Another successful trip to DC! My goals in going this time were, first, to visit my sister Michelle and brother-in-law Ryan (of course), and, second, to attend the National Book Festival! Very exciting! There were some amazing authors speaking, including Tamora Pierce, a favorite from my youth (and today), and the chance to be among so many like-minded people was irresistible! Other authors included Linda Ronstadt, Margaret Atwood, Jon Scieszka, Mario Livio, and Khaled Hosseini. It was amazing to be in the same tent with them and by and large they were smart, interesting, and really, really funny.
So Michelle and Ryan acted the tour guides and we saw many of the DC sites that I missed on my first trip.
National Portrait Gallery
Patent Office Exhibit
National Archives
(Where we viewed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights)
We saw them setting up for the Book Festival
A Nationals Game! They won!
Cupcakes in Georgetown . . . at two different places.
This is the magic that happens when you're out with Michelle and Ryan
Library of Congress!
Gorgeous building, amazing institution.
Capitol Building tour: the most touristy thing I'll ever do,
but interesting stuff and another amazing building.
Lots of walking this day, but lovely weather!
Sunset over the Lincoln Memorial
(World War II Memorial in the foreground)
Air and Space Museum
We went to an after-hours, VIP viewing of the Da Vinci Codex !!!
So amazing.
Sah-WEEEET!
All the fans waiting in line for Tamora Pierce.
This even after we had waited an hour; we started on the grass beyond the path.
Made it to the front! She's super sarcastic and witty, just my kind of person.
These are just a sampling of all that we did, not including the amazing food we ate at such fabulous restaurants as Shake Shack, Zaytinya, and Founding Farmers. Delicious! It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to my next trip! Thanks to Michelle and Ryan for touring me around and putting up with all my book babbling. Also, thanks to Pam and Doug for giving me a room and bringing me along to the baseball game and the Da Vinci exhibition -- I had a wonderful time!
Once more I have been traveling! And what fun I've had. I'll admit, I'd forgotten what walking all day does to the feet, but if I soon was forcibly reminded of this, I also quickly remembered that it's always worth it in the end. This time I was off to DC and it's environs for 4 fun-filled days as a tourist. As you may have figured out, this was during President Obama's second Inauguration and yes! I did attend-- my plethora of pictures (and my aching everything) can attest to that fact.
This long Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend happened because of several fortuitous circumstances. First, my elder sister Michelle and her husband Ryan now live in Arlington, VA and had been hounding (yes! hounding!) me to visit. Second, the long weekend meant I had most of the four days off, and the schedulers at my jobs very kindly gave me the rest. And finally, my younger sister Cate, as a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy, had been selected to march in the Inaugural parade. All good reasons to hop on a plane and go south, so I did!
Saturday I flew in early and explored the Mall as well as several other landmarks. Preparations for the Inauguration were already well underway, and we had a preview of the crowds of people who would be attending on Monday. The white stuff we're standing on is interlocking plastic platforms which protect the grass from trampling feet (the last Inauguration devastated the Mall lawn) while allowing water and sun through. It was very comfortable to walk on, too.
On the Mall, facing the Capitol Building
The Capitol Reflecting Pool and Capitol Building
Reveling in front of the Library of Congress
The best view of the White House I could manage with
all the fencing and the large viewing booth in the way.
Sunday was especially fun as we drove over to Annapolis to meet up with my sister Cate and her boyfriend Tom, who were staying at the Naval Academy until they marched in the Parade. Annapolis is a lovely and tourist-friendly port city and the Academy can only be described as impressive and stately. We had a lovely day walking around and some delicious food along the way.
Fun with statues. You may note that Ryan had some fun
and placed his phone in the statue's hand.
Best group around.
Monday morning was a trial. 4am wake-up, then in the District (as people in the know say) by 5 am.
Arriving at the security tent to enter the streets around the parade route.
We watched the sky lighten and the crowds grow minute by minute, and of course this was the coldest day of my whole trip-- it didn't get much above 40 degrees the whole day. The crowd started out in a loose line, but eventually everyone was huddling together to preserve heat, like penguins. The security tent was supposed to open by 6:30am, but we weren't allowed through until 8am.
Our view behind us after a couple hours of waiting in "line."
Finally we did get through, though, and managed to find a prime spot on the barricade right at the corner of Pennsylvania and 15th where the parade turns right toward the White House. Perfect, we thought, now we just have to wait . . . another 5 1/2 hours. I'll skip over the cold, the boredom, the general uncomfortableness of the day and get to the good stuff. We saw the President go by on his way from the White House to the Capitol (which was a surprise), then waited another 4 hours before the parade's delayed start. We were there for two things: President Obama (who was at the beginning of the parade), and Cate, who was at the end of the parade. Due to delays it was well past dark when Cate finally went by, but we made it-- and the thrill of seeing my little sister marching in the Inaugural parade was worth the wait! Here are some videos of these two events that aren't great, due to (1) the darkly tinted windows of the president's car, and (2) the lack of light when the Coast Guard Academy went by. Enjoy anyway!
You can kind of see him through the window! Sorry for the screaming, that was the woman next to me who nearly fainted from excitement.
Cate is the third row (with rifles) from the back and fourth from the right. Best view is at 00:30.
Her boyfriend Tom is second row (with rifles) from the front, second from the left.
So there it is! My fun-filled weekend in the capital. Pretty exciting stuff. Thanks to my hosts for the trip, Doug and Pam, and to my wonderful tour guides, Michelle and Ryan, who I miss already! I'm looking forward to my next visit!
