the soldiers. It is extremely lifelike. Its hard not to get chills looking at it.

For being one of the most basic designs for a memorial ever ( a long wall) it is impossible not to get emotional at the Vietnam Veterans Wall. There is so much emotion at it, its overwhelming. We went on Father's Day one year. It wasn't intentional, we just planned our vacation for that part of June. There were so many people leaving gifts for there fathers, brothers and sons. So many people were crying.

In one way I felt like an intruder during what should be a private moment for these grieving people. At the same time, never experiencing loss due to war, I felt lucky to be there with those people. Every patriotic holiday, we are told to thank a veteran. That's easy, most of us don't take our freedom for granted. We live in a patriotic country. Its a lot harder to stand there surrounded by families that lost a loved one. To see there pain is very humbling. Although I will never feel the pain of loosing a brother to war, seeing what it does to families made me so much more respectful of freedom than fireworks or cookouts.

If you walk, its a leg stretcher to go from Jefferson to either Washington or Lincoln. We ride our bikes and its still a 10 minute ride to Jefferson.

The FDR Memorial is between Lincoln and Jefferson. It is a large memorial. There are 4 "rooms" symbolizing FDR's 4 terms in office. There are waterfalls and it is very pretty when lit up at night.

Since Jefferson is one of my favorite presidents, his shrine is one of my favorites. Under the memorial is a small museum about Thomas Jefferson. It is across the tidal basin. The tidal basin is a very large salt pond.Getting pictures of Jefferson from different angles with the tidal basin or being framed by cherry trees is easy.

Not much I can say about the Lincoln Memorial that you don't know. The step that Martin Luther King stood on during his I have a dream speech is marked. You can stand right where he did. Lincoln was an amazing president. He was more than the Gettysburg Address. He was just a man, and he did have faults and he made mistakes, but he was a great man. No president went through more than he did.

The Marine Corp Memorial ( Iwo Jima) is near Arlington National Cemetery. Its across the bridge behind Lincoln and then to the right. It is very tricky to get to as a pedestrian/ bike rider. There is a rotary and a couple of highway ramps to negotiate. It would be best to visit it the day you go to Arlington National Cemetery or if you take the bus tour.

Since only organized groups can get tickets to the White House ( read: Boy Scouts) I may as well treat the White House as a monument. Its a couple blocks north of Washington Monument. There is a gate in both front and back that you can stand next to and get pictures. Not much else to do.
Here are some tips to help you enjoy your monuments:

1. If you can, take a ranger guided tour at any or all the monuments. They were built with so much symbolism. Taking these brief tours will teach you so many obscure facts, you will be standing there with your mouth open. ( Example- it has been said that during construction of Vietnam Memorial a veteran dropped his purple heart into the cement- so you can say the Memorial has a heart)

2. If you can stand being out later than 10 pm, all the tour buses stop at 10. The difference in the amount of people out from 9:50- 10:10 is about a twenty to one ratio. When we were sitting on the steps of Lincoln at 10:15 we had the place almost exclusively to our selves.

3. Since the monuments are open 24 hours a day, don't go to them between 9 am- 5:30 pm. Most of the museums are close at 5:30. Use those hours to hit the museums. There will still be plenty of daylight ( in the summer) to see the monuments. Except of course the Washington Monument, gotta go when your ticket was reserved.

4. If you can, see the monuments at both daylight and night time hours. Inside pics of the statues are better during the day. Seeing them lit up at night is an awesome experience also.

5. For those of you wondering about the cherry blossoms around around the tidal basin, the flowers peak around the end of March. I have only ever been to D.C. during May and June so I can not give any advice on this. I do know the weather can change the peak time by over a week, depending on temperature. Also, I have read motels are booked solid and there are so many people its uncomfortable to walk. That said if you plan and book in advance and the weather turns out just right, it must be an awesome sight.

Smaller and less famous Monuments

In addition to the big famous monuments Washington D.C. is loaded with smaller statues all over the city. As I have mentioned before, I am not a highlight person. I want to see everything. Unfortunately it is impossible to see all of the statues. Most of the statues are of famous people from Einstein to Nathan Hale. I mark the places on the map of the monuments I most want to see and photograph. On a nice day with a blue sky either before the museums open or after they close, I ride my bike around town getting pictures. Some of the monuments are famous people, others are things like the D.C. War Memorial, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, to a Peace Monument.
You can get a list of monuments at either Wikipedia or on the very large confusing website http://www.dcmemorials.com/ Seeing the minor memorials and statues can really only be done by bike. They are spaced out to far to walk, and you really can't get a taxi to bring you to all the places. Fortunately many are clumped together. There are four Revolutionary War heros and Andrew Jackson across the street from the back of the White House in Lafayette Square. Many statues will be around the museums you will visit anyway. If interested in seeing statues, do a little research, mark them on your map and fit seeing them into your schedule.

A quick incomplete list of some photos I have taken
Nathan Hale, Columbus ( don't get me started about this murderer!) Daniel Webster, George McClellan, US Grant, John Paul Jones, Longfellow, Martin Luther ( not King, the founder of Protestant religion), Grand Army of the Republic, Navy Memorial. The list goes on and on. Some of the memorials are of historical people I really respect. Others like Columbus and Andrew Jackson not so much. That said I can't argue Jackson and Columbus are instrumental in American history, even if there biggest legacy was wiping Native Americans off the map. And that should remebered also.

Next up: Museums

Providence River Wintering Stripers.

Believe it or not it is possible to catch stripers every month of the year. Although most stripers go south for the winter, a few will winter over in a few spots in New England. The most famous winter over site is the Thames River in Connecticut. In Rhode Island some fish winter over in the Providence River. Sometimes fishing can be hot and heavy, other times you can get skunked for a week. The reason these brave fish winter over instead of go south is the warm water discharge at the Power Plant at the Hurricane Barrier. Since the water is warmed by the Powerplant some stripers stick it out up here.

I am confident that if every person that has ever caught a striper in New England reads this post and I tell them exactly how to catch stripers from the Providence River, I will still have very little competition. Most striper fishermen know about this fishery but very few people fish it. During the occasional 45 degree night a few guys might be found, but on a typical 25-30 degree night in December theres only a couple die hards.

This is a winter fishery. So it is cold. Also, it is a night time fishery so you are fishing in the city after dark. Maybe a lot of people don't feel safe. I don't know. I have been fishing for years in Providence at night and never had a problem. Lastly, although keepers are sometimes caught and getting one isn't to much of a suprise, this is mostly a schoolie fishery. Average size fish is about 22 inches. There are plenty of fish in the teens and a few bigger. If you are planning on catching keepers consistantly, your best bet is to wait until May.

Equipment is easy for this fishing. Using a light saltwater pole between 7-8 foot will get the job done. It has to be light enough to cast a 1/4 ounce jig. A medium heavy freshwater rod will work also. Most guys use 12 pound line.

For lures that is even easier. Use a 4 inch zoom fluke in white or albino on either 1/4 or 3/8 ounce jig head depending on how fast the water is running. Bring a flashlight or headlamp and pliers. Thats it. It is very simple. This can fit it all in a ziplock bag in your pocket. You do not need to carry a tackle box.

Usually the best tide is 3 hours either side of high. If you go and the water is closer to low. Your best bet is to fish right on the Point Street Bridge. If you do hook a fish ( and the bridge is a great place to fish)you will need some way to bring the fish to the top of the bridge or you can walk to the end of the bridge to the get down to the water. This is where a bridge net comes in handy. http://www.popnetnets.com/ . Sometimes I will try a 3" shad body if the fish are not hitting, but usually if the fish aren't hitting the zoom fluke, they are sulking and won't hit anything.

The more important issue is keeping warm in this weather. Bundle up as best you can if its cold out. Nothing will destroy a trip more than cold. Keep your feet and core warm. The hardest thing to keep warm are your hands. Find a pair of gloves that you can wear and still cast with. Also remember if you catch a fish you might have to take a glove off and get your hand wet.

I don't ice fish ( yet) so catching stripers in the winter is a good way to kill time in such a depressing boring season. I know that no one will actually give it a try but if anyone dares to brave the cold and the supposed crime, Good Luck

Pictures:

1. Striper from last night

2. Bridge Net. Used for lifting fish from bridges and piers.

3. All the equipment you will need to be successful winter striper fishing.

Washington D.C. Part II later in the week.

Postscript: A reader named Chris left me a question in Comments at the bottom of my post. He wanted to know if I had any advice for how to fish the zoom fluke. 95% of the time I just reel it in with a steady retrieve with the rod tip at about 45 degree angle. I get most of my hits this way. I try to fish it a little on the slow side. My friend Dave pumps his rod tip up and down while using a steady retrieve. When we fish together we usually catch about the same amount of fish. Chris- also there are a lot less fish the last couple winters as there were before that. It was very common to have5-10 fish nights. Skunkings are much more common than they used to be. You might not be doing anything wrong. Good Luck!

Washington DC Part 1- Overview

Although Washington DC is obviously not part of New England, I have decided to do a review about it because its withing a day's drive of New England. Its our nation's capital. I personally think every American should visit Washington D.C. There is so much to see and do in D.C. In case anyone is thinking of visiting, I have been three times, I hope this post will help in planning. Since there is so much to see and do , I will break up my analysis of the place into a series of posts. I don't know how many, it depends on how much useless babbling I do ( like right now). First I will start with an overview of travel. I was going to start with writing about monuments which is way more fun to me, however, it would be much easier to read future writings is I explain how the tourist areas work.

It is an 8 hour drive from North Attleboro, MA to downtown Washington. I swear it is 7 but we always seem to get in traffic either in Baltimore, Delaware or the Beltway. I have left home at midnight to be at Arlington National Cemetery for 8 am. I have left at 5 am to be in D.C. in early afternoon. Always seems to take the same 8 hours.

We always stay in the heart of the city at the Hotel Harrington. It is about 3 blocks from Ford's Theater and the White House and 4 blocks from the National Mall. Hotel Harrington is the cheapest hotel in the heart of the city. Unfortunately no other hotels are even in the price range. The in season price for a queen bed is about ( gulp) $179. Most of the other hotels are about $300. When you wake up from passing out take a deep breath, get a glass of water and read on.
This is not an advertisement for Hotel Harrington. The rooms are small. It is over 100 years old.The rooms interior is old wallpaper. You know your not in a 5 star establishment. I am in the room for maybe an hour a day that I am not sleeping so I have no problem sleeping in a hotel with these faults. Like I said above, you can't beat the location and its the cheapest hotel around.

If you want to stay slightly outside the city, lodging is much cheaper. You will have the hassle of driving/ taxi into the city every morning. There is no doubt you could save a bundle of money, but with all the time commuting to the sites, that is up to you. It is a large city with a lot of red lights. It takes a long time to drive a couple of miles.

This leads to my next topic- transportation. Driving in Washington D.C. is a huge hassle. Once in the city we don't touch the car for the entire trip. We use our bikes. You could fight for parking spots all day, you can take the taxis to destinations ( a better option than driving) or you could be cool like me and bike ride. Every night we bring our bikes into the hotel. Management let us use there storage closet to store them. Every morning we pick up our bikes and are ready to go. This works out great for us. We have the freedom to go anywhere we want, don't have to hail a taxi, or worry about parking meters. Although there is probably a statute against it, we ride our bikes on the sidewalks. We take our time if there are pedestrians and cross the street when walkers have right of way. I feel its far safer than riding in traffic dodging morning commuters.
Most museums have bike racks and when there weren't any there was always a skinny tree or fence post to lock up too. Since most museums check backpacks we usually leave our backpacks in between the locked bikes, with the chain going through the straps. This way we can walk in without standing in that line. I figure the worst thing that can happen leaving the backpacks outside is someone steals my lunch. No one ever touched them.

You could also use the subway system to get around. There are stops near the Smithsonian and the Foggy Bottom stop is the closest to Lincoln Memorial. If your lodging is near a subway station, this might be the way to go. Just remember to do some research about what kind of neighborhood you are staying in. I have walked around the mall and our motel area after midnight and felt perfectly safe. I would be skeptical about the rest of the city. I would read motel reviews from travel websites just to double check on my safety.

Food- Georgetown area of D.C. is famous for upscale restaurants. Unfortunately getting a bite to eat or a cheap meal is a little difficult in the Mall area. The Smithsonians have cafeterias. The food is expensive and worse than that- the portions are small. If I'm paying $7 for a burger I want to get full. The food situation was so bad, that we were ecstatic when we found a Subway. We ended up eating lunch there a couple days in a row.

Right next to the parking garage that we kept our car in ( the one Hotel Harrington uses for its guests) there is a pretty good pizza and ice cream place. Next to Hotel Harrington is an ESPN Zone. Remember that all around the mall are government buildings and museums, when they designed the city our founding fathers didn't leave room in the plans for a future Applebees. If you are in the mall area at lunchtime, a little planning may be needed to keep your belly full and consequently continue enjoying your day. You could bring a lunch and leave it outside ( if you rode your bike like the cool kids! ). If you have a smaller appetite than me, you could buy food in a museum.

Another option are the tour buses. Washington DC is loaded with them. A quick internet search showed me they are between $ 30-40 a day but some have a second day free option. You can get on and off at there stops at will. Many of the buses are narrated so you can learn a little something while you are in them. There are many different companies and especially at night the monuments will have buses lined up by the dozen. If this is something you are interested in, it might be a good idea to do some internet research and see what is the best, convienent or cheapest option for you.

Okay, I have covered transportation and lodging and food now I at least get to talk about the city. Most of the tourist areas are around the National Mall. The mall is a grass lawn extending 2 miles from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial. It is maybe 1/4 mile wide. Around the mall are most ( not all ) of the attractions tourists want to see. The main monuments and most of the museums are around this rectangular piece of real estate. One thing many people are a little confused about is the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Institute is not one museum but 14 in the city and 2 in New York. Many of the buildings are around the mall. Most of the government buildings that you want to visit are at the mall

The link below is for the map I use around the city. I use it religiously. I print up a bunch of copies and put one in my pocket for bike rides. It is free and has never lead me off course.
www.aaas.org/dcwest.pdf

I will leave this post with that. This way everyone that reads this can print up a map. When I talk about specific areas you will be able to reference back to the map for relative location