Traveling

Part 1

Part 3

Part 4

First day.

I lugged my bags several blocks to the Metro since I didn't know I could get a bus closer. Once at the Metro I had to figure out how to pay. I ended up getting a pass as I could use it on the busses also and planned to do a lot of running around. I took the Metro and then a bus to the hostel.

The Washington International AYH Hostel is a multi-story building and is very nice. There is quite a crowd here though there is plenty of room in the common areas. This is one of the gateway hostels and has a varied group. Most are young people from foreign countries. I hear several different languages. There are also several older people. One lady is traveling on her own for the first time. Her children are grown and she's starting to get out on her own. A lady is here for a Legalize Marijuana convention. She's spending most of each day on the capital steps demonstrating.

There is a small store and a large kitchen. They have internet access but it's about $12.00 per hour. My room has twelve beds and eight are filled. I have a bottom bunk, which I prefer. I hate having to get up at night when I'm in a top bunk. The bathrooms are large and clean. A nice place all in all.

I dump my stuff and go for a walk. This is so great. Within ten minutes I'm walking down the mall and soon I'm at the White House. This is a very compact town and a great walking town. It is so much fun to see all the buildings that I've only seen in pictures. I spend a couple of hours just walking around and then go back to the hostel as I'm going to meet some people for dinner.

I'm going to meet some people that I've only known online. They are all in a nice forum and not one where they ask what undies you are wearing. We meet at a place just a few blocks from the hostel. It is so interesting to actually meet people who you've only typed things to. They aren't exactly like I thought, even though I looked at the pictures of those that have homepages, but still I feel at home around them.

There is a little problem with our reservation (they lost it) so we have plenty of time to talk before we even sit down. It was a good meal with friends, even though this was the first time I've met them. There is something special about talking face to face. Often we all talk at once. I'm glad I could meet them.

Second Day.

I am up bright and early the next day. The bites on my arm are too. I ask about it at the desk and they apologize. It seems someone has left bedbugs behind. They move me to another room so they can fumigate. I itch and my hand and arm and a few places on my face swell up for several days despite neosporin and cortisone cream.

I don't let it bother me and head out for a volkswalk. This is the Walk 'Round the Monuments volkswalk. I go down 23rd Street past the Kennedy Center and several government buildings. Well, most of DC is government buildings. Ahead is the Lincoln Memorial. I circle around and it is beautiful. It just glows in the sun. The statue of Abraham Lincoln is awesome. Lincoln is my favorite president. He wasn't perfect but he handled life with humor despite bouts of depression.

The walk goes past the Korean War Memorial, along the reflecting pool. I've seen that pool so many times on TV and here it is. The mall is the scene of so many pictures in my mind. At 17th Street I curved around past the DC War Memorial and crossed US-50 and headed counterclockwise around the Tidal Basin.

I keep crossing and walking along US-50and US-1 as I wander around DC. The first US highway along the east coast and the first trans-continental highway. It seems fitting for the capital of the United States.

The FDR Memorial is next and is very well done. An excellent memorial that follows FDR through his life as president from the depression till his death. The statue of him in a wheelchair is very well done. I didn't really understand why there was such an uproar about it. The landscaping throughout makes it one of the most beautiful memorials I've seen.

The walk continues on around the Tidal Basin to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This is also a beautiful white granite monument. I saw more granite in DC than anywhere else I've been. All this stone makes the place seem so very, very important. The roman and greek architecture and the enormous columns are so much fun to see against the gold and red of the fall leaves.

Next I went north to The National Mall. Just wall to wall museums and between them the glorious fall color. Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed walking along it. I walked along the south side of the mall to 7th Street and then turned and walked along the north side of the mall to 14th Street. I'm afraid I walked very slow since it was so enjoyable.

The walk went right up by the White House and around it then curved down the west side of The Ellipse. Along the way I stopped at the Zero Milestone of Highway 50. This is where the first transcontinental car trip started along the Lincoln Highway.

Next I continued on to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I've seen this so many times in magazines and on television but I still felt like crying. It's simplicity is powerful. Above it, on a hill, is the statue honoring the women who died in Vietnam. So beautiful.

Then it was back past the Lincoln Memorial and back to the starting point. I was tired and I itched and was swollen on my arms and chin from the bug bites, but it was a great day.

I took the Metro back to where I could walk up to the hostel. I love the long escalators in the stations. I got off and on a couple places just to check out the metro. Passes are great fun because you can just wander. Everyone was so dressed up compared to what I'm used to. I never saw so many black dresses as I saw in DC and New York City. It's like they're all going to a funeral.

Third Day.

Tuesday was my museum day. So much to do and so little time to do it in. My first goal was to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. The tickets were free but the line formed at 6:00 AM in the morning. It was 8:00 when I finally made my way down there. I had been tired after my long walk yesterday and the bug bites were really bothering me.

Some people get there early and get the limit, six, I believe, free and then sell them to people like me who want their sleep. I was wandering down Consititution toward the National Gallery when I heard a guy mutter something at me. Being a sensible person, I just kept walking, for about 10 feet, then I realized that he had said something about Van Gogh. Being a sensible person I stopped and walked back. I paid $10.00 for thickets for that morning and considered them a good deal.

I had a couple hours so I visited the National Archives first. They had all the famous documents on sale including a copy of the Magna Carta. I've always been awed by the Magna Carta since it was one of major turning points that led to democracy. They had an exhibit of great architectural drawings that I would have liked to spend more time with. What a research resource. You could spend all your life here. Too soon I had to return to the art museum to get in line since people started lining up an hour before their actual ticket time.

I slowly wended my way down the hall, stopping to get an audio guide. Since my art knowledge is rather piecemeal it was a good deal. Finally we were in the exhibit. Even with requiring tickets it was quite crowded. I, again, slowly walked through the rooms. What gorgeous stuff. he was such a great artist. I an hour there and was exhausted when I finally left. It was so worth it, though

What a great place to have access to on a daily basis. One thing that I really miss is a good gallery. Neither Tucson, or my previous residence, Oklahoma City, had much in the way of art except for western and spanish colonial. Nice, but not my favorite.

My next stops were at the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History. I went to the American History museum first so I could get some lunch. They even have a nice lunchroom. I really enjoyed this museum the most as I love to see ordinary things that people have used. They even had a clothespin exhibit. The Star Spangled Banner was barely visible as it's in bad shape and they are getting ready to take it down to repair it. I didn't realize how huge it is. It's a good two stories tall.

They had a very good exhibits showing how African Americans moved north to get jobs. It was very moving and educational. The exhibit on the first ladies was also well done. It's no longer just about their dresses but how all of them used the office to help women. There was the lunch counter where the African American civil rights activists sat at. All kinds of cars and trucks and planes and machinery. It was just wonderful. Another museum I could spend days in.

Next I went the the Natural History museum but just did a quick run through as I was running out of time. I went over to the Holocaust Museum which is so moving, horrifying and touching. I couldn't get tickets for the permanent exhibit as it was too late but there was plenty to see besides that. I picked up quite a few postcards as there is so much I want to remember about this museum. The most moving one for me was the picture of the pile of shoes at the death camps.

It was quite late in the afternoon when I finally stopped, exhausted. It was relaxing to just slowly walk back to the hostel, enjoying the beautiful city. There was so much I didn't get to see. The White House was closed today and I had hoped to go there and there were many other places I want to see such as the FBI building and the Pentagon. I took a shower and had a light supper and was glad to just sit and read for a while before going to bed.

The greatest thing about DC is that while it was all new and exciting, I also felt so at home since I've seen so much of it in books and movies and news reports. I felt like it was my town.

Third Day.

My third and last day in DC. How sad. Actually only part of a day as my bus leaves in the afternoon for NYC. I was up early as there was plenty I wanted to do. This was my Capitol day.

I took my luggage to the bus station first to get a ticket to put it in a locker and get a ticket for New York City. I asked at the desk where I could call for a cab since I didn't want to lug it all on and off a bus since I was still a little under the weather from the bites. At least the swelling on my arm and face had pretty much gone down. The guy at the desk said to just go out on the sidewalk and wave at the first one that came by. I have spent much to much time in the western states. You just don't wave down taxis in Arizona. Sure enough, it was just a minute and here comes a taxi that politely stopped as I waved. It was so nice to ride in style.

I walked back to the mall from the Greyhound station, enjoying a lovely morning. I had such good luck with the weather on this trip. The Washington Monument was gleaming in the sun but it was being worked on and I couldn't go into it.

I took a bus down to the capital and went to the Library of Congress first. Wow all the books in the country were inside these granite walls (theoretically). I went on a short tour and watched a video, then looked up Aschmann in the index and there were my father and brother. How cool! You can't go into the reading rooms without permission and I'm not sure how you get that. I enjoy getting on their American Memories website. There is so much to see there.

Next on my tour was the Capital of the United States. I had seen it from down the mall and now I got to see it from the front and up close. . for one hour while waiting in line for the tour.

This gave us a chance to watch the demonstrators on the steps. It wasn't very exciting and everyone seemed to look on it as business as usual. There was one guy that looked like jesus who was standing there looking noble, but I'm not sure what he was protesting.

Finally they were ready for our group. Some perky little guides led us around to the side where we went through the metal detectors. It was worth the wait. The murals on the ceilings and walls and the beautiful detail carvings are gorgeous. I enjoyed the room where you could hear a whisper from one spot in another spot. This was one of the early legislative chambers and the strange acoustics were supposedly used to find out what other people were up to.

The stairs inside are so small that we have to go single file on them. The house and senate chambers look so small. On television they seem so much larger. All the congresspersons are gone as it's the last push in campaigning right now. The tourists were there in full force, which since it was late October was amazing. I understand that in the summer you can wait a couple hours for the tours, though.

Too soon I had to go to catch my bus. I cut across a park and past Union Station, another gleaming granite building. The whole city is so beautiful and it doesn't feel heavy from all that stone, but just solid and like it will last forever. I walked around the side of Union Station and in a couple blocks was at the Greyhound Station. Across the street was the Trailways station. It looks a bit delapidated and I didn't see any buses at it so I wondered if it was still in use.

I collected my luggage and got in line for the bus. I was ready to rest my feet and go to meet my daughter. One day I will come back and see all the things I missed and the things that I saw better.