Washington DC Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History/National Air and Space Museum. Oct 2019

If you like dinosaurs, this is the place to be. Lots of Dino exhibits and models as well as skeletons and fossils.  Mastodons, T rex, triceratops - they're all here. There is the usual gallery of stuffed animals that you see in any natural history museum. They also have some incredible gems but the most famous is the Hope Diamond, a 45 carat blue diamond that even has its own curse! They also have an amazing huge aquamarine that is 10,363 carats. Lots of diamonds and gemstones here too.

We left the Natural History Museum and walked across the Capitol Mall to the Air and Space Museum. Did I mention that everything is very walkable here? The Capitol Mall is very long but practically everything you want to see is right there. There is a red bus that makes a loop of the mall and monuments to reduce the amount of walking if you prefer. It was initially free but they had just started charging a small fee at the end of our visit.

The Air and Space Museum was undergoing renovation so only about a third of the museum was open. We did see a prototype of the lunar landing module, some spacesuits and they also have the original airplane that the Wright Brothers flew for the very first airplane flight!  The canvas has been replaced due to aging,  but the remainder of the plane is completely original. There was a movie theater but we skipped that part. Mike says there is another air and space museum near the airport as well.

Washington DC Bureau of Engraving and Printing/National Cathedral Oct 2019

We had an early morning tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This was the morning that we got on the metro heading the wrong way and had to get off at the next stop and board again to go the right direction, so we had to hustle to be there on time. We arranged this tour through the Congressman's office as well, so we actually had a tour prior to the building opening to the public. It was really nice, there were only a few other people with us. We walked by later and the line to get in was out the door and down the sidewalk.

On this tour you get to see the printing presses and learn about how the money is printed. All the employees were funny and would hold up stacks of money for you to see. There are lots of layers of printing on the currency to try to stop counterfeiting, so there are lots of stages in the printing process. It was an enjoyable tour and you can even buy bags of shredded money in the gift shop. I thought that was a little weird but.. whatever.

We then walked over to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence,  the US Constitution and the Magna Carta. It was a little disappointing to see that the Declaration was so terribly faded that you could barely make out anything except John Hancock's signature. I'm sure they have a better copy locked in a vault somewhere, I hope so anyway. The Constitution is still legible as is the Magna Carta.

After lunch, we took an Uber to the National Cathedral for a tour there. I wanted to do the Tower Climb tour but they didn't have any that day so we opted for the behind-the-scenes tour instead.  It was an interesting tour. We started in the main cathedral and learned some of the history behind the cathedral. We went up to the upper levels and out onto a walkway to see the buttresses as well as some of the damage from an earthquake several years ago that is still being repaired as funding allows. We even got to go inside to see the top of the vaulting above the nave and we talked about some of the restoration efforts and the craftsmen who work on the cathedral full time.

Washington, DC. White House and US Capitol Building Oct 2019

If you want to tour the White House, you have to apply through the office of your congressman in the US House of Representatives. They contact the White House tour office and you receive a form to fill out and return, and then you wait and wait and wait... The form said the tour office would let us know 2-3 weeks before our requested date if our tour was authorized. They were running a little behind so we actually received our tour date and time 3 days before we left home. I was beginning to think we hadn't been accepted for some reason, Yikes!

There are several layers of security checkpoints that you have to pass through to enter the White House, as one would expect. You're not allowed to bring anything with you except your tour confirmation, your wallet and your cell phone. I was actually surprised they allowed cell phones, but it was nice to be able to take a few photos.

We toured the East Wing, the West Wing is where all the action is so you're not allowed to go there. We were able to see the private movie theater, the East Room (where they hold formal receptions), Green Room, Red Room, Blue Room, Vermeil room, and the formal Dining Room. The East Room has excellent portraits of George Washington (one of the items saved by Dolley Madison) and also of Theodore Roosevelt. There are 3 large chandeliers as well.  An interesting thing about the chandeliers is that even thought they are still large, they were originally much larger and have actually been reduced in size by about one third. An even more interesting thing about the East Room is that when President John Adams moved in, the room was used for laundry because the East Wing was largely unfinished at the time.  A large portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs in the formal Dining Room and there are beautiful pieces of antique furniture in all the rooms and lovely floral centerpieces as well.

Upon leaving the White House, we had a couple of hours before our Capitol tour so we walked to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  We had a friend whose name is inscibed on the wall there.
The memorial itself is nice, there is a water feature and a book to help you find the names of people you're looking for. There is also a museum across the street that has displays related to law enforcement history.

Our Capitol tour started at Representative McClintock's office which is across the street from he Capitol. One of the interns took us through the tunnel that goes under the street and accesses the Capitol Building. We got to see the original Supreme Court chamber as well as the original rooms where the Senate and House would meet.  They have beautiful marble floors and columns and domed ceilings with intricate cupolas. In one of the rooms, if you stand in exactly the right place, you can hear what someone is saying far across the room. It's an acoustic phenomenon that could be a strategic advantage if you wanted to know what the other party was talking about.  It's similar to the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's in London.

One of the rooms has huge paintings of early American history. There is an excellent painting of George Washington resigning his commission as Commander of the Continental Army.  There are also friezes around the upper perimeter of the room that depict moments in American history from the beginning of the nation through the discovery of gold in California in 1848.

There is a place in the Capitol building where you can see the place where George Washington laid the original cornerstone on September 18, 1793.

The Congress was not in session so we were allowed to go down and actually sit in the front section of seats in the House of Representatives, right where all the generals sit during the State of the Union address I think.

It was a very enjoyable tour and there was just one other couple on the tour with us. At the end, the intern was able to take us onto the front balcony which has a great view all the way down the Capitol Mall to the Lincoln Memorial.

                                                                   The East room

                                                              State Dining Room

                                                        US Capitol Building frieze

                                                            Painting in US Capitol

Washington, DC Metro system/ Smithsonian Museum of American History. Oct 2019

It's been a crazy busy year! I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Washington DC in October. Mike has been there a couple of times, but it was my first trip. One of our daughters got married in September, so we only had time for a short vacation this year. We allotted 1 week to see the major sites and museums with a trip to Mount Vernon as well.

We arrived early in the day on a Sunday and checked in at our hotel, the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. There is a convenient metro stop just across from the hotel with underground access tunnel through the Crystal Gateway shopping center.

As I've said before, we're definitely not experts at using subways but I had done some research and knew which transit pass to buy. There was a transit office in Crystal Gateway center, so we were able to buy our prepaid transit cards there. The lady at the desk was helpful and really funny, we actually checked back with her when we returned to our hotel at the end of the day to let her know we found our way back! The metro system for the main sites in DC is really very simple to use and the subway is very clean.  We only got on going the wrong direction once and immediately realized our mistake, so we just went one stop out of our way.

After purchasing our cards, we headed into DC and our first stop was the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. There was so much to see! We spent a good bit of time on the first floor which highlights American inventions and ingenuity. The second floor's most incredible display is the Star-Spangled Banner - the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The same flag Francis Scott Key saw as he watched the battle from the ship where he was being held prisoner. The flag spent almost 100 years in the possession of the Armistead family, the descendants of the fort commander. This is a big flag, originally 30x42 feet. It is very worn, as one would expect because the Armistead family used to take it out and display it on holidays and the flag has been laundered several times. It now lies in a controlled environment room with a huge glass window.

We eventually made our way to the third floor which has exhibits on the Presidents and First Ladies of the United States. One of the most interesting things to me was the exhibit of the actual table and chairs used by General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee at the signing of the Confederacy's official surrender to end the Civil War. There are also some items relating to President Abraham Lincoln, but there are lots more at the Ford Theater (a tour I highly recommend). They have George Washington's sword as well.

An interesting story, that I had never heard before, was an account of how First Lady Dolley Madison helped to save precious artifacts of American history. In 1814 during the War of 1812, the British advanced on Washington and burned the White House and the Capitol Building. When the Madisons found out that the British were coming and were only 30 miles away, the orders were given to evacuate the White House. Dolley stayed and oversaw the packing of several key possessions and artwork that were important in American history, and only then did she leave the city. A few days later, after the British had been repelled, she returned to Washington to meet with builders and start making plans to rebuild the White House.

We stayed so long that we actually had a late lunch in the dining area at the museum. I think we spent about 6 hours total, my back was hurting from standing in place so long looking at all the exhibits and reading the information.

It was one of my favorite museums in Washington.

California - San Diego Coronado Island and USS Midway April 2019

We had a whole day and half of the next day before our flight home, so we spent most of the day Friday on Coronado Island. I really like Coronado, the island and the town. When I was a teenager, my family would go to Disneyland and San Diego every year on Easter vacation. We would camp in Mission Bay but we always spent a day on the beach at Coronado.

We took the harbor ferry across to the island (Yes, I remembered my hat and the sunscreen today) and walked through town to the beach. We stopped off along the way at a little Mexican fast-food place for lunch. Sooo much food. It was pretty windy at the beach and the water was freezing cold, but if you could find a place out of the wind it was warm enough for a t-shirt and shorts. We spent some time at the beach and I dabbled my feet in the water a bit. We walked through the grand old Del Coronado Hotel grounds and started a leisurely stroll back to the ferry landing. We decided to walk a couple of blocks off the main street on the way back and saw lots of charming cottages and houses. No cookie-cutter stuff here, they're all different.

Back to our hotel to change clothes then off to Little Italy for dinner. We ate a restaurant called Filippi's that has apparently been there a long time. You have to access the restaurant through a small Italian market and the line was out the door when we arrived. It moved pretty quickly though and we were seated within 20 minutes. Good old-fashioned Italian food in giant proportions. We shared a pizza and had salads but I saw the plates of spaghetti with meatballs the size of tennis balls and a giant plate of lasagna. Yummy stuff and a fun relaxed vibe.

Our flight the next day didn't leave until the afternoon so we spent the morning on the USS Midway.
The Midway is a decommissioned aircraft carrier turned into a floating museum. Both Mike and I have been here before, but it was interesting to see it again. We chatted with a docent who had served on the Midway at the end of WWII, and the guy looked great considering he had to be 90 years old. He told us a little about his experiences on the ship and it was just a real pleasure to speak with him. We toured the interior of the ship and the hanger bay, then went topside to the deck and checked out all the planes, helicopters and jets on display. They frequently have ceremonies own the deck and today was no exception. They had just finished a ceremony for a female pilot being promoted to the rank of colonel.  We had seen some other ceremonies as we went by on our harbor cruise the other day too.

                             Bob Hope Memorial with USS Midway in the background

Restaurant entrance is through that little arch you can barely see at the end of the aisle

California - San Diego Balboa Park and Harbor Cruise April 2019

After yesterday's trip to the zoo, I was pretty confident in my ability to get around by bus. Mike had a half day of his conference left, so I decided to go back out to Balboa Park ad check out the Museum of Photographic Arts. The buildings ion that part of the park were built for the Panama-California Exhibition in 1915 so they're pretty cool old Spanish style buildings. 

The museum of Photographic Art was quite a disappointment to me. It was very small and veru=y limited. You can read my Tripadvisor review here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60750-d128806-r665579237-Museum_of_Photographic_Arts_MoPA-San_Diego_California.html

I wandered over to the Botanical building but it was closed that day. I contemplated going back to zoo since I was within walking distance, but I couldn't justify the admission price for just a couple of hours. There are couple of other museums in Balboa Park, but nothing that really piqued my interest so I went back to the hotel to wait for Mike to finish up. 

In the afternoon, we took a harbor cruise with Hornblower Cruises. The two hour version is definitely the better option I think, because I enjoyed the second hour more than the first. If you take the 1 hour option you only go halfway along the harbor, either north or south and which way you go depends on when you board. Anyway, I enjoyed the southern loop because they take you past the shipyards where you can see ships being built and refurbished including naval ships. Our captain had been in the navy so he knew all about the different ships and talked about them as we went along. We saw several helicopters in flight and an Osprey as well. Two Navy Seal boats zoomed by us too. There was an aircraft carrier in port too.

I only wished I had thought to bring my hat as I added to my sunburn from the previous day. I did buy some sunscreen that morning but since I had already put on my makeup, I didn't put any on my face. Big mistake, I burned my face a little more and burned my scalp too. We've had so much rain the last several months, that I'm not used to thinking about sunburn. 

California - San Diego Zoo April 2019

Mike was attending a conference in San Diego, so I flew there to join him for a couple of days. We've been to San Diego many times in the past, but haven't been there for about 8 years now.

Mike was in his conference all day Wednesday, so I decided to go to the zoo.  San Diego Zoo is a great zoo - lots of things to see, a huge variety of animals, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. I checked my fitness band and I walked 7 miles that day, just at the zoo!

Fo those if you who don't like zoos or keeping animals in captivity, I understand your feelings. Most zoos have breeding programs or other animal conservation programs so I believe they have a place in our society, especially since so many people would never be able to see these animals in the wild.

Our grandkids love going to zoos and so I go to our local zoos fairly often, but the type of animals to see is fairly small and neither zoo has elephants. I have very fond memories of feeding peanuts to the elephants at our local zoo when was a child, so the first exhibit I headed for was Africa Rocks. The elephants have a nice area, about 3-4 acres in size with its own lake. Two Asian elephants and two African elephants live here.

The zoo has had an agreement with China for over 20 years to receive Chinese Panda Bears and establish a breeding program that has resulted in several baby Pandas. The breeding program is coming to an end so I wanted to be sure to see the Pandas as I hadn't seen them in person before. I got a good look from the bridge that goes above the Panda exhibit. That was a good thing because when I made it to their enclosure later that day, the bear was sleeping and couldn't be seen.

I saw lots of other animals - lion, tigers and bears, oh my! 😉 Sorry, couldn't resist that. I also saw gorillas, orangutans, leopards, meerkats, giraffes, hippo, eagles, otters, penguins, you name it and SD zoo probably has it. They also have 3 walk-through aviaries where you can see the birds close-up. I had a toucan flying back and forth over my head in one of the aviaries, they're so colorful and pretty up close like that. I realized at the end of the day that I had forgotten the reptile house so I'll have to see that another time. By then I was sunburned and a little tired so I hit the gift shop for a little present for the grandkids and then walked back to the bus stop.

Oh! That's something else I should add, it was super easy to get to the zoo via public transportation and San Diego Metro Transit has a really good transit app for smartphones that I found very easy to use. An all-day transit pass (good on buses and trams) is only $5. I was able to catch the bus just one block from my hotel and didn't even have to change buses. This is a big deal for me as we live in a rural area and no public transit options, so I rarely use public transportation and I find it a little nerve-wracking to make sure I'm actually going where I think I'm going when I do use it.