Time for History!

  We started the day with breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It was a good breakfast, which we needed since we didn’t eat a real meal again until 7:30 pm (We don’t always plan well.) Also, Jason enjoyed tossing bread crumbs to the birds to see how big a piece was too big for them to fly away with. 

When we started walking toward the White House, we came across our first statue of the day: Farragut. He’s the “Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead!” guy, which took place during the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War.

From there we walked down to the White House, which was beautiful and had a surprisingly small number of demonstrators our front. Don’t let the photo fool you; there’s a big old fence there  I just stuck my camera between the vertical bars  

After the White House, we went to Fahrney’s, a historic pen store. Somebody bought a pen.  Ok, two people bought pens. And two people enjoyed the air-conditioning  

After Fahrney’s we wandered to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. On the way, we discovered Casimir Pulaski. (I had never even heard of Pulaski until I moved to Illinois.) Casimir Pulaski was not only a war hero, but is now the patron saint of the foul-mouthed junior high skateboarders practicing in the park. 

We made it to the Smithsonian, had a quick snack and promptly spent HOURS on the third floor learning about the American presidency. The First Lady gowns were beautiful and of course, Lincoln’s Hat (the one he was wearing the night he was assassinated) got me right in the feels. 

We agreed on our favorite artifact: The Star Spangled Banner.  It is so fragile that it is on display under incredibly low light and therefore no photography is allowed.  It was amazing. I was not expecting it to be so big or to impact me so strongly. 

But just for fun, here’s an early electric fan that made me laugh out loud.  Seems safe, right? 

 

From the Smithsonian we pushed on to the Washington Monument. Did you know that it was built in two stages because they ran out of money? That’s why it looks like it’s two different colors. 

Next we walked to the WWII Memorial, which was beautiful. This is just a small part:  each of these stars represents 100 American casualties in the war. 

Next we walked the length of the Reflecting Pool to visit the Lincoln Memorial. 

I may have wiped away a tear or two. 

After that, we were crabby and hungry and sweaty (maybe that was only me) so we walked to the Old Ebbitt Grill for dinner. According to legend,  it’s the oldest tavern in DC, and the animal trophies on the wall belonged to Teddy Roosevelt.

We finished the evening with a drink at The Edgar at The Mayflower and then we crashed. It was a lot of time on our feet and some of us are getting really close to turning 50.