In my last real blog post, I mentioned that I was going to Washington D.C. Since I wrote that, I have been there THREE times, and it was always great. It's a fantastic city for touring on a budget. Since all of the monuments and most of the museums are government owned they are free of charge. (Free until you get to the cafeteria and bookstore -- then they gouge you.)Among all the free things I did in the nations capitol, the following are a few of the more memorable.
- Read the Gettysburg address in the Lincoln Memorial while Maddie colored nearby.
- Saw both the Star Spangled Banner and the Ruby Slippers in less than an hour.
- Fed the pigeons at the base of the Washington Monument.
- Saw the collection of books that Thomas Jefferson donated to the Library of Congress -- he was quite a reader! ;)
- Walked past the protester who has been camped outside the White House for 29 years -- years!
- Met Santa Clause near the National Christmas tree.
- Saw over fifty-seven Norman Rockwell paintings and drawings -- on loan from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. How nice.
- Got out of the way while a group of veterans had their picture taken at the WWII memorial.
- Stood on the spot where John Quincey Adams had his desk in Statuary Hall. I've told many classes about it, and now I can say that I was there!
- Saw an honest-to-goodness pair of NASA adult diapers at the National Air and Space Museum. (They're used during launch and space walks. Yikes!)
It really is a great city. Can't wait to go back and see the rest.
Total Cost: $20 for lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian.
