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.

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

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