Events of Saturday, December 18, 2010

          We woke up today in the parking lot of Grand Mart International Foods in Landover Hills, Maryland. After un-making and making our beds, we headed to Largo Town Center Metro station, our jump-off into Washington, D.C. There, in the parking lot of the Metro station, surrounded by familiar sights from our week in D.C. before, we had breakfast, dressed warmly and headed into the Metro. Lindsey remarked that she felt like she was a D.C. regular, and Daddy agreed that it felt like coming home. So often in this trip, everything is unfamiliar, constantly; many times, we never see the same thing twice. So coming back to D.C. and being familiar with it was a great relief.

          Purchasing six all-day passes, we rode the Metro to Smithsonian Metro station. From there, we walked through the National Mall (which to my utter disparagement is not materialistic, but educational and historical) to the Washington Monument Visitor Center. There, we received a free timed ticket to the top of the tallest all-stone monument in the world. Our tickets were for 10:30, and it was 10:15. Mom was extremely animated, as this was the fourth time in her life she had tried to make it to the top of Washington Monument, and now it was finally going to happen. So we followed a jubilant Mom to the base of the monument, got in the 10:30 line, and waited. While standing in line, we made conversation with one of the rangers, who has worked for the National Park Service in the National Mall for nineteen years. He guessed correctly that Ben sometimes has a hard time with us three sisters. At about 10:45, we went through security and got in line for the elevator.

          It was a long elevator ride up, made even longer by Mom’s cheerful jumping up and down and exclaiming, “We get to see D.C. from the top of Washington Monument!” Once we reached the top, I could see why she had been so excited; it was quite the sight! We could see for miles! Everything we had visited in our week in D.C., we saw, from high above it all! After we’d seen it all, we descended one floor of stairs, and read a few exhibits while waiting for the elevator ride down. As we rode down, we got to see some of the stones that other states and organizations donated as a part of the monument. After the monument, we walked to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, which has a lovely indoor café with tables at which to eat our pre-packed lunch.  So we ate our lunch there, discussing what each of us wanted to see in D.C. afterwards.

          After much discussion and controversy, we came to the consensus of splitting up into two groups, one adult and two children in each party. One group, consisting of me, Ben, and Mom, wanted to visit the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History; the other, consisting of Lindsey, Abby, and Dad, wanted to visit the National Gallery of Art, West Building.

          However, first we all agreed that we wanted to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum together as a family. Upon arriving there, we saw Apollo 11 (the one that went to the moon), touched a piece of moon rock, and read the exhibit on Pioneers of Flight. Then we found Amelia Earhart’s bright red Lockheed 5B Vega plane, with which she set two of her many aviation records. Amelia Earhart bought this 5B Vega in 1930 and called it her "Little Red Bus." On May 20 and 21, 1932, flying in this airplane, Earhart became the first woman (and the only person since Charles Lindbergh) to fly nonstop and alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She took off from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada and landed fifteen hours and 2,026 miles later in a field near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The achievement made Earhart an instant worldwide sensation and proved she was a courageous pilot. Later that year, Earhart flew the Vega to another record. On August 24 and 25, she made the first solo, nonstop flight by a woman across the United States, from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey. The flight covered a distance of 2,447 miles and lasted about nineteen hours. In 1932, she flew the Lockheed 5B Vega alone across the Atlantic Ocean, then flew it nonstop across the United States – both firsts for a woman. After taking in this exhibit, our family then parted to go our separate ways.

          Dividing according to our discussed interests, we planned to meet at 5 PM outside the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. Mom, Ben, and I walked all the way back across the National Mall to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. After a stop at the lockers on the ground floor, we headed up to the top floor to the Abraham Lincoln exhibit. There, we saw the top hat Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated in Ford’s Theatre. We also saw the original life casts of Abraham Lincoln’s face and hands. When he saw the final bust, he was quite pleased, declaring it "the animal himself." The casts of Lincoln's hands were taken May 20, 1860, two days after he received the nomination as the Republican Party presidential candidate. To steady his right hand in the mold, which was still swollen from shaking hands with all his supporters, Lincoln cut off a piece of broom handle to hold. Volk later placed the piece of broom handle in the original cast, which was also on display. Right next to the casts of his face and hands was a copy of his right hand holding the broom handle, so that we could compare our own hands to his huge, swollen hand. My hand was quite little in comparison. Also on display was Ford’s Theatre’s leading actress Laura Keene’s bloodstained cuff, stained with Abraham Lincoln’s blood from the night he was assassinated.

          After that, we visited the American Presidency exhibit, learning about all the different aspects of presidential life. I can honestly say, more than ever before that I would never want to be president. Ben had a chance at playing Mr. President in an interactive exhibit which put him behind the podium where different presidents stood while making various famous speeches. (The script told him what lines of the speech to say.) It was like watching the real thing, only with my brother as the president. Very unreal! We also saw a set of beautiful blue silk pajamas that belonged to former President Warren G. Harding when he was in the White House.  Mom’s favorite part of this museum was the movie that showed famous clips of presidential children being typical, but adorable children.

          At this point, our half of the family (me, Ben, and Mom) divided even further because of lack of time and conflicting interests. While Ben left to explore a display that caught his fancy about architecture and building, Mom and I visited the exhibit First Ladies at the Smithsonian, which showcased fourteen ball gowns that the First ladies have worn. My favorites were all yellow or white one-shoulder, full-length dresses. This included Jacqueline Kennedy’s yellow silk evening gown, which she wore to the Kennedy administration’s first State dinner. More recently, it has become the tradition for First ladies to donate the ball gowns that they wore to their husband’s Inaugural Ball. So a second favorite of mine (not my second favorite, just one of three favorites) was Nancy Reagan’s inaugural gown, a white beaded one-shouldered sheath gown of lace over silk satin. And the last of my favorites was the dress worn by First Lady Michelle Obama to the Inaugural Ball in honor of President Obama. This too was a one-shouldered, white chiffon design dotted with beads and covered in fabric petals. After studying it for a bit, we sat down and took in a movie about her donation of the gown to the Smithsonian Institution. We were still watching when Ben found us. As we headed down the escalator to retrieve our things, Dad called us to tell us he was outside. So we met up with the second half of our family and shared our favorite parts of each museum with one another as we walked down the National Mall towards the Vietnam War Memorial.

          Dad, Abby and Lindsey had greatly enjoyed their visit to the National Gallery of Art. Shortly after arriving, Dad asked a docent for advice on how best to view the gallery given that they had about two hours. Abby said this man was super excited at the chance to share his knowledge. He let them know that a highlights tour of the gallery was to start in about 15 minutes, so they just perused the art in the area. Then the tour began. Their docent, Pat, guided them from room to room, pointing out one sample from each of the different collections. She explained the artistic evolution of each piece, from 14th century to 19th century. Dad particularly liked a painting of the Nativity

 “Tonda” which means round and the setting was in Florence. The girls like the frieze of the memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the first black regiment of the Civil War by Augustus Saint-Gaudensthe. The docent noted that since they were a black regiment, the Confederates buried them in a mass tomb. However, when the white commander’s parents were asked where he should be buried, as he deserved a “decent” burial, they said that he would like to be buried with his men. Dad thought that was quite noble. The girls looked around for Rodin’s sculpture of “The Thinker”, but couldn’t find it.

          At dusk, we again visited the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and Korean War Memorial. They were even more beautiful in the fading daylight. Next, we walked over to the Ellipse and saw the National Christmas Tree lit up. This time, there were no Russian camera crews, and we got a lot closer to our California State Christmas Tree. Next, we walked a very long way to Capital City Brewing Company for dinner near Metro Center, only to find it closed for a private event. So, instead, we boarded the Metro and went to the restaurant’s Union Station location instead. There we relaxed and had a lovely feast of Manhattan crab chowder, calamari, onion rings, jambalaya, fish and chips, and BBQ ribs, with “Monumental Brownies” and “Bananas Foster” for dessert. Then we went back outside into the cold night air and found a giant red high-heel shoe outside of the Union Station Metro. After that photo op, we boarded the subway and rode it back to Largo Town Center, got into the RV, and drove to Duncan Family Campground, where we crashed for the night.