Visiting The Obamas
Ross here again for a rare entry into the world of blogging. Today was our last full day in Washington DC before driving to New York City tomorrow. We had a jam-packed program that was always going to be a challenge with 2 teenagers and a 4-year old whose legs seem to give out after 100m.
After breakfast we headed down to the White House for a family picture. Little did we know that this was one of two days each year when, after going through masses of security and under the guard of machine-gun-wielding secret service, we were given access to the White House front yard. We were able to get up the front steps of the White House and for fans of the West Wing, the photo shows a very familiar walk between the Oval Office and the White House proper. It was a great opportunity that not many Americans get to experience. As a side note, the White House has 25 bathrooms and over 600 rooms. It also has a veggie patch started and maintained by the current First Lady. It would be the envy of George from Masterchef.
After farewelling the Obamas, we jumped on the bus for the Lincoln Memorial. It was awesome to stand on the steps where Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream ….” speech and where Forest Gump was reunited with “Ginny”.
We then jumped back on the bus and headed for the Arlington Cemetery. It was amazing to see how many graves there were. Many of the ages of death were way too young. It was really moving to see a 60+ couple laying some flowers at a grave for, I assume, a father. As we were walking through the cemetery we also witnessed the funeral of a soldier killed in action in Afghanistan. It was so sad to see a man so young taken from his family by a bunch of fanatics. Toby was really interested and asked so many questions to try to understand why so many people died in war. It was probably a bit much for Maisy, and this quote from her is not intended to show any disrespect but she said, “… If there weren’t so many dead people here, it would be so much fun to roll down these grassy hills, but we’re not allowed, are we? The dead people wouldn’t like that would they?”
It was pretty interesting seeing the awe in which the Kennedys are held. There is a procession that queues to witness the graves of JFK’s family and the grave of Bobby Kennedy.
We then headed for something a little more light-hearted and went to the Holocaust Museum. It was awful seeing the reality of what Hitler did to the Jews; exterminating 6 million. However, I was taken by the lack of forgiveness and acknowledgement that the Nazis also exterminated 3.3 million Russian prisoners of war. Maybe I am being harsh here and not really understanding the depth of pain of the Jewish people.
We also did a drive-by viewing of the Pentagon, which is massive!!! It was pretty awesome seeing where the September 11 plane went into the building. The people in the outer offices would have stood no chance, but the building is that thick, that the plane crash resulted in limited damage.
We then headed for the National Archives to try to emulate Nicholas Cage in National Treasure with the Declaration of Independence. While we could lift the original, we were able to get a reasonable copy that Toby is very taken with. The biggest bummer was saving the camera battery to be able to take a photo of the Declaration, only to find that no photos were allowed.
While there was some bus action, we did a hell of a lot of walking. We all got back to the “luxurious” Harrington Hotel with sore feet and sore shoulders from lugging Maisy around. How should we describe the Harrington??? Let’s just say “… position, position, position!!” While not technically a flea-pit, it’s not far off. The only real redeeming feature is the photo of Sydney Harbour that faces us when we get out of the lift on our floor. It was a quick shower for me before we headed out to the Elephant and Castle English Pub a block away in downtown DC. We had great food but it was an interesting experience eating predominantly English pub food while watching NFL and baseball on the big-screens.
Washington DC has been great and very different from other cities. The level of racial integration is really noticeable here compared to other cities, as Sarah wrote yesterday. Canberra appears to have tried to copy DC in its layout but DC has so much more history and world importance. Tomorrow we head to New York City by car and without a sat-nav. Not sure why I can’t get one but Hertz assure me that it is not possible to get one for a 7-seater vehicle even though Hertz provided sat-navs on the West Coast. It’s about a 4-hour drive to NYC. We’re really looking forward to seeing some of the East Coast and are hoping with fingers crossed that our arrival in NYC will be met with an apartment rather than the vacant block that Sarah is expecting.
If I am still included in the blog tomorrow it will mean that our NYC landlord, Caesar Marin has come through. If I’m not mentioned it will be because I am out looking for alternative accommodation after being scammed. Fingers crossed Sarah will be chanting “All hail Caesar!!!” and our NYC experience will start on a positive note!!!
