April 16, 2012
Okay – so today was a free day. A day to sleep in, right? WRONG!! I was up at 6:00 (so, compared to the other days, I guess I did sleep in a bit). It was out the door at 8:15, to take the Metro down to the Metro Center station, which is the closest station to Ford’s Theatre. I attended the 9:00 tour of the Theatre (where President Lincoln was shot). For a price of $2.50, it was a great value. It would’ve been a bargain at $10, too.
The tour takes you to the basement of the theatre, where there are displays about Lincoln, Booth and the conspirators in the assassination and/or kidnapping plot – including a timeline of April 14th, showing how each person’s day went up until the point where their lives intersect. It was quite interesting – with a lot of information that I didn’t know. After that, the group was escorted up to the actual theatre, where the audience would’ve sat during the performance that evening. A park ranger came out and gave us a play-by-play of the events of the day, the assassination, Booth’s escape and eventual capture and death. The only part of the theatre that is original is the brickwork on the face of the building. Everything else has been redone (it was converted to an office building immediately after the assassination – and is now converted back to a theatre) and, with the exception of some upgrades, looks basically the same as it did on April 14th, 1865. After Ford’s Theatre, you then go across the street to the boarding house that Lincoln was moved to, and where he died 9 hours later. There are some interesting artifacts there too. The thing I found the most interesting was a stack of books. Allegedly it was a stack of all of the books written about Abraham Lincoln – which totals 15,000 and counting. The tower of books was more than 4 stories tall. Neat!
After leaving the Ford’s Theatre exhibits, it was off to The W hotel for an explanation about their photo policy (if you remember my little run in with a hostess on Saturday night (day #5). I went to the front desk, and very politely stated, “Hi, I need to ask a question. I’m asking out of curiosity, not to complain.” I then explained what happened Saturday night, and relayed my confusion. His answer? “Yeah, they get a little anal on the rooftop. They don’t like you taking pictures up there because of the White House.” I mentioned that tons of people were already taking pictures of the White House. He said, “well, I don’t get it either. Here, you can take a picture of this similar sign right here.” So I did, and was happily on my way. Excellent.
Then – back to the White House, the White House visitors center, and finally to the South Lawn of the White House (I was kicked out of that area on Saturday night, as “something” was about to happen. What? I certainly don’t know & the Secret Service guy wasn’t about to tell me.) I got my picture of the south side of the White House. Even though – based on the address (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) - the south side is actually the back of the White House, I think it is the better known image (it is the rounded façade rather that the straight/boxy front side of the mansion) – and better looking, too.
The next stop was the Smithsonian Institute – specifically the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian. It was awesome! The only thing wrong with it, is there is too much to see and so I scampered from one item to the next, and then back again (much like a kid after opening all of their Christmas presents and then can’t figure out what to play with). I was a mental mess after going through the Air and Space building. While there, I saw the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space capsules (only the Command Modules, as none of the other pieces ever returned to Earth – at least not in usable forms). Boy are they small capsules! The pilot’s compartment of the Gemini capsule, that housed 2 astronauts and was the first capsule to have someone exit the capsule while in flight (as in a space-walk) – was no larger than the front seat of a small car (TINY!!!). There was also an actual moon lander, or Lunar Module, there as well. It was built as one of the two experimental units, but the initial tests with the first unit went so well, that NASA decided they didn’t need to use the second one, and it was donated to the Smithsonian. While there, I realized I have now met the dude with the coolest job. The tour guide for the rocket program in the Air and Space building – that would be SUCH a kick! I told him so. It turns out he’s a volunteer – like much of the staff there. Well, then – he has the coolest volunteer gig. One day I will be a tour guide somewhere (and no, not as a Wal-Mart greeter, desperately hoping that people ask where the Kleenex is, so I can give them a “tour” of the store!). There were a lot of other planes in the building – and in the gift shop – a replica of the USS Enterprise-NCC-1701 from the original Star Trek.
After the Air and Space building, I went to the Capital building. All of the buildings are relatively close to each other. There was a singer on a stage on the front lawn – and some sort of program was going on. As I am watching the next presenter, I look to my right and who do I see, but Herman Cain. So I asked him, “excuse me sir, are you Howard Caine?" He very politely answered, “no, but I’m Herman Cain.” I was so embarrassed. For those of you wondering, Howard Caine played Major Hochstetter on Hogan’s Heroes, oops! Herman was set to take stage, but promised a picture when he was done – so I waited around. Okay – so you may or may not like him, but how many times can you say you had your picture taken with a presidential candidate (even though he dropped out 2 months ago)? After he was done speaking, I had to stand in line, and when it was finally my turn he said, “hey Howard, come on up here!” We had a good laugh. He’s a pretty nice, and funny, guy.
This is getting long, so I will just wrap with by saying that the next exhibit was the Smithsonian building of American History. This is the building that houses the pop culture portion of the Smithsonian. Unfortunately, that part is being renovated, and many of those items have been removed. I did get to see Kermit the Frog, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Archie Bunker’s chair, and an Apple IIE computer (remember those?). Sadly, Fonzie’s jacket was not there, nor were any of the Star Wars or Star Trek momentos.
It was getting late, so dinner and back to the hotel – to Skype one last time, and then pack up. My flight is Tuesday at 8:30. I can’t wait to get home, and I think there’s a little girl who’s looking forward to her dad’s return (Lisa probably won’t mind if I come back too).
Anyway – that’s all for Day #7. Have a super day. The next note will come from Rochester, after landing. Be well, stay safe!
JBD
No comments:
Post a Comment