This morning was the morning we needed after the oh-so-full day we had yesterday. We started at our own pace with absolutely nothing on the schedule. We decided to spend the majority of our day in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. That’s the one I most wanted to visit. It has all of the cool American things you hear about- Abe Lincoln’s hat, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Dallas’ own frozen margarita machine- the first of its kind. We saw the original Kermit the Frog, Archie Bunker’s chair and the original George Reeves Superman costume from the old TV show. We stood on a part of the stage from Woodstock and held a replica of Prince’s guitar. It was very cool. The first thing we saw was the original Star-Spangled Banner. It was very, very large, and surrounded by a flurry of kids on a summer field trip.
It was such a long day there that we ate lunch at their cafeteria. It was actually very good, but if I can offer one pro tip- they sell food by weight, and apparently, items on a salad bar weigh a lot. It was just what we needed to launch into the afternoon at that same museum. It is so much, that you need to spend a lot of time there.
We wrapped it up at that museum later in the afternoon and headed to the hotel for a nap. It was a lot of walking, and our feet are almost used to the stand-and-shuffle move of museum visits, but naps are, indeed, magical.
Dinner was to be in Chinatown. I had been to Chinatown in my last DC visit back in 2012, but the neighborhood has changed. After we went through the amazing decorative gate, there was a scene unfolding in front of us with a series of police officers and some folks (probably) breaking one or more laws. There were roaming people who truly looked up-to-no-good. We made our way to the restaurant we wanted to visit quickly, and at the close of what was a wonderful meal, our waiter confided in us that the neighborhood isn’t what it used to be. Covid killed their business and it hasn’t recovered. I felt bad for the guy- he seemed nice, if totally exasperated.
Nevertheless, we walked pretty quickly to the gate when we left the restaurant, as we weren’t interested in lingering. We made our way to the National Mall, and we visited exactly two amazing things before we decided it was time to pack it in for the night. It’s another day where the step-counter on my watch has topped 20,000, so I will not be responding to accusations that I need to go to bed early due to my advanced age. It was a big day, that’s all.
The two things we had the opportunity to really check out were the Washington Monument and the World War II memorial. The WWII one is relatively new, having been completed in 2004, and it’s absolutely stunning. It’s a big ellipse shaped thing with pillars for each of the states and territories. One end of the ellipse has a balcony that says Pacific and the other says Atlantic. The center is all fountains. It’s beautiful.
The Washington Monument is exactly what you have come to expect, but when you get up close, it’s so much more impressive. The bricks you see when you look at photos are about as wide as my arms when I stretch them all the way out. It’s kind of amazing. We have been trying to book entry to the inside of the Washington Monument for a while, now. There was a promise online when we were back in Dallas that we could get tickets 30 days out. That didn’t happen. There are allegedly tickets you can get online for next-day visits, but you have to be a real quick draw at 10 am. We’re trying again tomorrow. I set an alarm on my phone for 9:45. There are also a batch of same-day tickets that are released at something like 9am each day, so we will try that as a last resort. We’ve got time, so we’ll see if any of that works.
Other National Mall visits will certainly come later in the trip. We haven’t made it to the Vietnam Memorial wall or the Lincoln Monument. We have a lot to go and see, but we also have time to do just that. Tomorrow, we will take the hop-on-hop-off bus tour we booked back in Dallas. Cas is calling it the HOHO bus. I like that. This tour company has a bus that will take you all around to different sites of interest, including Arlington Cemetery. From there, for a few more bucks, you can book a bus of theirs that runs through Arlington and tours you around the Cemetery. We forked over the few bucks. Why not? I love that the former home of Robert E. Lee was where the Civil War dead were buried, and that’s how we got to where we are. Serves him right for seceding and leading the rebel army. Talk about the wrong side of history. But more on that tomorrow.
For now, here’s a photo of some very fancy drinks you can get in Chinatown:
And of course, here are our photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/i5YWxcScDLHgbJqLA
See you after we ride the HOHO bus!
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