Because the K St NW / 4 St NW stop was right across the street from our hotel, we started our day riding the P6 Metrobus this morning. We had already loaded SmarTrip cards onto our phones, so it was super easy to "tap to pay" when we boarded. Four stops later, we hopped off at 11th St NW / F St NW and walked the rest of the way, passing by the statue of Revolutionary War hero Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski on the eastern side of Freedom Plaza.
 |
| The stone pavers represent a map of Washington, DC |
Our first new-to-us unit today was the World War I Memorial, which sits in Pershing Park to the west of Freedom Plaza and directly across the street from the Willard Hotel. Notable guests of the Willard include Abraham Lincoln prior to his inauguration, Mark Twain, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In August 1963, Dr. King wrote his "I Have a Dream" speech in his hotel room before the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Pershing Park was originally the home of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Memorial, which was dedicated in 1981 to honor those who served in Europe during World War I and was named for their commander, General John J. Pershing.
In 2014, the centennial of the start of World War I, Congress authorized the new memorial to honor all U.S. armed forces that served in the war, not just the AEF. In 2020, several new features were added to the AEF Memorial in Pershing Park. Sabin Howard’s sculpture, A Soldier’s Journey, is the centerpiece, depicting the experience of one American soldier.
 |
| From the NPS website: "Starting from the left, the soldier takes leave from his wife and daughter, charges into combat, sees men around him killed, wounded, and gassed, and recovers from the shock to come home to his family." |
On the opposite side of the sculpture is the Peace Fountain, which is inscribed with the words from a poem by Archibald MacLeish, an artillery captain in the war. After returning home, MacLeish won three Pulitzer Prizes and served as the Librarian of Congress.
Then we crossed Pennsylvania Avenue NW to get to the White House Visitor Center. After passing through the security checkpoint, I quickly got my passport stamps from the info desk, and then we headed back outside. We had been here in 2010 and were actually able to tour the White House itself with the boys, so we didn't feel the need to spend a lot of time looking at the exhibits in the visitor center.
We continued past the White House and around the Ellipse on our way to the Department of the Interior. Last time we could walk along the north side of E Street NW right next to the fence, but now access is limited to the south side only.
 |
| October 2010 |
 |
| October 2024 |
Our main reason for going to the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building was to visit the Interior Museum and get passport stamps, of course! We entered through the C Street lobby security checkpoint and then found our way to the museum.
 |
| The east side of the building (18th Street NW) |
It was very cool to see the exhibition on "Thomas Moran & the 'Big Picture'". In the 1870s, Moran accompanied survey expeditions with Ferdinand Hayden and John Wesley Powell through Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, respectively. His artistic rendering of what he saw in the West helped to illustrate the natural beauty of these lands to Congress and capture the imagination of the American people. His "big pictures" (7 x 12 feet) serve as reminders of the importance of preserving our public lands for future generations. How fitting that they are on display at the Department of the Interior!
 |
| The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) |
 |
| The Chasm of the Colorado (1873–1874) |
On our way out of the museum, the security guard said that we were welcome to view the murals in the main hallway of the building as long as we didn't take any wide angle photographs of the building layout itself. On display were 26 photographs from Ansel Adams' Mural Project of 1941.
 |
| The Tetons - Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming |
Before exiting the building, we stopped by the Interior Library for another set of stamps and then walked a block south to Constitution Gardens and the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, which is located on a small island in the pond.
 |
| East side of the memorial (7 colonies) |
 |
| Signatures of the representatives from Massachusetts |
 |
| West side (6 colonies) |
From here we walked west towards the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, passing by the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the way.
 |
| Three Servicemen Statue |
By now it was almost 11:00AM, and because we had timed entry tickets for one of the Smithsonian museums at noon, we hoofed it double-time to collect passport stamps from the ranger kiosks by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial, as well as the temporary bookstore for the Lincoln Memorial.
Because one of the stamps was for the John Ericsson Memorial, we took a small detour to a traffic island on Ohio Dr. SW to actually see it for ourselves.
 |
| Ericsson, a Swedish-born naval engineer, invented the screw propeller and designed the iron-clad USS Monitor which was used during the Civil War |
Then we stopped by the respective bookstores for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial for more stamps. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the National Park Service Stables 😢, so we just headed down Independence Avenue to the District of Columbia War Memorial...
 |
| The names of 499 Washington residents who died in service during World War I are inscribed on the face of the platform |
...and then along the interior walkway past the World War II Memorial (ranger kiosk closed 😞) and the Washington Monument to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We arrived about 12:15PM.
 |
| The museum opened in 2016 |
Once inside, we went straight to the Sweet Home Café for lunch. It seemed like everyone else had the same idea because the line to get in was super long, but it was totally worth the wait. R and I both went to the Agricultural South station and each ordered fried chicken with two sides. My plate is pictured below - yum! 🤤
After lunch, we went to the History Galleries and took the elevator down to the lowest level, where we started with the section on Slavery and Freedom 1400-1877. It was designed to evoke the feeling of being below deck in the hold of a slave ship. Being in such close quarters with all of the other museum visitors definitely accomplished what they intended. The exhibits were presented chronologically, from the origins of the Transatlantic slave trade to slavery in Colonial North America through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
On the next level up was Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregration (1876-1968). These exhibits covered post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. On the top level was the gallery entitled A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond, with exhibits and artifacts spanning the period of time from the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the presidency of Barack Obama.
In total, we ended up spending just under two hours going through the History Galleries, but we regretted not having more time to spend on the rest of the museum. There are three more floors that we didn't even see! This Smithsonian Museum is definitely worth a visit!
From the museum, we backtracked to get the passport stamps from the Washington Monument bookstore and then walked through the National Mall, taking a shortcut through the gardens by the Smithsonian Castle...
...arriving around 4:00PM at our last new-to-us unit for the day, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.
 |
| ☑ Unit #197 |
After getting the passport stamps from the bookstore (and buying a t-shirt for R to wear because it was too warm for long sleeves), we walked around the memorial. The stainless steel tapestry in the background depicts the coastline of Normandy, France. Wish we could have gotten a better look at it when we drove past the memorial last night - I'm sure it's much more stunning when illuminated!
 |
| On the west side of the memorial, General Eisenhower visits with paratroopers from the 101st Airborne the evening before D-Day |
 |
| On the east, President Eisenhower stands between civilian and military advisors |
 |
| Maryland Avenue used to cross through the area where the memorial sits now |
To get to the final destination of today's stamp scavenger hunt, we walked over to L'Enfant Plaza to catch the Metro to the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station. We only rode the train for one stop, but after a whole day on our feet, anything helps to quiet our barking dogs. We got to the U.S. Navy Memorial about 20 minutes before the visitor center closed, which gave us plenty of time to get the stamps from the information desk and check out the exhibits downstairs.
The Memorial sits midway between the Capitol and the White House and is considered part of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. The National Archives are directly across the street.
 |
| The Granite Sea map |
 |
| Lone Sailor |
Thankfully, there was a bus stop on the same P6 Metrobus route right next to the Memorial, so we had a quick ride (6 stops) back to the hotel. We were able to rest for a little bit before heading out for our dinner reservation at Maketto. R read great reviews about this restaurant online, so that convinced us to check it out. We tried a few of their Cambodian- and Taiwanese-inspired small and medium plates. Everything we had was delicious! If you're wondering what Strange Flavor Eggplant is, the best way to describe it is Asian baba ghanoush/hummus made with tofu. So good!
 |
| Top: Crystal Shrimp Dumplings and Strange Flavor Eggplant Middle: Sourdough Scallion Pancake and Custard Egg Tarts Bottom: Fried Chicken Sandwich |
From our stamping bonanza today we collected 44 unique stamps from 15 units bringing our totals to:
Units: 65
Stamps: 176
Regions: 6
 |
| 20,476 steps! |
No comments:
Post a Comment