Hey everyone, and happy Mother’s Day!
Sorry for not being able to post earlier this morning like I said I would yesterday, but it would seem that my Hotspot has been disabled, and it was a good while until I could establish wifi to post!
So, as you might have predicted, we are now officially in Washington D.C., the capitol of the United States of America! It’s chilly out here, as we stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown D.C., so while we bunker down for the weather, let me show you the first taste of what we have to offer on our trip!
Compared to last trip, we have packed a lot lighter, even if there is three of us this time around! I suppose that with an all-out road-trip such as last summer’s, the car could be a mobile command-center, while actually flying to our destination like this time requires us to pack moderately.
At about 9:00 AM, we took off from New Braunfels, and within the hour, arrived at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. It was not very hard to find gate to our flight, and we hopped into the A section of the plane with little complication.
And it wouldn’t take very long before the plane took off, flying towards the Northeast!
Some very beautiful clouds. I believe that I took this photo somewhere over Louisiana, I can’t really remember.
This was just after touchdown in Ronald Reagan International Airport 2 hours later, with the three of us ready and eager for adventure!
It had rained heavily before we landed, but thankfully, it had died down by the time we arrived. We had actually arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule! I have no idea how that happened, but we had to wait for 35 of those minutes while the Airport Command tried to find a gate for us… Â it couldn’t “dampen” our spirits though (pun intended)!
For those of you who didn’t know, I have actually been to D.C. ONCE before, about four years ago in the summer of 2015. It was a smaller trip then, and with just my dad, but I have one very vivid memory on that first day in Washington that I still remember not-so fondly.
It was on this subway platform that we took off from the airport, and 4 years ago, my dad and I had done so as well. The subways of D.C. are VERY punctual on their coming and going, since they are on an automated timer that dictates their opening/closing doors, and if your not careful… you’ll end up with something similar to my first experience with the subway.
To explain further, my dad and I were just about to get onto the subway, and for some reason we were prevented from making good time to get inside. The automated doors began to close, and soon, I found myself on the outside of the subway, and my dad on the inside, and within a few brief horror-stricken seconds, the subway zipped down the line, leaving me alone and trying to process what had happened…
Thankfully we met up at the last stop (thank god for Cell-phone communication), and we continued on our day as usual. So, as a heads up if you ever find yourself in the D.C. area, Â DO NOT underestimate the Subway…
This is one of the typical subway stations that one would find in D.C. It reminds me a bit of something from a Sci-fi thing, like Star Wars. This particular station is McPherson Square Metro, which is right across the street from our hotel!
And so, we settled into our hotel, and checked the view out of our window.
EEEEE!!!
That’s the Washington Monument, which casts a terrific presence even over our hotel. It’s only a few blocks away…
This is an even better perspective, at ground-view.
So, with the bit of daylight that we had left, we explored around much of Pennsylvania Avenue, arguably the most famous street in the District of Columbia (which is what D.C. stands for, in case you didn’t know).
Pennsylvania Avenue is closed to all vehicle traffic, and is one of the widest streets that you could imagine! It certainly was a lot bigger than I remembered it to be.
This is the U.S. Treasury Building, which is of course, home to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (which you probably could have guessed)… And that’s me in front of it with my arms up, as happy as a kid in a candy factory.
Soon enough, we came to IT… a memorial to American Democracy, a symbol of the nation’s pride, and a shrine to the office of President of the United States… The White House!
Every U.S. President since John Adams has lived in this world-famous residence, and it has been there for most of our National History… It was even bigger than I remembered it to be!
This particular side of The White House is called the “North Portico”, and it is where Heads of State are often greeted. The lawn in front of it is called, “The North Lawn” or “The Front Lawn” (sorry if that seems a bit like a no-brainer).
This is the road that leads onto the gated street between the Eisenhower Executive Building and the entrance to the White House West Wing. We even saw people down that street, who can say what their purpose was there!
Unfortunately, our applications to tour the inside of the White House failed to go through, so we will not be able to tour the place on the inside (though the nearby White House Visitor Center is a stop that we will try to visit).
This map of not so-great quality is a decent depiction of the area that we visited. The Treasury Building is on the right, the Eisenhower Executive Building is on the left, and the White House is in the center. The South Portico and the South Lawn are located on the opposite side of the White House (again, might be a bit too obvious).
The White House Complex is split up into three areas. The East Wing (which has an assortment of functions including the Offices of the First Lady), The Residence (the most famous and central building in The White House), and The West Wing (where important executive offices and rooms are located, including the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office.
Next to the White House West Wing is the Eisenhower Executive Building, named after General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was “Ike” that saved this office building from demolition, and it was he that became the building’s namesake. Much of the Presidential Cabinet Staff have their offices here, including the Vice-President.
Across the street from The White House The Blair House is the official Guesthouse of The President, and is reserved for the most special and honored visitors to Washington D.C., particularly foreign dignitaries and Heads-of-State, some of which have included Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, French Republic President Charles de Gaulle, Japanese Emperor Akihito, Russian President Vladamir Putin, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher!
The Blair House was built in 1824, and lived in by Francis Preston Blair, the namesake.
One fun fact that can be noticed above is that Robert E. Lee, the famous Confederate general, was offered the Command of the entire Union Army here before the Civil War, but he denied, on account that he could not raise arms against his fellow Virginians and Southerners.
Lafayette Square, also located across the street from The White House, is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, the famed french aristocrat who aided the fledgling U.S. in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
Here’s a very nice memorial to someone that I couldn’t even bother to take a picture of their name… sorry. 😦
This interesting statue is of General and 7th President Andrew Jackson, who to this day is a constant drawer of controversy within the U.S. Still, it’s a very nice statue!
And THIS, is St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church. On the north side of Lafayette Square, every president since James Madison has worshipped at this church at least once during their time in office, and ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s time, every president has worshipped here the first Sunday following their inauguration.
… that’s what I just said…
Though it doesn’t look like it, this pigeon was FAT. The pigeons of urban environments are well-fed, and nowhere near as cowardly as the ones in Texas are. They are hardened scavengers!
And this is an Oriole, which you don’t find too much of in Texas.
After our temporary bout of “Bird-watching”, we ate at Subway, and finished the day off with briefly visiting Franklin Square, named after Benjamin Franklin, the legendary founding-father! We then walked a block away to our hotel.
And that was our first day in a nutshell! We are of course nowhere near as intense in our activities as we usually were, for this was just a warm-up, a preview to what is to come! My mom, being in D.C. for the first time, absolutely loved seeing just this sneak-peak, and rest assured, we will be ready to get going tomorrow!
Tomorrow, another chilly/rainy day, we will be visiting the key museum buildings of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall, as it will be a very rainy day! Get ready for relics of the past in the Museum of American History, wonders in the Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Castle!
See you soon!
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 