We're Golden

Thanks to the National Park Travelers Club, I found out about another website which allows you to keep track of the counties you've visited. While I'm not as die-hard as my some of my fellow NPTCers when it comes to county collecting, it is a fun way to see where we've been. In Virginia there are 38 municipalities that are independent cities which are not under the jurisdiction of any county, so those are slightly harder to get. Having already "counted" Fairfax and Alexandria so far on this trip, we took a small detour through Falls Church this morning so that I could mark it off on our county map.

Really, it was on the way...

Ok, so maybe I *might* have a problem... 

Today's route: 30 miles

Our first stop was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac. Located just off the George Washington Memorial Parkway next to the Columbia Island Marina and across the Boundary Channel from the Pentagon, this unit serves as a living memorial to the 36th President of the United States. This small island was special to the Johnsons, as they would often come here for a moment of peaceful reflection just outside of the nation's capital.

The 19-foot-tall red granite monolith came from a quarry near the Johnsons' ranch in Texas

We arrived at the grove around 9:30AM and proceeded to walk around for a bit and enjoy the views of DC.

Washington Monument, Old Post Office Tower, and Smithsonian Castle

Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Then we walked a short ways from the marina to see the Navy and Marine Memorial, a monument which honors members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Services who lost their lives at sea. 

View of the Jefferson Memorial thru the tunnel to the Navy and Marine Memorial

"Waves and Gulls"

To the strong souls and ready valor of those men of the United States who in the Navy, the Merchant Marine and other paths of activity upon the waters of the world have given life or still offer it in the performance of heroic deeds, this monument is dedicated by a grateful people

The Navy and Marine Memorial stands beside the Mount Vernon Trail, which is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, one of the official 431 units of the National Park Service. The PHT network stretches from the mouth of the Potomac River at the Chesapeake Bay to the Allegheny Highlands in western Pennsylvania.

Since Arlington National Cemetery was on the way to our next destination (yes, really!), we stopped at the Welcome Center to pick up a handful of passport stamps. We didn't go further onto the grounds today because we spent an afternoon here when we brought the boys to DC in 2010. But we did walk over to the Military Women's Memorial to check out the exhibits (and get a stamp - cough!).

From Arlington, we drove about 1.5 miles to Theodore Roosevelt Island, which is only accessible to cars from the northbound side of the GWMP. We parked in the small lot around 11:30AM and then crossed the pedestrian bridge over to the island.

☑ Unit #193

Looking north towards the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Georgetown

In 1932, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association purchased Mason's Island and adjacent Little Island and deeded the 88.5 acres to the federal government as a gift in memory of the 26th President to be maintained "as a natural park for the recreation and enjoyment of the public." Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., whose father designed New York City's Central Park, and the Civilian Conservation Corps transformed neglected, overgrown farmland into a forested memorial to Roosevelt, honoring the legacy of the great outdoorsman and conservationist. The memorial plaza was dedicated in 1967.

We didn't have time to go all the way around the island, but we did spend a little more than half an hour hiking on parts of the Woods, Upland, and Swamp Trails.

Swamp Trail boardwalk

Upon exiting the parking lot, we had to continue northbound on the GWMP to Spout Run Parkway in order to turn around to get into DC. This was fortuitous because it gave R a chance to snag a pic of the entrance sign as we drove by...

After crossing over the Francis Scott Key Bridge, our route took us up Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway NW and Beach Drive NW towards the National Zoo. Their newest residents, giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at Dulles just a few hours before we did on Tuesday. However, they won't make their public debut until January.     

Our main reason for driving up to the Adams Morgan neighborhood was the barbecue joint we wanted to try for lunch. With a name like Federalist Pig, of course we just had to check this place out! Yum!

Housemade chips and smoky queso, brisket with smoked cheddar mac & cheese, and pulled pork

Next we headed to the Logan Circle neighborhood, paid for a parking spot at the Washington Plaza Hotel via the ParkWhiz app, and then walked about a block up Vermont Avenue NW to Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.

☑ Unit #194

To be honest, we did not know anything about Mary McLeod Bethune before our visit today, so we learned a lot from the ranger who gave us a tour of the site. The Council House was the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and was Bethune’s residence in Washington, DC. 

The fifteenth of seventeen children of former slaves, Bethune was born in South Carolina in 1875 and grew up in poverty during the Reconstruction Era. She was given the opportunity to attend a Presbyterian missionary school and receive an education, which was not common for African Americans following the Civil War. Recognizing the importance of education, in 1904 she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. It later merged with the Cookman Institute, eventually becoming accredited as Bethune-Cookman College, making Bethune the first African American woman to serve as a college president. (This is when the light bulb went off in R's head because he recognized the name of the college since there are some NFL players who went to school there.)

While in Florida, Bethune worked to establish programs that would fight to end segregated education, to improve healthcare for Black children, and to help women use the ballot to advance equality. She gained national prominence through her leadership of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). She also served as an advisor to presidents, from Coolidge to Truman. Most notably, President Roosevelt appointed her the Director of the Division of Negro Affairs, becoming the first African American woman to head a federal agency. 

A tireless and dedicated educator, leader, philanthropist, humanitarian, women's and civil rights activist - Mary McLeod Bethune was an amazing woman!

Parlor

Council House boardroom

Mrs. Bethune's bedroom, "The President's Suite"
The bed was not used by her, but it is original to the house. The Bible is also not an original object, yet it's worth pointing out because it is symbolic of her unwavering faith and belief in God.

Bethune's office

Secretaries' office

And with the passport stamps from this site, we have officially earned the Gold Master Traveler Award for 2024! Success!

    Units: 50

    Stamps: 132
    Regions: 6

By the time we finished our visit, it was almost 3:00PM, so we went back to the car and drove about a mile to the hotel that will be our home base for the next three nights. After checking in, we just relaxed in the room because we had a tour booked for the evening. More on that in the next post.