Washington, DC

RVing friends Tina and Paulette and I met at the Cherry Hill campground near the Beltway.

Fearless Tina volunteered to drive during rush hour traffic to the Metro station.

Waiting for the train...

Taking the escalator to street level in DC.

And we arrived...me with map in hand. This was my first visit to our nation's capital.

The Smithsonian was a big draw for me, and our first stop was at the Museum of Natural History.

There was a checkpoint like this at the entrance to every building.

Mammals ...

Modern and prehistoric

Some new ones for me.

And much more...too numerous to show. Once outside we walked to the bus stop.

We caught the Red Circulator here and rode in AC for awhile.

Another way to tour the city...

We passed the Washington Monument.

And the Jefferson Memorial.

And we got off the bus to visit the Lincoln Memorial.

View from the steps. They were draining the Reflecting Pool.

Tina and Paulette climbing the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

A school group learning about MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

A bacteria in the water is making the ducks sick.

So workers are draining and cleaning.

From there we walked to the Vietnam Memorial.

Very moving.

So many names...

Albert Einstein

Back on the bus, we passed the White House.

And the Washington Monument again.

And the Capitol Building.

We got off at the Native American Museum.

It was lunchtime, so we ate here. I had a Bison Burger.

Then we toured the museum. These are Peace Coins handed out to Native Americans during the Lewis and Clark expedition, if I remember correctly.

We learned about the many treaties made...many more than I ever realized.

The history at the time.

What the treaty was about.

And what happened after the treaty was signed....or how the treaty was broken.

Indian beadwork

I found this painting on animal hide of Custer's Last Stand...the Battle of Little Bighorn fascinating. I never knew that existed.

A model of Inca trails and rope bridges in Peru.

An "Indian" motorcycle.

Tina waiting patiently. We were all tired and called it a day.

We passed the Capitol again as we walked back to the metro.

Waiting for the train.

The next day we took a different train to go to the Arlington Cemetery.

And we took a tram tour there.

Another moving place.

So many unknowns...

We watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Short video of part of the ceremony.

Kennedy's tomb and eternal flame.

Back in the city, we walked to the White House. There were protestors on the back side.

Guards patrolling the perimeter.

Front side.

Lots of electronic equipment on the roof.

The National Christmas tree looks a little sad. I didn't know they left it up all summer.

Another museum...Transportation.

Life-size dioramas.

I learned that I am part of the "Trailer Problem," lol.

In the American History museum I found some interesting artifacts, like this Mandan Bull Boat, that Lewis and Clark wrote about in their journals. 

And a silver cup that belonged to my ancestor, William Bradford.

I have to thank Tina and Paulette for helping me get over my fear of traveling to the big city.