When I arrived it was bloody hot (95° and humid) but my last day was absolutely gorgeous; the perfect temperature.
DC is incredible, but I am most amazed by the architecture and the detail in the design elements of all the buildings. How did they do it without modern machinery? Here are some highlights from my trip to DC as I head back to Pennsylvania…
US Capitol: just a gorgeous building which gave me goosebumps thinking that this is where laws get made.
National Archives: Unfortunately they don’t let you take pictures here, but I got to see the actual Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights and it made me giddy. Also the staff there have so much fun it’s great.
Library of Congress: You can access it by taking a tunnel from the Capitol. All along the the tunnel the walls are lined with posters telling you what you you can expect when you get to the Library. I was looking foreward to seeing Jefferson’s library, a display about women’s suffrage and a Guttenberg bible. The Library of Congress is just breathtaking. I continue to be amazed at the architecture and decoration. All of the ceilings are done in Mosaic tile.
Labor Department: remember Francis Perkins, the first woman to hold a cabinet position? They named this building for her.
Treasury Building
Department of Agriculture
The Supreme Court
The White House
Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial: One day, I arrived here early in the morning and just sat against a pillar and read the second inaugural address and the Gettysburg address. I left a little of my heart back at The Lincoln memorial.
Vietnam War Memorial: I love the starkness of the design.
Korean War Memorial: Gives you the feeling of soldiers patrolling through the bush.
World War II Memorial: Beautiful and well thought out. Honors the Pacific and Atlantic theatres and soldiers from all the states and in the Union.
Martin Luther King: Right by the water. Focuses on who he was at his best: an orator.
Jefferson Memorial
African American
Sobering three stories below ground starting with historic roots of slavery in the US and ending with Barack Obama’s turnout on the National Mall for his first inaugural address. The long line for the Emmet Till memorial ended in learning about a heartbreaking story of a mother’s decision which turned the tide of the Civil rights movement. The statue of Phillis Wheatley made me weep.
National Gallery of Modern Art
Ok, some modern art, I just don’t get. But I loved it, and I bonded with one of the guards who agreed with me and suggested a documentary on Yayoh Kusama for me to watch.
Smithsonian Castle and gardens
Great overview of all of the Smithsonian museums, and some awesome photos of DC then and now. Then was was the Civil War era.
Portrait Gallery
The Hall of Presidents was so great. The portrait of John F Kennedy was surprising. There was a gorgeous portrait of Michelle Obama in another area of Museum, and I loved it so much. But The Four Justices was my favorite.
DC
Botanical Gardens
The Renwick Gallery
This gallery is devoted to sculptural fine art. It is beautiful.
When I was a small child my family’s world was rocked when my uncle Ted was killed in the line of duty as a prison guard in Yuma Arizona. Today I went to visit the law enforcement memorial in Washington DC. They make it very easy for you to find the names of your loved ones, and there on the East Side 11th panel was the name Theodore J Buckley. I spent some time quietly reflecting on not just my uncle’s name but also on the thousands of other names that line those long walls.
Guy #1 “Look at this guy, Franklin Pierce. I’ve never even heard of this guy and he was one of our presidents.”
Guy #2 “He looks like Todd from Wedding Crashers.”
This last one is the back of the Lincoln Memorial. It’s how I know I have arrived.
I wanted to not be a tourist in New York. Rather, I just wanted to live there for a few days and experience it. That is just what I did. Yes, I did do some touristy things as well, but I loved having my uncle’s apartment to return to after exploring. I loved sitting in Central Park and reading. I had no schedule, unless you count a Saturday matinee, and enjoyed getting lost on the subway and having to figure it all out. When it was time to leave I was ready because my time was spent well.
I am so grateful to my uncle Mike who gave me the opportunity to be a New Yorker for a few days. I loved having a little apartment to come home to and meals in. (He’s so cool, he knows where to look at the camera when taking a selfie!)
Uncle Mike bought me a delicious three course French dinner and financed a cab for my trip back to Penn Station–I was gonna ride the subway, but he does things with style. My Uncle likes to paint, so I thought it fitting that I end my time here with a painting he did of the brownstone that is his New York home.
Joanie On My Mind 