A Capital Adventure

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 addition 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 project 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 skylights 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 provided 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, and 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 the 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 British 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 there 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 Memorial: 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 barbershop 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 stay 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!