My friends the McDaniels from Burbank, California, are on a visit to Washington D.C. to see the sights; I provide excellent tourist services. Mike brought me an actual clock from Burbank High School, where he and I attended 1971-1974, and a box of Martino's teacakes. I am clearly thrilled!
We met for lunch at Five Guys in Springfield. The McDaniels all agreed that when it comes to hamburgers and fries that taste like hamburgers and fries should, Five Guys has California's famed In-And-Out Burger beat. The East wins!
First stop: the McDaniels posed in front of the Space Shuttle Enterprise in the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - the one near Dulles. From left to right: Mike, Neva, Erin and Nate.
A display near the shuttle that answers the questions that the astronauts are probably tired of answering regarding human waste management...
I got a kick out of this plane that converts into a car.
They had a small plane to get in to try the rudder, etc. It was a tight fit for me. Here I peer out at the unlimited horizon...
The next stop was the National Cathedral, which has very pretty grounds.
Mike got a shot of the cathedral's famous "space" window, which incorporates a chunk of actual moon rock.
Mike's Olympus does a good job with low light, as this shot of the choir seats indicates.
After some great sandwiches at the Cup'a Cup'a - a haunt of mine in the Watergate complex - we visited the Kennedy Center, where I goofed around.
We took the elevator to the roof of the Kennedy Center and got this shot of the Potomac and Georgetown.
One of my D.C. tourism tricks is to visit the monuments in the evening, when the temperature is cooler and it's less crowded. They look just as good (in fact, better), there's more parking and you maximize your time. Here's a section of the Vietnam Wall. Cpl. Larry L. Maxam was Burbank's Medal of Honor winner. Read about him here: http://wesclark.com/burbank/maxam.html
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. ("Forrest! Jenny!") That's a blurry me on the cell phone at right...
The Man himself.
Mike developed an interesting technique to get good night shots from an unusual angle - the ground. This is one of the soldiers at the Korean War Memorial.
I was struck by this inscription on some flowers at the Korean War monument.
The next day we visited the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, which just keeps getting better. I can't seem to get enough of it. (Semper Fi!) They added two new galleries. This diorama depicts the Battle of Bladensburg, MD (1814), when Marines stood fast against the British while the army skedaddled to Baltimore.
This diorama shows the Marines seizing John Brown in 1859 at Harper's Ferry.
The "Frozen Chosin" (Korean War) display - my personal favorite.
Lots of places for a photo-op...
I got a kick out of this photo. I identify with the big guy at the left.
The faces on the many realistic statues in the museum are molded from life masks of present day Marines. This guy looks like somebody I served with at Twentynine Palms...
I liked the lighting on this one...
From the new World War I gallery.
Mike sights in an M-1 Garand.
Nate likes gemstones and rocks so we paid a visit to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Me, I like emeralds...
Plaque for the previous.
WOW. Green is my favorite color and so I was mesmerized by this one...
A visit to the Smithsonian American History Museum revealed a new Lincoln exhibit that I have never seen. Here's his watch - but the watch has a hidden story...
Cool!
Lincoln's famous top hat. Does it get any better than this?
You can't see the "AL" at top.
The Genuine Rail (that Lincoln once split).
A life mask. It makes a good wallpaper for my cell phone.
Yikes! Harry S. Truman's vacation wear.
He was teased for a good reason...
I liked the way these presidential streets signs reflected a camera flash...
This is the photo that will go with my Smithsonian smushed penny in my scrapbook!
Nate has an Olympus point and shoot camera that can take panoramic images. Here's his shot of Mount Vernon
We took a shot closer in...
...and here's a nice Potomac River view from the Spirit of Mount Vernon ship we took up and down the river. A pleasant little trip!
Cari had the day off when we went to Mount Vernon, so she joined us. We're aboard the boat enjoying the air conditioning (it was a very hot day and we were all winding down pretty quickly).
Not to be missed is the new History Center... the displays are very engaging. You can even get snowed upon in one show.
It seems they have rebranded Martha Washington from the plump, white-haired matron of the past to a younger, babealicious image.
Killjoys.
In the gift shop. My youngest daughter takes shots like this all the time. It is somewhat less successful when I do it...
The Pohick Church, which Washington helped build. We stopped by there on the way home from Mt. Vernon; I pointed out the old graffiti carved into the corner stones and lintel blocks.
Mike got a nice evening shot of the Jefferson Memorial, with the Washington Memorial in the background.
Nate's panoramic shot of the Jefferson Monument. Neva and Ashley sit at right.
Two stops on the evening monuments tour: the Air Force Memorial (the three tall spires in back) and the Pentagon 911 memorial (the underlit structures in the foreground).
All of those benches are oriented along the flight path of the plane that hit the Pentagon. If the bench faces the Pentagon, it has the name of a Pentagon worker who was killed. If it faces the opposite direction, it designates somebody on the plane. The benches are in line based upon birth years.
Got to visit the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial...
We also got a close up look at the White House, which I added to my evening monuments tour. You have to get out of the car and walk to the Pennsylvania Ave. plaza, which was closed to road traffic during the Clinton Era. I like it that way - it's more conducive to photography and sightseeing.
Mike's camera has a good zoom lens. Anyone home?
No evening monument tour is complete without a stop at the World War II Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial, down the 1/4 mile reflecting pool, is also shown.
The little secret thing on the World War II Memorial I always show - the "Kilroy Was Here" engraving in a service area behind it.
Our first stop on our last tourism day was Antietam National Battlefield Park. Here's Nate's panoramic shot of the area around the Dunker Church. The park commemorates what is still America's most bloody day, September 17th, 1862.
Relaxing in the Dunker Church. I told them about the church service I attended here in 1985 as a reenactor. We sang "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me."
Mike agrees with me: Nothing says "Civil War Battlefield" like an olde-tymey worm-rail fence!
The silliest monument of the Antietam battlefield, to "Coffee Bill." During the battle, William McKinley (later United States president), who was in charge of the Ohio commissary, brought hot coffee to the troops. For that he got a monument.
Ha ha! Seen at a monument at Antietam.
The famous Cornfield at Antietam.
The Sunken Road from the battlefield tower.
The McDaniels walk across the Burnside Bridge, which spans Antietam Creek.
Another shot of Burnside's Bridge. I always like taking first time battlefield tourists to Antietam because it's so unspoiled. You get a better idea of what American farm landscapes were like in the mid 19th century. Gettysburg is like a Civil War theme park and is a bit overwhelming. It's good for the second visit.
We took the funky old road from Sharpsburg, MD (where the battlefield is) to Harper's Ferry. This is the Kennedy Farm, where John Brown launched his slave revolt.
Shenandoah Street at Harper's Ferry, which is sort of like a Colonial Williamsburg except it's 1859. The bookstore is quite nice.
Nate and Mike in one of Harper's Ferry's many interesting 19th C. alleys.
Inside the general store, the closest thing to a shopping mall in a small 19th century town!
Keeping the peace...
Behind the provost office; I like this area because you can't see anything that gives it away that it's 2010.
A river shot from Harper's Ferry. Where the Potomac and the fabled Shenandoah River meet.
We had to have a group shot at Jefferson Rock. From this spot Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic." Mmmmm... maybe.
Jefferson Rock.
The Harper's Ferry Hilltop House is now closed - it looks like it's falling down upon itself! Some hotel chain ought to open up a small resort here. The view is beautiful.
The view from the Hilltop House.
Just before the McDaniels departed for points west. Every time Mike comes out we take the traditional on-the-porch shot. This visit was no different!
