Museums, Monuments, and Memorials

We continued down the National Mall with a walk through the sculpture gardens. After pausing to watch the "ice skaters" attempting to "ice skate",  we briefly hopped into the National Museum of Natural History. Someone needed to see the oceans (Adam), birds (Nicole), dinosaurs (Alison), and minerals, not gemstones (Amelia).

Just like I remembered!

Where's a geologist when you need him?

The insect wing (pun intended?) of the museum was very cool. The museum even has its own honeybee colony on site. Super jealous!

Honeybees!!!

Not cool. Gross.

We argued for the National Museum of American History. Winner got to pick the one thing that can not be missed. Julia Child's kitchen won. A worthy visit.

This was Julia Child's actual kitchen, donated to the Smithsonian. Just like a movie, no? Still a great kitchen. Nice color on the cabinets.

Washington Monument, now closed due to earthquake damage. Glad I got the chance to see it the first time around, although it's unfortunate that those photos are still hanging around.

Alison took a breather at the National World War II Memorial. Now running very short on daylight, we had little time to figure this one out. Lots of stone, lots of open space, random wreaths...it all seemed a bit overdone. It may be a different story in the spring, when the water and landscaping are in effect and when we've had more time to read about the history. First impressions are key, though.

So much history, so little time!

What can you say about the Vietnam Memorial? It's perfect in its purpose.

The Lincoln Memorial. Alison and Amelia missed their chance to run up and down the stairs of this beauty.

The Korean War Memorial, previously my favorite memorial. It's just a little too real.

The new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Hands-down, my new favorite. Absolutely amazing.

There you go. D.C. in six short hours. Not recommended, but it's a great start. Fortunately, we've been there before and we'll be there again. D.C. is a wonderful vacation: American history, approachable politics, exceptional museums, great food, fun neighborhoods, and - best of all - it's practically free. Just leave your water bottles at home.

An Afternoon in Washington, D.C.

If you only had six hours, how much of Washington, D.C. could you really see? Let's find out!

First, bring a fantastic tour guide and start your day with strong coffee. It also helps to have great weather, running shoes, and patience...lots of patience. Catch a commuter train and rest up. You're going to need the energy later.

Most excellent tour guide Amelia and fellow D.C. traveler Alison

 Adam paid a quick visit to his parent company. 

Our first stop was the National Museum of the American Indian, just a short walk from the U.S. Capital. Since we arrived in D.C. around noon, we were delighted to lunch at the Mitsitam Cafe, which offers regional native cuisine from across the Americas.

The rumors of fry bread were true! And I'm very proud to report that the Great Plains food station was the most popular during our lunch hour. Everyone loves a bison burger.

Due to our short timeline, we couldn't stay long at many of the museums, but we did speed-read through a few of them. The fourth floor of the American Indian Museum was particularly interesting, as was the center dome architecture.

No snow, but plenty of Christmas trees. This one was decorated with ornaments from military families, I believe. The tree itself traveled all the way from California, for some odd reason. Maryland seemed to have plenty of its own trees.

Here's a travel tip: the Capital guards will not let you enter with a water bottle. An empty water bottle still counts. Two weeks later, I'm still trying to figure out what you could do with an empty Nalgene, but I'm sure someone somewhere tried something once.

 Note the three black SUVs. That can't be a good sign.

Poor Adam - always the odd man out!

Well, that takes care of the first two or three hours. Taking time to eat always slows you down.