Where would a guy who is a self-confessed "researcher" and an insatiable learner select as his first destination - the home of all knowledge - the Library of Congress. On June 24, we began. Andrew had prepared the complete itinerary. We caught the 7 a.m. train from the Martin Airport and arrived at Union Station in Washington at 8:05. We started the trek toward the mall, stopping by the U.S. Capitol for a few photos. When we arrived at the mall, the only place open was the Smithsonian Institution Building (a.ka., the Castle), headquarters for the great museums. We took in the orientation video, narrated by Ben Stiller. While it was amusing, the most important information received from the video was a lunch recommendation. More on that later.
We made our way to the Library of Congress for the complimentary public 10:30 a.m. tour. I was surprised to learn a few things during the tour. First, the "library" is now three adjacent buildings - the Jefferson, the Adams and the Madison - plus numerous off-site storage areas. The tour of the Jefferson was less about books and collections and more about architect and art. The building was a marvel, in size, scope and decor. Our volunteer tour guide gave an excellent tour and focused a great deal on the art, evident in every corner of the place. We enjoyed the visit and left around 11:45 a.m.
Ben had recommended the cafeteria in the National Museum of the American Indian. We gave it a try and found a wide variety of unusual native dishes. I opted for a chicken taco on fry bread, which sounds bad for you and tastes like its really bad for you. The meal was great. Andrew was a bit bolder and opted for a buffalo burger and a tomato melon salad. He seemed very satisfied with both choices. After our lunch respite overlooking a neat waterfall, we headed to our next stop - the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
This exhibit had been closed for remodeling during our recent trips to Washington D.C. We spent three hours exploring the museum and were particularly impressed with the exhibit, Within These Walls. The exhibit included a two-story house that had been built in the 1760's in Massachusetts and relocated to the museum after it went vacant in 1945. The exhibit told the stories of five families that had lived in the house, describing the American history that happened as each new family arrived. We also particularly enjoyed the exhibit with the original flag the flew over Fort McHenry and inspired the writing of the Star Spangled Banner, and the exhibit on Abraham Lincoln. We have both Fort McHenry and Civil War sites on our future itineraries, so the background information will be helpful.
Around 3:30 p.m., we exited the museum and headed to the National Aquarium exhibit. Since Andrew is an intern at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, he thought we would check out the branch in D.C. As aquarium members, we had free admission and saw lots of fish. It was great having my own personal tour guide and I was most impressed with the alligator exhibit. After about 60 minutes, we decided the Baltimore version was much better and headed to our next stop.
We walked about 10 blocks north and caught the Circulator bus to the Georgetown area. Andrew wanted to see the Jesuit school. The bus dropped us off in the district and we had another 10-block walk to campus. We were quite impressed with the campus. It seemed like a quiet oasis away from the madness of DC, but still close enough to engage in the madness if you wanted. As a John Carroll University alum, it was great to see the huge statue of John sitting in a chair on the front lawn of the campus. After a walking tour of campus, we opted to have dinner in the O'Donovan Dining Hall. I remember now why I gained those 10 pounds my freshman year at college. It was a good choice. Despite the summer hours, the hall was bustling with a participants from a leadership conference.
We hustled back to M Street to catch the Circulator back to Union Station. However, the delay in the arrival of the bus, compounded by the slow progress through heavy traffic, caused us to miss the 6:13 train, which would have taken us back to the Martin Airport stop. Fortunately, mom agreed to pick us up at Baltimore's Penn Station, so we caught the 7:40 p.m. train, instead of waiting for the 9 p.m., which was the next one scheduled to go as far as Martin.
Andrew fell asleep on the train. We had an exhausting day, but a memorable one. We had always talked about taking advantage of our proximity to Washington. It took the threat of limited days left in this region to get us in gear. But, we had a great first exhibition! Week one is in the books!
We made our way to the Library of Congress for the complimentary public 10:30 a.m. tour. I was surprised to learn a few things during the tour. First, the "library" is now three adjacent buildings - the Jefferson, the Adams and the Madison - plus numerous off-site storage areas. The tour of the Jefferson was less about books and collections and more about architect and art. The building was a marvel, in size, scope and decor. Our volunteer tour guide gave an excellent tour and focused a great deal on the art, evident in every corner of the place. We enjoyed the visit and left around 11:45 a.m.
Ben had recommended the cafeteria in the National Museum of the American Indian. We gave it a try and found a wide variety of unusual native dishes. I opted for a chicken taco on fry bread, which sounds bad for you and tastes like its really bad for you. The meal was great. Andrew was a bit bolder and opted for a buffalo burger and a tomato melon salad. He seemed very satisfied with both choices. After our lunch respite overlooking a neat waterfall, we headed to our next stop - the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
This exhibit had been closed for remodeling during our recent trips to Washington D.C. We spent three hours exploring the museum and were particularly impressed with the exhibit, Within These Walls. The exhibit included a two-story house that had been built in the 1760's in Massachusetts and relocated to the museum after it went vacant in 1945. The exhibit told the stories of five families that had lived in the house, describing the American history that happened as each new family arrived. We also particularly enjoyed the exhibit with the original flag the flew over Fort McHenry and inspired the writing of the Star Spangled Banner, and the exhibit on Abraham Lincoln. We have both Fort McHenry and Civil War sites on our future itineraries, so the background information will be helpful.
Around 3:30 p.m., we exited the museum and headed to the National Aquarium exhibit. Since Andrew is an intern at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, he thought we would check out the branch in D.C. As aquarium members, we had free admission and saw lots of fish. It was great having my own personal tour guide and I was most impressed with the alligator exhibit. After about 60 minutes, we decided the Baltimore version was much better and headed to our next stop.
We walked about 10 blocks north and caught the Circulator bus to the Georgetown area. Andrew wanted to see the Jesuit school. The bus dropped us off in the district and we had another 10-block walk to campus. We were quite impressed with the campus. It seemed like a quiet oasis away from the madness of DC, but still close enough to engage in the madness if you wanted. As a John Carroll University alum, it was great to see the huge statue of John sitting in a chair on the front lawn of the campus. After a walking tour of campus, we opted to have dinner in the O'Donovan Dining Hall. I remember now why I gained those 10 pounds my freshman year at college. It was a good choice. Despite the summer hours, the hall was bustling with a participants from a leadership conference.
We hustled back to M Street to catch the Circulator back to Union Station. However, the delay in the arrival of the bus, compounded by the slow progress through heavy traffic, caused us to miss the 6:13 train, which would have taken us back to the Martin Airport stop. Fortunately, mom agreed to pick us up at Baltimore's Penn Station, so we caught the 7:40 p.m. train, instead of waiting for the 9 p.m., which was the next one scheduled to go as far as Martin.
Andrew fell asleep on the train. We had an exhausting day, but a memorable one. We had always talked about taking advantage of our proximity to Washington. It took the threat of limited days left in this region to get us in gear. But, we had a great first exhibition! Week one is in the books!
Mike
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