Happy Birthday, USA! Travel to Washington, DC
Posted in Art, Family Fun, Historic, Museums, National Park, Scenery, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Art, Historic, Monuments, Scenic, US Domestic Travel, Washington DC
What better way to celebrate USA’S birthday than a visit to Washington, DC!
Imagine standing in bone-chillingly freezing weather near a large, manmade lake (The famous Tidal Pool) with two impressive monuments across from you, just waiting for sunrise. That was the scenario for me several years ago in Washington, DC during the spring cherry blossom season.
Almost on a dare, I decided to try photography at sunrise since I’d always heard it was the best. Well, it was, but the cold was so numbing that I almost couldn’t get my fingers to push the camera shutter.
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Jefferson Memorial at Sunrise
In any case, Washington, DC is an impressive city with so many exciting locations – and most of them free!!!! – that you’ll want to schedule a week to visit in the US Capitol.
If you head to the Tidal Pool, both the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument are on view. Generally, people are following along the walkway that encircles the pool, but early on the day I chose to arrive, very few people were out in the cold – a few runners, some strollers holding hands and several photographers.
Just before dawn at Jefferson Memorial
Getting around DC
Use the Metro! It has many stops within a short walk of major attractions, costs relatively little, is clean and usually punctual.
Family friendly city
Washington, DC is a great city for families. The Smithsonian collection of 19 -plus museums is eclectic and extensive. Many of the museums in Washington are adjacent to the National Mall. It is not a shopping mall in the traditional sense, unless you’re speaking about gift shops in the various museums, but a large expanse where the nation gets to play – or hold events or hang out on a glorious day.
You might see a merry-go-round in good weather or vendors hawking their souvenirs or food, especially on the street side of the museums.
There’s a museum for everyone!
If you’re interested in space and travel (Air and Space Museum), see the Wright Brothers plane and the NASA moon capsule – and a lot more in between.
If you’re interested in American history, music, art, science, etc. DITTO.
In the American History Museum, you can see Kermit the Frog, Evel Knievel’s Harley, the “Egg” from the film Alien, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, and many other artifacts of American culture. Some exhibits rotate – I once saw them installing Julia Child’s kitchen for view!
Giant gems, dinosaurs and other natural elements are on exhbition at the Natural History Museum.
The National Gallery of Art, east and west,, showcases modern and more traditional art. And, if that isn’t enough for you, there are other museums devoted to art.
The two museums have a connecting underground walkway with an enormous cafeteria, cafe and gift shops – a great place to rest your feet when you’ve been trekking around all day!
The museums are the best gift to the public as you just walk in, no admission fees. People are asked to stow their bags now, because of security issues. But you can enter a museum as they open and stay all day until closing if you wish. Some of the museums have that much to see, if you want to wander about. (There are also cafes, so you can eat, too.)
For news junkies, adjacent to the National Mall is the Newseum, (not a Smithsonian Museum and there is a fee), a tribute to all news all the time tracing news for five centuries.
There are many other fascinating museums to explore, but allow days!
Come back Monday for a visit to the National Zoo.
Washington Monument- at Sunrise
Tags: Art, Historic, Monuments, Scenic, US Domestic Travel, Washington DC