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| Jonathan and Grandma |
We arrived a couple of days before him, and after getting settled in a great RV park in College Park MD, we visited DC to get the lay of the land to play tour directors. We were amazed how few tourists were in the city when we were there, Deane was able to get pictures without strange people in them.
Cherry Hill RV Park is a 5 star resort and offers just about any amenity you could want. From a daily talk on what to visit, how to use the subway and bus systems, and selling tickets for tours. They could also be scheduled to walk your dog if you were going to be gone most of the day.
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| He's here! |
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| Jonathan and Senator Cantwell |
Tuesday, we rose bright and early and headed into DC. We had scheduled a tour of the Capital with Senator Marie Cantwell from Washington State. As we waited, Senator Cantwell came into her office and introduced herself to everyone, and allowed a picture of her with Jonathan.
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| Rotunda |
Our tour was led by one of her interns, and by scheduling the tour through the senators office, we avoided having to wait in lines with all the other tourists. We were zipped into areas for interesting stories and facts. |
| Replica of Statue of Freedom stands a top Capital Building
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Going into most all government buildings required some sort of security, checking bags, emptying pockets and going through the metal detector. Jonathan and I would breeze through, but Deane would empty his pockets and then would have to take his belt off just about every time. The Senate security was the most intensive. Besides going through the metal detector, you could not take any bags, cameras, phones or even bottled water into the gallery.
We had heard the Senate was going to vote on the amendments to the immigration bill that day, so we were excited to sit in the gallery and watch. It was interesting, but also a bit of a disappointment. I thought everyone would come in, sit down, give speeches in favor or opposition and then a vote would be taken.
When we first arrived there were 3 senators sitting at their desks. One Senator was speaking, giving his opinion and then yielded the floor to another Senator. The second Senator started to speak and the Senator who had just spoken, left the room. The third Senator sitting at her desk was deep in conversation with someone else, she paid little attention to the speaker.
Eventually Senators started entering the room. Was fun to recognize those who have been in the news lately. We saw John McCain, Marco Rubio, Patty Murry from Washington and others just stand around in small groups talking...no one seemed to want to sit at their desks. Sadly, we did not understand the process. Even before the Senators entered the room there seemed to be a vote on the floor. Then, as the Senators entered the room, they registered their vote and their casted vote was announced. It seemed quite unorganized from our point of view. Guess I should spend more time watching C-span.
After spending about an hour or so in the Senate gallery, we boarded the subway again and headed out to Arlington Cemetery. There we wanted to watch the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, visit the grave sites of the Kennedy's and then the watch the Marine Corp Sunset Parade at the Monument of Iwo Jima.
The Changing of the Guard was impressive. The Tomb Guard marches 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process. After the turn, the sentinel executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the sentinel stands between the Tomb and any possible threat. Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed -- the 21-gun salute. There are a number of videos on you Tube for the ceremony, this one is about 10 minutes long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZdTSSQ4cks
For Deane and I, viewing the Eternal Flame at John Kennedy's grave, and then viewing Robert Kennedy's grave, brought back memories of where we were when these two men were taken from the world.
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| Waiting for Parade to begin |
the Marine Corp that took us to the statue of Iwo Jima, where the Parade would take place. The monument is cast in bronze, and its six figures each stand 32 feet high.
The parade, which starts before sunset and continues until after the sun is down, consists of two parts. The first is a musical presentation by the
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| Drum and Bugle Corps |
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| Marine Drill Team |
At the end of the program, Taps was played....as the light faded from us.
Wednesday was another early start as we were scheduled to take a 3 hour Segway tour starting at 10am. After signing all the appropriate forms it was time to get trained on how to ride. Deane and I had ridden before so we needed just a refresher. Jonathan took to the Segway quickly and then we were off to tour Washington DC.Our tour guide Sam, was great. He had an easy going personality, telling stories about the city, buildings and sites, keeping us entertained and informed.
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| Lincoln Memorial |
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| In front of White House |
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| Martin Luther King |
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| view of Washington Monument from the Lincoln |
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| Korean Memorial |
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| Vietnam Memorial |
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| Jefferson Memorial |
After our Segway tour, we headed to BTS for lunch. We were in the Georgetown University area, and Sam recommended a burger place rated as one of the top 10 in DC. BTS stands for Burger, Taps and Shakes and all of us had to agree after finishing our burgers, they were one of the best we have had. Highly recommend the place and their Six Buck Chuck burger if you are in the area.
Refueled, we headed out to revisit some of the memorials and spend more time at them. We walked, and walked and walked, finishing up at the World War II Memorial. The ring of columns that surrounds the fountain represents the men who served from each of the states.
Day three, Thursday, was the day we would visit some of the Smithsonian Museums and take the Big Red Bus night tour to see the city and monuments when lit.
First museum was the popular Air and Space Museum. The Museum's collection encompasses some 60,000 objects ranging in size from Saturn V rockets to jetliners to gliders to space helmets to microchips. Fully one-third of the Museum's aircraft and spacecraft are one-of-a-kind or associated with a major milestone. There are 21 exhibition galleries, covering diverse topics from world wars to the history of astronomy, from the Apollo space program to the relationship between time and navigation, to the Wright brothers and the aerial age.
Besides looking at the exhibits, we watched an Imax movie on big surfer waves in Tahiti and a movie at the planetarium. Deane and Jonathan also rode a simulated Fighter Jet, launched from an air craft carrier.
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| 3-D Imax show |
We then headed to the Museum of Natural History and spent a couple of hours there where we saw the Hope Diamond, walked through the Hall of Human Origins, Dinosaur Hall, and the Ocean Hall.
Before we worked our way back to Union Station for dinner and to board the Red Bus for our night tour, we made one more stop at the Old Post Office Building that Sam our Segway tour guide told us about. With the Washington Monument under reconstruction, the Post Office building offers the best view of the city. There is a public elevator run by the National Park Service in the building that will take you to the 12th floor where you can view Washington DC. The unique thing about the building are the bells on the 10th floor that are rung from 7:30-9:00pm each Thursday.
Sam also told us that the building has been bought by Donald Trump and he intends to turn it from an office building into a hotel. But..... because the elevator is owned and operated by the National Parks, the elevator will remain in the building and available to the public.  |
| Bells |
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| NO-Go bus |
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| Metro station |
Our first stop as dusk was coming on, was at the Lincoln/Korean/Vietnam Monuments. When we re-boarded, we discovered the driver could not get the bus started. So we were off-loaded to wait for another bus to take us to the next monument. Good thing it was a warm night, and everyone was in good humor. Second bus arrived about 30 minutes later and we continued on our tour to the Martin Luther King and Roosevelt memorials.
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| Martin Luther King |
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| Lincoln Memorial |
Friday was the last day of Jonathans visit and we decided to head to Mt. Vernon Va., for the day and tour George Washington's homestead.
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| Mt. Vernon |
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| Jonathan trying to pose as Washington |
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| Washington Family Grave Site |
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| Gardens |
It was finally time to get Jonathan to the airport for his flight home. We had an incredible time with him, he was gracious, engaging and funny. We started missing him as soon as he got through security!
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| BYE! |