A trip to the District of Columbia

On Tuesday I got back from a long weekend in Washington D.C. with Amanda. It was a boatload of fun!

For those of you who are not familiar with Amanda, I met her through various activities at church in college. We cooked student dinners, led small groups at the Bible study Seekers, planned student activities, and a bunch of other stuff. Being a law student at Georgetown, she knows the local area. She also made a blog post talking about the trip.

I have been to Washington D.C. four times before, so I have done most of the major tourist things. This allowed time to do lesser known things and visit places many people do not get to see.

When I flew into Regan National Airport on Friday the weather in D.C. was unseasonably warm. It was in the 70s. We enjoyed the weather by sitting outside and eating at an Irish pub while watching people skate at an outdoor ice rink.

The first place visited on Saturday was the National Archives. They have all the important documents of the United States. I saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The Magna Carta was also there, but most people were uninterested in it.

Next the Old Post Office Tower was visited. The only place that affords a higher view of the Capital is the Washington Monument. It was an intense day to go to the top of the tower; winds that day were clocked at 50 MPH.


After a jaunt through the streets, we arrived at the Renwick gallery. While the paintings they had on display were unexciting, many of the sculpture pieces were good. Take a look at the Ghost Clock by Wendell Castle.


This looks like a grandfather clock with a sheet over it. However, it is a block of wood carved and painted to look like a clock and sheet. It is a great effect. I was standing a few feet from the clock and it still looked like a cloth sheet.

After that we ambled through the National Sculpture Garden. One of my favorite pieces was Thinker on a Rock by Barry Flanagan. On the National Sculpture Garden website there is a link half way down the sidebar on the right to a map with short descriptions of the works.


Here we see Amanda sitting in Scott Burton's Six-Part Seating.


That evening we went to Co Co Sala, which advertises itself as a chocolate lounge and boutique. You can check out their menu. I enjoyed a Co Cojito, which is a cocktail with chocolate infused vodka, mint, and limes topped with dark chocolate flakes. It was good, but the dessert takes most of the attention. It was a three course affair. The first course was a couple of churro like sticks with some chocolate that could be spooned on top of them. Next I enjoyed the Some More Co Co which consisted of chocolate crème brulee topped with toasted marshmallows and graham crumble along with a chocolate brownie and a chocolate malted shooter. This was followed by some petit fours. It was all very tasty.

On Sunday we went to mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. There were mosaics all over the church. Branching off of the main area were many side chapels. You can view some maps, pictures, and 360 degree views here. I liked their crypt church which has a superb subterrain feel.

For brunch we went to the Old Ebbitt Grill. They had wonderful food and a great atmosphere. There was a wait for seating in the dining room, but we were able to immediately get seating and full service at one of their bars.

Afterwards the National Museum of American History was visited. There is a lot of stuff there. I was only able to see half of what I wanted to before they closed for the day. Highlights of what I saw included the Star Spangled Banner and Lincoln's top hat.

After that we went to a free concert at the National Gallery of Art titled “Venice: Vivaldi and His Rivals.” After this is was only fitting to eat Italian food.

Monuments
Moving about the city almost every time I saw a statue I had to take a look at it and see who it was honoring.

I saw a statue for Winfield Scott Hancock. I thought, I only know him as Winfield Scott, the general of the Mexican-American War. When did he get the name Hancock added? It was only when researching for this post that I discovered Winfield Scott Hancock is a completely different person. However, they were both generals who fought in the Civil War and ran for President.

Speaking of Winfield Scott Hancock, he lost the Presidential election of 1880. In the popular vote, he lost by less than 2,000 votes of the 8.8 million that were cast. However, the Electoral College vote margin was deceive for his defeat. If you want to know who he lost to, you need look no further than this man.

He is James Garfield.

Other statues and monuments seen included the Boy Scouts, Marquis de Lafayette, Comte de Rochambeau, William T. Sherman (which was being restored), the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, U.S. Grant, and John Marshall.

Now I want you to take a moment to think. What would you consider an appropriate monument to an important person after death? I will share some ideas on what I saw in a future post.

Before I close I must ask, what trip to the Washington D.C. area would be complete without a picture with our good friend Ronald?


A second part covering Mount Vernon and the rest of the trip is coming soon.