There was still so much we wanted to see in DC, and now that we were feeling better, decided to rearrange our schedule a little bit and extend our stay at Greenbelt. Initially we were going to leave on the 1st but checked with the rangers and were allowed to extend our stay another week.
The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is the newest addi
tion to the U.S. Capitol complex and opened in Dec. 2008, a few months after our DC visit that year so this was going to be our first opportunity to see it. The entire facility is located underground on the east side of the Capitol (
www.visitthecapitol.gov/) and measures nearly 580,000 sq. ft. The proj
ect took 6 years to complete and cost $621 million (late and over budget :-) though part of this was attributed to additional security measures after 9/11. Tickets are not required for entrance to the CVC but are required for a free tour of the Capitol.
After entering the CVC, you are on the balcony level overlooking “Emancipation Hall” and can look up through two large sky
lights at an incredible view of the Capitol dome. The focal point of the Hall is the original plaster cast created in 1857 of the
Statue of Freedom, the bronze statue that sits atop the Capitol dome. This plaster model stands 19-1/2 ft. tall and weighs about 13,000 lbs. There are also 18 statues from
the National Statuary Hall Collection…statues donated by individual states to honor notable persons in their history. Two statues are contributed by each state and most are located elsewhere within the Capitol.
The tour begins with a 13-minute orientation film entitled
“Out of Many, One” that tells the history of Congress and the building of the Capitol complex. After exiting the theater, each person is provid
ed with earphones to better hear their guide since there are an amazing number of people on tours at the same time. The tour takes you through beautiful marble hallways to the Rotunda, the National Statuary Hall, the Hall of Columns, and the Old Supreme Court Chamber. We’d toured the Capitol several years ago, an
d on that trip we were also able to visit the gallery of the House chamber, but Congress was not in session this time. However, I was surprised as we passed right by the hallway leading to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office…I would have thought it would be on a higher floor away from easy public access.
At the end of the tour we explored Exhibition Hall located just behind the
Statue of Freedom model. Dedicated to the story of Congress and the U.S. Capitol, it features original documents and artifacts, videos, interactive touch-screen displays, models of the DC area through the years, two large screens showing films of Congress in session, and an 11-foot-tall model of the Capitol dome. Photos are not allowed inside the Hall but I was
able to capture this one of the dome before we went in.
Afterwards we ate lunch in the 550-seat cafeteria (a little pricey but the sandwich we split was huge), and then took the new underground tunnel to the Library of Congress located across the street from the Capitol.
The Capitol building is beautiful, but the interior of th
e Library of Congress (
http://www.loc.gov/) is one of the most exquisite buildings we’ve ever seen with its marble columns and staircases, stained glass ceiling skylights, paintings and murals on the walls and ceilings, and bronze statues. It’s the largest working library in the world and is primarily a research source for Congress but also open to the public. We viewed the Main Reading Room from the gallery (unfortunately photos are no longer allowed), and walked through the
“Creating the United States” exhibit showcasing documents from the earliest beginnings of our nation.
On the way back to the car, we made a stop at the U.S. Botanic Garden (
http://www.usbg.gov/), the oldest continually operating botanic garden in the country. In the lobby, some ladies were constructing a scale model of the Capitol building created from acrylic foam boards and covered entirely with dried
natural plant materials. It was part of a new exhibit by Applied Imagination (
http://www.appliedimagination.biz/dimagination.biz/) called "Holiday Magic", representing DC's most famous buildings and monuments. They were located throughout the lobby, and we were fortunate to meet and chat with the creator and owner, Paul Busse. He has Parkinson’s now and is unable to do any of the work himself any longer, but still is the creative genius behind these incredible creations. All manner of seeds, gourds, pods, grasses, and moss are used, and if you look inside the Lincoln Memorial replica, you’ll even see a statue of Abraham Lincoln! Absolutely amazing in their detail!
The National Postal Museum (
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/) is one of the Smithsonian’s buildings that is not located at the National Mall, and one morning that’s where we headed. The displays tell the history of the United States Postal Service and of mail service around the world. We were the first ones through the door, arriving just before it opened. There are many interactive displays throughout five exhibit galleries, and brings to life the colorful history of the nation's mail service.
Since we’d visited the Postal Museum before, it didn’t take long to go through, and then we headed across the street to Union Station (
http://www.unionstationdc.com/). Another building with beautiful architecture. Though in its day it was a bustling train station, now inside it’s basically a mall with lots of shops, restaurants, and a movie theater but still also a busy train terminal for Amtrak and the metro.
As we headed back to the car, we stumbled across the National Guard Memorial Museum (
http://www.ngef.org/), a small museum that outlines the history of the National Guard from colonial times through to the modern era. Photos, artifacts, and narrated exhibits place the visitor right in the midst of the era being observed. There is also a tribute listing of all the National Guard Recipients of the Medal of Honor since 1898. This free museum was memorable hidden gem and definitely worth a stop.
Another day we were off to the National Archives (
http://www.archives.gov/), the nation’s record keeper that safeguards records from all three branches of the Federal Government and of many ordinary citizens. Housed within these walls is the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights. All show signs of fading and age, and though we’d visited before, they still stir patriotic emotions within all who view them. Also on display is the original Magna Carta from the year 1297. No photographs are allowed in this building, and the light level is extremely low to protect these fragile documents. There are a number of other exhibits within the National Archives making this a fascinating and educational stop.
Across the street is the National Gallery of Art - Sculpture Garden (
http://www.nga.gov/feature/sculpturegarden/general/index.shtm). Russ waited on a bench in the National Mall while I walked through the Garden. Amidst this 6-acre park-like setting are 17 modern and contemporary sculptures ranging in height from 42” to nearly 20’ tall created from all manner of material…definitely some
interesting stuff.
We returned on another day to visit the 3rd floor of the Museum of American History with exhibits such as the
“Price of Freedom: Americans at War”, the
“American Presidency: A Glorious Burden”, and
“Gunboat Philadelphia”. This exhibit displays the remains of the actual boat that was sunk by the Brit
ish in 1776. It was found in 1935 with much of its equipment intact, sitting upright in 60 ft. of water with the top of its mast just 15 ft. below the surface, and still in great condition for its age…amazing!
We walked towards the Washington Monument to a National Park Service building where we were able to get 22 cancellation stamps in our National Park Passport book for the surrounding sites. Reservations are required to go to the top of the Monument but no more were available till the following Mon. Since we had gone up before, we simply sat outside on a bench admiring the view, enjoying the wonderful weather, and watching the people as they went by including this Park officer on horseback.
From there we drove to the Lincoln Memorial (
www.nps.gov/linc), a most impressive monument to one of our nation’s great leaders. Situated on a hilltop, you have magnificent views across the National Mall of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, and from the back of the Memorial ther
e is a great view of the entrance to Arlington Cemetery. Many speeches and events have been held at the Lincoln Memorial but probably the most famous is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In 2003 on the spot where King stood, an inscription was placed commemorating the event. It’s surprising that the area isn’t roped off to protect it as the majority of people walk right over it without even realizing it’s there.
We walked over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is always a humbling and emotional experience. The simplicity of the design evokes powerful emotions in many who visit the Wall, and along its length you can find flowers, flags, notes, and mementos left by loved ones and fellow vets. Most people don’t realize that there are actually three separate parts to the Mem
orial: the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The Three Soldiers statue is undergoing restoration so I was not able to get a picture, but you can see one of it a night on our June 2008 blog entry.
Wed. night I visited the 70-member Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus (
http://www.harborcitymusiccompany.org/), fresh from their gold medal win in their division at the International Competition in Seattle. Leading this dynamic chorus is Master Director Michael Gellert, who has been directing the chorus since 1993, and who sang with the Baltimore Opera Co. for a number of years. It was the first rehearsal for their Holiday Chorus, where anyone can join them for a 6 week period learning songs in the barbe
rshop style and performing with the chorus during the holiday season. After the first 2 hours, the membership coordinator took the guests out to answer any questions, but I stayed in the room with chorus while they worked on a couple contest songs. This chorus placed 2nd at the Regional contest this year and scored high enough to compete as a wildcard at International in Houston next year! I had such a blast singing with this group and wish them all the best in Houston!
Not far from the campground is the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (
www.nasa.gov/goddard), and since Thurs. was a rainy day, we figured the Visitor Center was the perfect indoor activity. We sat in on a brief presentation on earth sciences that was being given to a Univ. of MD
class in a room that houses the Science on a Sphere. This 6-ft. diameter globe is suspended from the ceiling and displays 3D animated data on whatever the presenter selects from the computer screen located behind a curtain. The Visitor Center has a number of exhibits and interactive displays, and though small, we found it very interesting.
Arriving back at the RV, we discovered there was a problem with our generator. Since we were relying on it for the bulk of our electrical source, this was not a good thing. The nights were getting down into the 30s and days were chilly. Russ eventually determined it wasn’t anything he could fix, and we needed to get to a place where we could plug into electric. We decided to leave the next morning and made reservations at a place in Virginia Beach, VA. This meant we were going to miss out on some of the places we had hoped to visit again this trip and some we had hoped to visit for the first time, but it couldn’t be helped. During our s
tay we had hoped to tour the White House , and though we had contacted our Representative a couple months earlier, we were told that passes are hard to come by less than 6 months in advance. We still enjoyed our stay in the DC area and even earned our 20th Junior Ranger badge while staying at Greenbelt Park!
The next couple of weeks were spent heading south for the winter. Our next stop was Waves, NC, on the Outer Banks, one of my favorite places because of its proximity to the ocean. We stayed at the same place as the last couple of years at Camp Hatteras RV Resort & Campground (http://camphatteras.com/), and our site was about 100 yards from the sand dunes that separ
ate the campground from the beach. This is the latest we’ve ever been at this location, and though generally very windy, it was also cold. But that didn’t stop us from taking the dogs for walks on the beach and letting them sniff and run. Abby is such a beach baby! Mikey generally likes to simply meander along, enjoying the b
reeze and all those ocean smells. The ocean was especially riled up while we were there, and suddenly the tide would come rushing higher onto the beach as we’d rush to avoid getting wet. One particular time Mikey didn’t move fast enough since he can hardly hear any longer and couldn’t hear us yell at him to come quickly. Oh well, he didn’t seem to mind getting his feet wet.
We spent a week here and really didn’t do much but relax and walk on the beach. One day we had planned to once again visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial (www.nps.gov/wrbr) at the other end of the island, but it had been particularly stormy the night before, and as it turned out, the ocean had washed up over the sand dunes a few miles down the road on Hwy. 12 (the main road connecting the islands of the Outer Banks). We were sitting in a lin
e of traffic as an officer came along to inform each car that the road was closed just a couple miles ahead, and there was a foot and a half of water this side of the bridge. Glad we had visited it a couple of years ago! I've included a shot of the GPS so you can see how narrow the land is between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound...in spots only a mile across! However, if you’d like to read more about the area on our previous trips, there are two entries for 2008 which you can access by clicking these links: WavesMay2008 and WrightBrosMay2008, and if you’d like to read about last year’s visit, simply click on this link: WavesMay2009.
Next stop on this trip was Summerton, SC, enjoying the fall colors as we traveled down the highway. We stayed at Big Water Lake Club Campground (sorry, no website at this time) for a few nights, just off I-95 about 70 miles northwest of Charleston. We would have liked to have stayed in the Charleston area, but there are no C2C campgrounds (at $10/night) and we were going to continue our trip down I-95 to FL so this place made the most sense. Nice campground though if you're a light sleeper, you might not appreciate the noise from the highway. Didn't really bother us though.
Now you may remember in a previous post I said that I generally don’t travel more than 30 min. to visit a Sweet Adeline chorus, but this time I did to see my old friends of Southern Harmony Chorus (http://www.southernharmonychorus.com/). I met up with 6 of them for dinner a couple hours before rehearsal, and before leaving the restaurant, the server insisted we sing something for her. Since we did have all 4 voice parts present (critical in barbershop!), we serenaded the restaurant with Th
ank You Dear Lord for Music, a Sweet Adeline staple that I still remembered, and got a generous round of applause. Then it was off to rehearsal to see Tom (the director) and the rest of the gang. Some gals are no longer with the chorus and there are some new faces, but the energy and excellent singing is still there. (You may remember them from previous posts.) They were preparing for their upcoming Christmas show, and thanks to the absence of one of the ladies, I got to stand in her place. I had such a blast singing with that old gang of mine (tee hee) and didn’t even mind the long drive back to the campground at 10:00 that night.
