D.C. Sites

Audrey and I took the Metro from Becky's into Washington D.C. for a day of museum exploring and site seeing. We visited the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the National Air and Space Museum. The National Museum of American History is closed for renovations, but we were happy to find part of their collection on display at the Air and Space Museum (such as Abe Lincoln's top hat, George Washington's uniform, Dorothy's red slippers, Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone, etc.) I think it's safe to say that today has been the most educational day of the trip yet (although I did learn a lot at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame).

As for governmental sites, we saw the Washington Monument and the capitol building today, but only from the outside. We might try to get a tour of the capitol tomorrow. The White House, Lincoln Memorial and all those other must-see sites are on the list for tomorrow. As a side note, the large pond that reflects the capitol (see photo) was not a pretty site. You can't really tell from the photo, but a lot of the water is gone, leaving a thick, smelly sludge. To add to the ugliness, some people have been using it as a trash can. It's more of a swamp than a pond. On top of that, much of the grass around the capitol is dead (although the front lawn is nice). Still, I was expecting it to be surrounded by lush, green lawns. Did I just come at a bad time? Has anyone else been surprised by how much ugliness surrounds this otherwise grand building? Perhaps it's maintenance season.