Washington DC in Pictures

Here we go with a quick tour of what we saw in Washington DC in Two and a half days. We'll start outside near Alexandria and Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason.

The grounds were lovely and we had a great day for it.

Next we stopped in Alexandria and walked around downtown. We stumbled upon a place called the Torpedo Factory. It was as it is named during the two world wars but is now a studio for visual artists. We came upon Allison Sigethy who had instructed me at the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. This is her workshop.

You can see the kayak influences in her art below and at her website.

The next day was the National Zoological Park. Here is one of the entrances.

The big draw in DC is the panda exhibit. They were pretty active when we were there.

We visited the zoo with a friend of Jane's and his daughter. Here there are clowning around a little and seeing who is taller.

The girls had a cackle at one of the toucans.

The zoo was under construction in many places. The "John Deere backhoe" exhibit was popular with some of the younger kids.

This is one of two significant Michelin tires I saw. This on was in the temporary elephant enclosure.

Of course any zoo worth its salt has a pride of lions and Washington is no exception.

Later we went to the National Postal Museum. Not very busy but interesting. Note the Canadian post box at the end by the girls.

Jane looking over some of the exhibits.

Isabelle doing the same. Here is an on-line version of the exhibit.

Isabelle even sent a few postcards and cancelled them herself in the machine.

After the Postal Museum we headed for the capitol building. It's not as big as it looks.

Back at the hotel. It was very glamorous. We ate breakfast here every morning.

This is the restaurant we liked, just opposite the hotel. It's called Open City.

The subway was a big hit with Isabelle. I found it darker than most I had been in and didn't feel as safe as in others. The escalator to get to it near the hotel was the longest I have ever seen. It must have been over 150 ft. Some of the escalators in the system are even longer but nothing matches the world record holder.

Third day and we walked by the White House.

On Pennsylvania Avenue there was a work crew cleaning the tar off of the new pavement. They were using a high pressure street cleaner that made the new pavement look like it was 15 years old.

Now the Washington Monument. As you can see it isn't as big a some people think (in reality 555 feet). It was finished back in 1884.

The National Museum of American History was a little all over the place. In one section they had this display about the invention of Kevlar. Note the kayak paddle on the left.

I tried my hand a windsurfing with Isabelle...

and Isabelle got to do a neat science experiment with carbon dioxide.

Off course we went up to see Kermit the Frog, right next to Archie Bunker's chair, and Dorothy's ruby slippers.

Next came the Museum of Natural History.

Lots of bones, fossils, rocks, gems, stuffed animals, and other natural things.

I particularly enjoyed the Sant Ocean Hall.

This is The Castle, where the Smithsonian Institution is based. The institute was the result of a donation from an English scientist who never even visited the United States. The story of how James Smithson ended up in America after all is also interesting and has a Nova Scotia connection. Read it here.

Now to my favorite. The National Air and Space Museum. I know I am going to book a long layover the next time I'm in Washington so I can visit the other site, the Udvar-Hazy Center. That's where they keep the really big planes. Below is the original X1, the first plane to break the sound barrier, hanging just inside the door.

Another Michelin tire, this one reproduced to be installed on an old plane that was on display.

This picture Isabelle took. She's getting better and more patient about taking pictures. The bomb is one similar to what was dropped on London in WWII.

This is an old airplane that is sort of featured in some children's books by Clive Cussler, my favorite author.

Here is a mock up of the Wright Brothers' famous airplane.

Off course no visit is complete without touching a piece of the moon.

Finally, after supper we headed for the National Mall. This is the Washington Memorial at night.

The relatively new National World War II Memorial with its illuminated fountain.

Finally we get closer to the Lincoln Memorial.

The Washington Monument again seen from the base of the Lincoln Memorial at the end of the Reflecting Pool.

And the man himself. The whole place was teaming with people. It was almost hard to get a good picture.

The last stop was the Vietnam Vetrans Memorial. We don't have pictures as it was so dark, but it was one of the things I really wanted to see in Washington. The other was Arlington National Cemetery. We drove in but didn't have enough time to see anything. I did catch a glimps of the Marine Corp War Memorial on the way out of town, another of the memorials I wanted to see. I guess we will have to do another trip.