Gary-Summer: DC-Lincoln

Showing posts with label DC-Lincoln. Show all posts

Thursday, March 30, 2023

March 30, 2023 - Washington DC

Title: March 30, 2023 - Washington DC

Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Tourist

Distance: 2.07 Miles

Description:

Supreme Court

I must have been tired as I slept over 8 ½ hours last night. Not that yesterday was a tiring day. I think it is an accumulation. We will see how today goes. We only have a few things on the docket: Supreme Court, a tour of Ford’s Theater and possibly going to the Kennedy Center.

We leave at 9:50 for a short ride on the Metro from NoMa to Union Station. It saves about 10 minutes and a ¾ of a mile of walking. But we still need to walk to the Supreme Court. We get in line about 10:10 and get admitted at 10:30. We find out that the 10:30 lecture will not be held today because the Courtroom is closed. But it will be available Friday at 10:30, 12:30 and 1:30.

So we are content to read about the building and the Court. It talks about how this building was not constructed until the 1930’s. Before that, they met in parts of the Capitol building And then there were the accomplishments of the justices of the Court. Some of them were the Chief Justices; others were part of the court. Of course the big one is Justice Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice. He set the tone for the rest of the Court’s activities. But there was also quite a display on Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice.

Belmont-Paul Suffrage House

We did not have time to go through even half of what was there. But when I go to a place like this, there are certain things which cause me to pause and think. There was engraved in stone four court cases, one of them, and I do not have the reference, talks about how the US Constitution is malleable and needs to conform to the needs of each generation. I wonder how this opinion works with today’s Court’s activity where the justices seem more in tune with what the original documents say and what did the original signers mean. Things to ponder and look at.

We have a noon pass for the Ford Theater. So we leave the Supreme Court at 11:10. We walk up to E St NE, passing by the Belmont-Paul Suffrage House

Ford's Theater

. At E, we just miss the bus. So we waited about 20 minutes for the D6 bus. When it comes, it lets us off just a block or so from the Ford Theater.

We have a noon pass so they let us in, even though we are 15 minutes late. So we get herded into the basement where there is a museum which they funnel all visitors down into. When we get down, they announce something about allowing us up into the theater in a little while. In retrospect, it was probably the tour. But Sherri and I just continue our looking around as the displays talk about Lincoln’s presidency, principally about the Civil War. But there is talk about his relationship with African-Americans. There is one which they showed a History Channel film on, Fredrick Douglass.

I think we are getting hungry, but we still want to go up into the Theater. First thing, we try out our seats for tomorrow night’s performance. They will do, even though there is a pillar slightly obscuring the stage right. The seats are pretty compact, as was said, this is a Victorian style theater. From the stage right side of the theater, you can look up into the Presidential box where Lincoln was shot. We go on up to the second deck. Here we can see clearly into Lincoln’s box. It is a bit numbing being this close to this great event. How could it be so?

Lunch at Succotash

We make our way down the stairs-a bit tricky since the steps are narrow and end up being very narrow on the inside of the curved stairs. Our next objective: find someplace to eat! The Supreme Court does not allow any food or drink, even water, into the building. So we are hungry. Sherri finds a place called Succotash Prime just around the corner from the Ford Theater. As we go in, we see it is a James Beard award winner. I guess this will not be Shake Shack pricing. I go with what I think I am going to like: a Fried Chicken Sandwich. It is really good and really big. Sherri orders Chicken and Waffles with an asparagus side and Belles Punch to drink. She is immensely satisfied with it all. She showed an interest in how the asparagus is made. The waiter uses the term mint chimichurri. She will need to look up what this is.

Now what to do with the rest of the day. It is 4pm. We can meander back to our room. But we decided to go over to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. We take the Metro from the Metro Center Station to Foggy Bottom. Then walk the half of a mile to the Center.

RiverRun Rug at Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center is right next to the Watergate building-yes that Watergate. But as large as the Watergate is, the Kennedy Center looks humongous. From the outside, it is just one large block of stone. But when you wander inside, you get the feeling of the complexity of the building. The first thing which catches our eye is the rugs both hanging and laying on pedestals. They are not flat, but show relief. They depict life in the forest.

States Flags

I wander over to someone who looks like she may be able to help me understand what we are to do with the building. She directs us down some steps to the lower part of the building. There is a station there which provides tours. One is being organized-with twenty five high school students from Alabama, plus their chaperones. We are invited to either wait for another tour and join this one. We joined.

Helen is our tour host. She is really good, dialoguing with the students, and explaining what we are seeing. One of the things she talks about is a festival underway right now called RiverRun. The idea is that the art is depicting scenes where water flows through, from the forest scenes we saw in the rugs to overhead where there are waves and curves of blue shirts flowing through the air-atmospheric rivers. She also calls our attention to this hall is the Hall of States where each of the states, the five territories and the District of Columbia has a flag high up. There is an international hall where country flags are flown who contributed to the making of the Center.

She then takes us to the various theaters making up the Center. The most predominant one is the Eisenhower Theater-he is the one who started the planning of a Art Center back in 1958 It was after Kennedy died did this become a memorial to Kennedy She also takes us into the Opera House where the Performing Arts awards are presented each year. In both of these theaters, there is a Presidential box which we see from the outside. I assume the other four theaters also have similar boxes for the President.

The final area Helen takes us to is the terrace. The terrace gives us a splendid view of the Potomac. We can see Arlington over to Georgetown. She points out the Pentagon. We can see both the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials as well. Such a good view.This is the end of the tour, and in many ways the exclamation mark on it. Helen invites us to walk around the terrace and view DC from all sides of it. It is worth the steps. We also go into the display which talks about Kennedy. Interesting what we lived through in our youth.

And now it is time to head back to our rooms. Parked in front of us is bus 42 which is one of the routes Google says to take. So we took it to Farragut Park. I saw the Metro station just before the park, so we went there. But there is no Red Line sign! Why? When I ask, security says this is Farragut West, not North. So we take a Blue Line to Metro Center, get off and get on the Red Line to NoMa.

It is good to be back in our room before dark for a change. I do go out for a few groceries, but we spent most of the rest of the night just resting. This travel thing is wearing on us.

Background

Trip Advisor:

Succotash Prime: This is the type of place which my wife and I eat at maybe once every five or ten years. As you might guess, my sense of taste is not finely developed. We had just come from the Ford’s Theater and were hungry. Succotash being right around the corner seemed like a good fit-it was.

The food was excellent and the servings were plentiful. Plus the wait staff were present without bein intrusive. I had the Fried Chicken Sandwich; my wife the Chicken and Waffles with an asparagus side and Belles Punch to drink. All was good and if anything, the serving size was overwhelming. But with food this good, we enjoyed it to the last morsel.

Extra Photo's

Ford's Theater-Presidential Booth

Sherri in the first balcony at the Ford's Theater

Ford's Theater-Presidential Booth

Supreme Court staircase railing

Supreme Court-Circular Staircase

Sandra Day O'Connor

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

John Marshall

Gary and Sherri at the Ford's Theater

Kennedy Center-River Run Rug

Kennedy Center Grand Hallway

Presidential Entrance to the Eisenhower Theater

Kennedy Sculptor

The Rest of the pictures are from th top of the Kennedy Center

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument

Watergate

US Institute of Peace

Old Post Office Building

View looking east and south

Kennedy Museum of art

Friday, March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023 - Washington DC

Title: March 24, 2023 - Washington DC

Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Tourist

Walking: 3.2 miles

Description:

General Puraski

It is raining here in DC this morning. I do not think that our outdoor activities are going to happen. So we might try a few indoor things like museums. I did get up at 8am to see if we could get tickets for the Holocaust Museum, but I do not see any availability. I guess I am still tired after 9 hours of sleep as I flop on the couch, waiting for Sherri to get up.

This will allow us to have a relaxing morning with pancakes for breakfast. Then we will figure out which museums to see today. We work through a list and come up with a short list of places which we have not been too yet:

We head off to our now favorite Metro Station: NoMa. We take it to the Metro Central station and climb out of the pit of the beast onto 14th Street. From there we meander towards the White House Visitor Center. Along the way, we come across a statue to Brigadier General Puraski. I think he fought with distinction in the American Revolutionary War.

World War I Mural

Before we get to the Visitor Center, we see another memorial. This is the one to the Americans-both men and women who participated and fought in World War I. This turns out to be more moving than I thought it would be. One of the criticisms of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was its simplicity and lack of celebratory aspects. But that is what made it so powerful is how understated it is. The same goes for the World War I Memorial. There is a statue of General Pershing. But this is a stark plaza. Beyond a small waterfall is a mural, which will have a bronze casting of the story of the Americans, there are bare walls and a depressed area. This leaves the words etched in stone. The starkness gives the words potency. It evicts a sense of the sacrifice and the dedication to the ideas of America. I am glad the words speak for themselves without the need to interpret.

Sherri and the White House Visitor Center

We continue on to the White House Visitor Center. I get more National Park Passport Stamps there. We spent about an hour and a half there. What impresses me is how most of the past families which have lived in the White House had a sense of awe and an understanding of the privilege they had living there. They looked at it as a means to express what was good for the people of the United States. I guess with how guarded the White House and the restrictions placed upon entry-justifiably-there is no longer a sense of the people’s house. It is good to hear how the Presidents are affected going into this place.

George and Us

As we are about to leave, Sherri meanders over into the gift shop to look around. I tag along and do not find too many things of interest. As I circle past the cashier’s counter, one of the ladies asks, can I help you? My response? My wife has tried for 46 years and has not succeeded. This starts off a ten minute gabfest of one liners between me and the three ladies there, all are cracking up. We still did not buy anything.

Emerging from the Immigration Office

We are still full from our late breakfast. So we head down to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I am expecting it to be a somewhat linear retelling of American history. Instead it is thematic, but roughly linear within the theme.

The first exhibit we visit is what I remember about this Museum from 54 years ago: the Flag. Today, it tells the story of the Star-Spangled Banner. How the flag was sewn by a woman and how it shrank after the War of 1812 by bits of it being given away. And then comes the flag. I remember it hanging at the end of a vast auditorium. Now, it is laying on an incline. One of the signs explain that when it was taken down for renovation, it had become so fragile the curators realized it could never be hung again.

We “race” through an exhibit of home life through the ages. Race is a relative term as we do not doddle, but we do spend about 20 minutes on it.

Washington Monument

But the next two exhibits: Out of Many, One! and American Democracy were of interest. They seem to have parallel tracks of thought. How we are stronger as a nation since we are diverse and can compensate for weakness through others' strength. But there is a sub theme in there as well. We need to work through our differences rather than looking down on those who are different.

It is around 5pm when we get out of the museum. Also our bodies are tied and complaining that “we want nourishment.” But where? So far we have not found food, except for food trucks, around the mall. But we do notice there is a Panera’s a few blocks north. That is acceptable. So we travel up to where Google says it is. And there is the US Customs and Border building. What does this mean? When we double checked with Google, it says it is here. So in we go, and go through security. It looks like there is a food court down below, so down we go. We do not see Panera’s, but we spot a hamburger place doing a good business. We ordered a couple hamburgers, fries and drinks. Either our senses have been deprived or this is pretty good stuff. We do not remember what the place is called and Google is not of a lot of help. (Figured out later it is Flamers Charbroiled Hamburgers and Chicken.)

We are now feeling more energized-it is amazing how good one can feel when you get food in you. It is starting to get towards twilight and the city’s lights are coming on. So it is a good time to walk down the Mall towards the Lincoln Memorial. We stop at both the Lockkeeper’s House and Independence Island (its real name is (56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence). The lights are starting to come on and it looks amazing.We will have to hang around some night to get the full effect.

We climbed the steps tonight up to Lincoln sitting in his chair. On one level, the Lincoln Memorial is seen so much, that it is hard to be in awe. But when you enter into the presence of his gaze, I could not fail but to go silent. You realize the greatness of this man’s actions in saving the Union from remaining divided. Even as the shadows fall, the words from his Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address seem to provide their own light. After the American History Museum, this is a good way to end the day.

We find a Metro station and drop down into the pit. But I can tell I am still learning how to get around. When we get on the Red Line, after a few stations, I realize we are going the wrong way. So off we go and get onto a train going the right way. It is comforting getting back to our rooms to rest and enjoy.