Our first stop of the day was the National Mall in Washington DC. We headed straight for the Washington Monument. Both Ian and I had been trying to get tickets to tour the Washington Monument for months now with absolutely no luck. Imagine my excitement when we were able to walk up to the same day ticket booth and immediately secure six tickets to go up to the top of the Monument at 9:30 AM. I was thrilled. We headed straight there, went through security, and went up the elevator to the very top. We were able to see out all of the windows (two on each side) and get a bird’s eye view of the National Mall and surrounding area. We saw the Capitol Building on one side, the White House on the next side, the empty reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial on the third side, and finally the Jefferson Memorial on the last side. The view was clear and spectacular.
We learned a lot about the tower’s construction too. For example, the obelisk is two colours because construction started with stone from a quarry in Maryland, however it ceased during the Civil War, and when it restarted, marble was used from a different quarry. The stones weathered differently, which contributed to the different colours we saw today. We also learned that there are specially carved stones on the inside of the elevator shaft that represent each state or were donated by different allied countries (Canada did not donate one), but visitors are not able to see these special stones anymore because the windows of the elevator are not transparent any longer and the staircase is now closed to tourists due to too many heart attacks and vandalism.
We have not seen the Capitol Building up close yet but we saw it from far away.
After we descended from the Washington Monument, we headed over to try to look at the White House. However, we could not get close at all. There is a fence all around it with threads woven through it so you cannot see through. We were able to find one spot where we could take a look through a tiny gap in the fence and see the White House from quite far away, but that was a pretty underwhelming experience. Good thing my phone has good zoom. We actually enjoyed seeing the beautiful peach rose across the street in the park more.
At the nearby Lincoln Memorial we climbed up the grand staircase to see the huge statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in his chair. This was an impressive statue. It is so large. We sat on the steps for a bit to appreciate the view of the empty reflecting pool. We know that there has a lot of drama swirling around this reflecting pool but right now it just looks like a parking lot. There is no water. There is no blue or peeling paint. Instead, there are a bunch of trucks in the bottom and it is all fenced off, so nothing too exciting going on there at the moment.
We stood at the spot where Martin Luther King did his speech and looked out towards the Washington Monument to appreciate being in such a special historical place with such an incredible view (even if there is currently no reflecting of another kind going on).
We also checked out the war memorials. We started with World War II Memorial and found the Kilroy engraving.
The Korean War Memorial was Liam’s favourite. He liked the implied movement of the statues of soldiers marching through the jungle contrasting with the stillness of the surface of the water in the circular pond.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, on the other side of the empty reflecting pool, was my favourite (as it was on our last trip also). I found walking down through the Memorial, seeing my own reflection surrounded by the names of the thousands of people who died or went missing in Vietnam was quite moving. It is a compelling idea for a memorial.
By this point, we were pretty hungry so we sat down on a patch of grass that was not barricaded off to eat our lunch that we had packed. Unfortunately while we ate, we were eaten by a swarm of mosquitoes. We moved on quickly, walking through the outdoor sculpture garden where we saw a giant metal spider. Perhaps a relative of the one in Ottawa?
By this point we were both itchy and very hot. It was about 27° Celsius in Washington DC today and humid so it felt really steamy. We headed to the Museum of Natural History where we were able to enjoy its air-conditioning as we toured the Fossil Gallery. We loved seeing the enormous dinosaurs, the giant sloth, and learning all about the Permian extinction. There was an especially cool display that showed the biodiversity prior to the extinction and then what was left after the extinction (hint: not much).
By this point it was time to head over to the baseball stadium so we hopped back on the subway and made our way over. We wanted to be early enough to get the Expos jersey that was today’s game’s free give away; everybody got a replica baby blue jersey to wear during the game. This might also be our Halloween costume if we go as a baseball team. This is still under negotiation with the boys.
For dinner at the stadium, we were able to try a Washington staple at Ben’s Chilli Bowl - the half smoke, a delicious chilli cheese dog. We then had custard from Rita’s, which was smooth, creamy and definitely a fan favourite.
The game started out with the Nationals quickly earning four runs to take an early lead. Then in the ninth inning, the Angels earned a bunch of runs to tie up the game, and then actually earned one extra run to take an unexpected lead! It was a very exciting end of the game, with the Nationals rallying to pull off a tenth inning walk off victory. Go Nats!
Our day concluded by heading back on the subway alongside the crowds of baseball fans and retracing our steps to the truck at the park-and-ride and then back to the campground. We had before bed showers to wash off all the dirt and sweat from a busy day in the sweltering city and now are all curled up in our beds ready for an excellent night’s sleep.
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