Dachs Thoughts

After 16 months in DC, I finally made it up the Washington Monument. A very impressive structure with some amazing views. I’m sure I already have more pictures including this structure than anything else in DC.

After working through the logistics of getting tickets, standing in line, then going through security, an elevator takes you up 500 feet to the top in about 70 seconds. On all four sides, there are two sets of fairly small windows looking out N, S, E, W. The altitude give beautiful views of the mall, the monuments, the government buildings, and all of downtown. To the east is a beautiful view down the mall towards the capitol where you can see Robert Kennedy stadium in the distance. I could even see my bedroom window. To the north is a beautiful overview of the White House and the ellipse. To the west is an amazing view including the World War II memorial and the Lincoln memorial, and to the south you can see the Jefferson memorial, tidal basin, across the Potomac into Virginia, and the Pentagon (from an elevation that you can actually see it’s a pentagon). I was sufficiently high and the windows low enough that I actually got a bit of vertigo at first, somewhat enhanced by the ranger telling us how there’s no concrete or steel, and it’s all just held together by gravity. This was a great visit, and I’m glad I finally did it.

Today, Rita and I got a tour of the White House. It took a lot of doing (on Rita’s part) to arrange for the tour, but it was worthwhile. We entered from the southeast side and entered through the East entrance (where visitors usually enter) near where the First Lady’s offices are located, past a number of sitting rooms and the library. We then went upstairs to the second level and went through several well known rooms including the large East room, where presidential press conferences are held, and the smaller red, blue and green rooms, through the state dining room, then out the front. Apparently they alternate between self-guided and guided tours, depending on the crowds. Ours was pretty much guided, which was good as the uniformed secret service people described many details in each room I would never have picked up on with an unguided tour. It took about an hour and a half to go though, mostly due to the slow moving of the large crowds.

While it was interesting, and definitely worth while, it was also somewhat underwhelming. I guess because they’re trying to maintain historical accuracy, colors and things look a little drab. I guess I was expecting the White House to be super-glitz, but it was a bit more basic. Definitely a unique tour, and I’m glad I got a chance to take it.

After a day of recuperation from the long hike around the national memorials, Rita and I went to Arlington National Cemetery. This time I took a more direct route up the hill. We visited the graves of the Kennedy’s then proceed up towards the Custus-Lee house. That home had an amazing view of downtown DC. They were in the process of renovating the house, but it was still interesting to see. I then crossed over to the tomb of the unknown soldier and saw the changing of the guards. It is a very solemn precise process. There was a large crowd there as I guess it is one of the major regular events of the site that would appeal to tourists. I’ll probably come back again, as it is a very peaceful and beautiful place.

I made another tour around the major national memorials, this time while Rita was visiting. We did the big loop, walking from my apartment, through the sculpture garden, down the mall, over to the Jefferson Memorial, and around the tidal basin to the FDR Memorial, then over to the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, through the Vietnam Memorial, down the reflecting pool to the World War II memorial, then past the Washington Monument and back home. We took our time and didn’t walk too fast, so it took about five hours. The weather was perfect, and it was a great day to do a walking tour. And as always, these monuments are awe inspiring.

This afternoon, Rita and I went over to the Kennedy Center for a tour. I had been in there once before for the symphony rehearsal, but this was very interesting as it explained the history and a lot of information about the various theaters. I didn’t realize that it was a national center for performing arts, that was initiated during the Eisenhower administration, and was named for Kennedy after his death. At the end of the tour, we ended up on the terrace overlooking the Potomac river, with a great view of Georgetown, the Watergate, western DC, and northern Virginia. A good tour that was very worthwhile. And I didn’t even completely kill off Rita.