Our travels this week take us to Washington DC. Naturally we centered our visit on the National Mall and the Smithsonian. With over a dozen major museums and uncountable monuments, memorials and statues, there is no lack of things to see and do.
In 1826, James Smithson, a British scientist, drew up his last will and testament, naming his nephew as beneficiary. Smithson stipulated that, should the nephew die without heirs (as he would in 1835), the estate should go “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Bet you didn’t know that, I didn’t.
Air and Space Museum – One of my personal favorites, we spent quite a bit of time in this museum. I find all of the technical aspects of the displays fascinating (duh, I am an engineer).
I think Mellie enjoyed it as well although I had to promise we would visit the Natural History Museum next, home of the Hope diamond and other bobbles, but back to the Air and Space. This place is full of history and explains quite eloquently, how flight, from the Wright brother to the flight to the moon, has really shaped what and who America is today.
Natural History Museum -
The National Museum of Natural History is dedicated to understanding the natural world and our place in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah…which way to the precious stones? Second floor, to your right was the quick answer. The main building on the National Mall contain
s 1.5 million square feet of space overall and 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space; altogether the Museum is the size of 18 football fields and has more than 125 million natural science specimens and cultural artifacts. Just to name a few of the museum holdings, the collections include 30 million insects carefully pinned into tiny boxes; 4½ million plants pressed onto sheets of paper in the Museum’s herbarium; 7 million fish in liquid-filled jars; and 2 million cultural artifacts, including 400,000 photographs housed in the National Anthropological Archives. So we skipped the stuffed animals and headed to the important stuff. Thankfully this jewelry store does not take Visa.
Monuments, memorials, oh my - It was a hot day and the walk was long but we just had to do it. The Washington Memorial is a
world known icon of the American people. We passed on the climb to the top. The next stop was the World War II Memorial. It honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. It was a touching memorial. I thought of my dad who served in the 
Pacific including the Philippines and Mellie thought of the stories told to her by her mother and the Japanese occupation. Toward the end of the mall we visited the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veteran Memorial wall. 
Both are inspiring and thought provoking. If there is any negative thing to say about the National Mall is that you tend to become overloaded. There’s too much to see and absorb.
Road Revelation #14 – Always wear comfortable walking shoes. It would be a shame to miss out an opportunity to enjoy because you just had to wear “style” instead of “comfort”. Can you imagine we actually saw women on the Mall wearing high heels? For me a walk through time begs for nice sturdy tennis shoes.
In 1826, James Smithson, a British scientist, drew up his last will and testament, naming his nephew as beneficiary. Smithson stipulated that, should the nephew die without heirs (as he would in 1835), the estate should go “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Bet you didn’t know that, I didn’t.
Air and Space Museum – One of my personal favorites, we spent quite a bit of time in this museum. I find all of the technical aspects of the displays fascinating (duh, I am an engineer).
I think Mellie enjoyed it as well although I had to promise we would visit the Natural History Museum next, home of the Hope diamond and other bobbles, but back to the Air and Space. This place is full of history and explains quite eloquently, how flight, from the Wright brother to the flight to the moon, has really shaped what and who America is today.Natural History Museum -
The National Museum of Natural History is dedicated to understanding the natural world and our place in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah…which way to the precious stones? Second floor, to your right was the quick answer. The main building on the National Mall contain
s 1.5 million square feet of space overall and 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space; altogether the Museum is the size of 18 football fields and has more than 125 million natural science specimens and cultural artifacts. Just to name a few of the museum holdings, the collections include 30 million insects carefully pinned into tiny boxes; 4½ million plants pressed onto sheets of paper in the Museum’s herbarium; 7 million fish in liquid-filled jars; and 2 million cultural artifacts, including 400,000 photographs housed in the National Anthropological Archives. So we skipped the stuffed animals and headed to the important stuff. Thankfully this jewelry store does not take Visa.Monuments, memorials, oh my - It was a hot day and the walk was long but we just had to do it. The Washington Memorial is a
world known icon of the American people. We passed on the climb to the top. The next stop was the World War II Memorial. It honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. It was a touching memorial. I thought of my dad who served in the 
Pacific including the Philippines and Mellie thought of the stories told to her by her mother and the Japanese occupation. Toward the end of the mall we visited the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veteran Memorial wall. 
Both are inspiring and thought provoking. If there is any negative thing to say about the National Mall is that you tend to become overloaded. There’s too much to see and absorb.Road Revelation #14 – Always wear comfortable walking shoes. It would be a shame to miss out an opportunity to enjoy because you just had to wear “style” instead of “comfort”. Can you imagine we actually saw women on the Mall wearing high heels? For me a walk through time begs for nice sturdy tennis shoes.
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