Monday, Day 3: National Treasures

Another late start, as we slept in ‘til…whenever. After a quick breakfast of cereal and milk, we left for the Metro. Feeling very comfortable with the trains, and they “ran on time,” gratefully. Took the Yellow Line in, and were able to see the river (it goes above the water, as the other line goes underground). Somewhat cloudy and cool, but very pleasant weather.

Visited the Old Post Office first, an historic old building which nearly was demolished to make room for something in a neo-classical building design. Protesters made an impact, as did several budget shortfalls. Ultimately, the building was saved, and now houses a variety of shops and restaurants. Located in the Federal Triangle, the bell tower offers a free, beautiful view of the city. Nearly as good as the Washington Monument, so we’re told. It is the third tallest structure in the city, and takes two separate elevators to reach the top. At the 10th floor one can see the Congressional Bells, about which I can tell little, except they are quite large and surely melodious when sounded.

Picked up a wheelchair for Dena, and that is making the day much easier for her. Glides about nicely and a bonus feature: we can attach various backpacks, coats and more to it! After sandwiches in the Old Post Office, we headed to the National Aquaruium, which we’d understood to be good – and free. Unfortunately it was neither. Colorado’s “Ocean Journey” is much more impressive, and costs about as much. Still neat to see the incredible assortment of fishes and sea creatures made by God. Just not so great to pay for the 20 minutes we spent looking around.

Then trooped over the National Archives. What a place! A treasure storehouse of documents, images and history. After sailing through security, we hit the public records area, which has a truly impressive variety of interactive stations to explain and entertain. Emancipation paperwork, immigration records, presidential trivia, war artifacts and audio-visual, cold war investigations and more. The quantities and diversity of the records and such housed here are indeed testament to the history of our country. We moved on, reluctantly, to see the real national treasures: the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence, and so much more. With the cool temps and dim lighting, the security guards, the atmosphere of the place was one of honor and reverence. And so it should be. This stop put perspective into our nation’s heritage, and was a highlight of the trip.

The rain came lightly at first, as we made our way back “home.” We delayed a bit, which allowed the rain to really come down, to see the U.S. Naval Memorial (?). A large circle, with three dimensional depictions of the navy’s exploits, and figures and flags surrounding the circumference. A very thoughtful place in the middle of a busy block. Too bad the weather caused us to move on quickly to the safety of the Metro.

Back in time to make some supper, for which Gene and Liz joined us. Mexican is always tasty, and we enjoyed the meal immensely. While the younger ones watched a Muppets movie, the adults caught up. It has been thirteen years since we had a meal together, and we ended up talking well into the night. What an eventful time span for all!