I visited DC on the same trip I went to New York City. We took the train to DC to meet the rest of our group and explore the nation's capitol. Barack Obama had just been elected as President and that election was my first time voting. I was feeling extremely patriotic and was so excited to see even more of the history of our country. Again, since this was in 2009, my memories may be a little blurry, but I will do my best to recount my experience to help give you ideas on what you'd like to see!
I have never been to so many museums in my life. It makes sense that DC houses so much of American History. I wish I would have had a little bit more time, if I am being honest, they all blur together and I can't remember a lot of them now. Thankfully, I have tons of pictures to jog my memory. Isn't that the best part about taking a million photos like an annoying tourist?! I loved the Air & Space Museum. Space always sparks human curiosity and seeing the rockets and space suits is no exception.
Arlington Cemetery & JFK's grave was a hard thing to see. It is insane how many graves are there. It was significant eye-opener for me to see, especially while the War in Iraq was still in full force. At that moment, I was finally able to grasp the heaviness of war. When it's not in front of you it is easy to desensitize yourself to it. But there was no escaping the gravity of what was sacrificed in Arlington.
The National Botanical Garden was so beautiful. I was having so much fun taking photos of all the unique flowers. These took up the majority of my camera's memory card. Remember those days before you had cloud storage?
Ford Theatre & Holocaust Museum were both so devastating to see. I struggled in the Holocaust Museum. It was hard to see photos and read stories about the terrible experiences and traumas that happened. The hardest part was seeing the items from people that were killed. To allow respect to be paid to those whose lives were taken, the memorial area was beautiful and gave you a place to reflect on how far we have come.
The National Portrait Gallery & Smithsonian are two of the museums that I don't remember a lot of. I know I loved the portrait gallery because there were so many portraits of American Icons that I love. The Smithsonian is a dream for a history buff, which I am not. I appreciated how beautiful the building was, but didn't spend much time looking at the exhibits. Also to be fair, it may have been my 6th museum of the day and I was worn out.
The Mall is a must-do. You are at the center of American politics and see the buildings where it all happens. We went on a tour of the US Capital. During our tour, there was a bomb threat. Without missing a beat, the tour guide lead us out of the capital showing us the view that the incoming President sees when they are about to be sworn in. I thought it was part of the tour, but as we were leaving I saw a bomb squad truck and we were told they were evacuating us without causing a panic. It was well executed and shows how dialed in they have the tourism in DC with the extreme threats that take place every day.
We stumbled upon Warner Theatre as we were walking around. I found another Sinatra artifact and had to take a the cheesy fan-girl photo. This photo gives you an idea of how much we walked, my white shoes are no longer white...
Last there are the classics, the Washington Monument, The White House, Library of Congress, & Lincoln Memorial. Maybe, the Library of Congress isn't a classic. But it is such a beautiful building. I was quite taken with it. DC can be done in 2-days easily. You will be museum'd out, but if there are other places on your list power through and take lots of photos!
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