My oldest son and I travelled to Washington, DC to celebrate my youngest son’s birthday. No trip to DC is complete without mall walking, plus we planned to attend the Concert for Valor Veteran’s Day evening. If you haven’t visited DC, the city is laid out on a grand scale, so, since you can’t park downtown, you end up walking long distances. I really missed my hiking boots!!
Here are a few scenes from the trip:
Washington Monument with Moon.
The low building houses the ticket office. There were 50 or so people lined up for free tickets at a door on this side of the building. The actual ticket window is on the other side of the building, facing the monument. 5 people were lined up at the correct window—an example of the “sheeple” principle.
Washington Monument With Flock of Birds.
West View from Washington Monument Observation Deck. WWII and Lincoln Memorials.
South View—Jefferson Memorial. Note arriving tour buses.
East View to Capitol Building. Arched structure on mall is Concert for Valor stage.
North View to White House. A crane is lifting national Christmas tree into position in circular area.
North East View, Federal Offices, Museum of Afro-American History under construction bottom right.
Lincoln Memorial Perspective from WWII Memorial.
Washington Monument from Lincoln Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial from Reflecting Pool edge.
US 495 bridge to Arlington National Cemetary from plinth of Lincoln Memorial.
Relecting Pool and Capitol Building from Lincoln Memorial.
A uniformed NPS ranger is rousting the breakfasters from their spots in the sun. No picnicking at the monument. A security force helicopter is canvassing the mall.
Korean War Memorial. More Koreans than Americans paying their respects.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Nov 11, Veteran’s Day, was a “late” day, so I walked to Wheaton Regional Park to catch sunrise. The park is for locals so it doesn’t register on the tourist scene, but does have many interesting attractions, including sports complexes, a Japanese Garden, Botanical Garden, a narrow gauge excursion train, an authentic antique carousel, picnic areas, playgrounds, miles of hiking trails, and fields of second growth trees, now quite large.
Forested area, Wheaton Regional Park, Wheaton, MD.
Reflecting Pool at Japanese Garden.
Colorful Understory—large trees have largely lost leaves—pinky red is Winged Euonymus.
Lower Pool at Japanese Garden.
Deciduous Forest—mostly Tulip Trees, but some Eastern Red Oak, Linden, and Maple mixed in.
Sole Sugar Maple--Not a native in this area.
That afternoon we sampled more museums. I really enjoyed the Phillips Collection, a private collection which, while much smaller than the National Portrait Gallery, has a truly phenomenal collection of amazing pieces. My favorite was Renoir’s ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’, which has a luminosity to it that does not carry thru in any reproduction—it has to be seen in person.
The National Portrait Gallery has so many interesting and historical pieces you could spend days there. It exhibits several Bierstadt paintings of the Sierra Nevada as well as glass negative prints, all from the era when the Sierra was terra incognita. A portrait of John Muir hangs with a quote—probably from a letter since there was no attribution—describing how he disliked cities.
The following photo is of the National Portrait Gallery’s enclosed courtyard. Undoubtedly a wonderful place to hang out when the weather is bitterly cold.
Ultimately, we decided not to attend the Concert for Valor. We had to be up at 3:30 AM to catch our flight, so getting home via mass transportation at 10PM with 800,000 other people didn’t seem workable.
This was a great time to visit—no crowds anywhere.
