Today was more of the same; another 5.30 am start to be up ay the shop to get the bus at 6.45 am. Once we arrived at Union Station, we decided to walk down to the Capitol to try and get on a tour. Because we were there early, we were able to get ourselves on the first tour of the day. Security, naturally enough was very tight and we couldn’t take our back pack, food and water in. Since there was no where to leave it, John volunteered to sit outside and thus missed the tour. This was unfortunate as the kids and i agreed that it was really interesting. After negotiating security, we were taken into a theatre for a short film on American History. After walking upstairs, we met our friendly guide wh took us to a couple of key spots in the building. Firstly we visited the crypt where dead presidents lie in state. We also stood under the dome – this was a marvel in itself. Built during the time of the Civil War, this dome weighs something like 19000000 pounds. We were also taken to a room where Barack Obama celebrated his inauguration with a presidential lunch. At the conclusion of the tour we visited an exhibit where we saw many original and important documents on display. I got to see Abe Lincoln’s signature.
Once we rejoined John we headed down Pennsylvania Ave to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. One of the most interesting objects on display here was the Hope Diamond – a royal blue 47.5 carat piece of splendour. Another highlight here was a visit to the IMAX Theatre to see Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I suspect John was happy to purchase the tickets for this since it enabled us to sit for forty minutes in air conditioned comfort. After lunch, we almost dreaded going back outside to rejoin our tour – but we did! Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial. Apart from the relentless heat, this monument was an impressive testament to a brave man who died because he followed his principles. My camera was running out of battery but I managed to get off a couple of decent snaps of this and the reflection pond. In many ways, Washington reminds me alot of Canberra in terms of its planning, monuments, lakes and free attractions – just think steroids and you might have a good idea of the scale of Washington DC.
Tonight when we arrived back at the van we hit the TV room to chill out in air conditioned comfort. I was too exhausted to cook dinner so we availed ourselves of the fare at the park cafe. Good stuff!
Tonight as I write, it remains oppressively hot and humid. The cloudy skies are punctuated with lightning so I can only live in hope that a thunder storm might bring some rain and this relief from the heat that has been plaguing us for five days now.
Day 38: 17.08.09
I am writing this blog after two utterly exhausting days exploring Washington DC. In order to see the most of the City, we decided to purchase a two day Hop On – Hop Off Open Top Bus Tour. This was great as the company picked us up from the RV Park which meant, no car, no driving and NO Metro! The bus took us to Union Station where we had to meet our tour. Talk about an impressive building – I think the style is Neo Classical. Anyway, think columns, columns and more columns, paired with granite and tons of marble! What ever it is, this was more than a railway station; this building is a national treasure.
Our first day was yesterday and we decided to have a look at the White House and so, made this our first stop. We spent a little bit of time strolling around the perimeter of the White House grounds. Of course, you were not allowed any where near the building so although we were on the lookout for the President, we were sadly disappointed. After this we rejoined the tour for many obligatory snaps of downtown Washington and all its famous monuments. Since it was getting close to lunchtime and stinking hot yet again) we stopped in Historic Georgetown for some lunch. It was here that our tour guide pointed out the pub where John F Kennedy proposed to his wife. We were impressed.
After lunch we made a quick stop at Arlington National Cemetery. A highlight of this visit (apart from the air conditioned Visitor’s centre) was the grave of John F Kennedy. We would have like to have stayed longer but hastily decided to rejoin the tour and head for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. By now, exhaustion was slowly but surly creeping up on us but being true Aussie tourists, we soldiered on. Particularly interesting was the Apollo 11 capsule and several large (decommissioned) nuclear warheads. Nick was impressed when he got to touch some moon rocks. Apart from all the regular air type displays, I think the space paraphernalia was the most interesting part of this visit. By now it was rather late and we headed back to the Bus which returned us to Union Station.
Back at Cherry Hill, it was straight back to the pool. John volunteered to cook dinner that night - so even though I had to wash up, it felt like a bonus!
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