Washington DC- Friday, March 1, 2013
Sequestration is the word in the news today. The President and Congress are going toe-to-toe over the budget, and we're about to see some mandatory budget cuts take place across the board today. Meanwhile, I'm in Washington D.C. When they had the government shut-down for a few days several years ago, I think that the monuments around DC were closed. I don't think sequestration will work that same way, but I've been wondering if we'll see any immediate effects today.
Washington is rich with meaning on so many levels. It is a city that is full of history, America's memories, if you will, but more and more I think of this city as a place full of personal memories. Many times today I was reminded of trips I took with my mother, father, and brother, or times that Julie and I came here (including of course the day we got engaged), or now, times that we've brought our daughters here.
Today started with breakfast at the hotel, and we were off for a very full day of touring. We started at the Old Post Office to pick up a guide for each of the two busses. We did not get off there, but our guides took us to the south side of the White House (and I pointed out where I asked Julie to marry me). We walked around to the north side of the building, where we made time for group pictures. We took one of the students, and one of the chaperones, but we also took one of the entire social studies department-- all four of us in front of the President's house. There was still scaffolding and cranes in the area around the White House to take down things that remained from Obama's Second Inauguration this last month.
From there, Mr. L. wanted us back on the bus, and we rushed over to the Vietnam Memorial. For some reason, he doesn't like the Wall at night, so we pushed to put it into this part of the day. It was a little rushed, but our guide made it more meaningful by having found several names of people from West Seneca, and one girl made a rubbing of her uncle's name as well.
We went back on the bus and headed to Ford's Theater. We had timed tickets for an entry at 10:30. They didn't have a ranger talk today, like they have other times, but they have a very new museum to tell the story of Lincoln and what happened there that night. We pushed through rather quickly, and made our way to the theater itself, which was being prepared for an upcoming show, and formed a line to peek into the box where the President was shot. We weren't planning to go into the Peterson house, where Lincoln died, because of the slow way we have to cycle through it, fifteen kids at a time. However, there were some that wanted to, so some did. Another brand new museum is next to the house, and it tells the story of what came after the assassination- both immediately, for the conspirators and for the country, and for the historical perspective of Lincoln's legacy. An enormous four-story tower of books shows the huge volume of writing that has been done about him. Meanwhile, there are some chintzy but large souvieneir shops that other kids went to. I found what I think is a great present for Emma at the nice shop that went with the Peterson house. I hope she'll like it!
From Ford's Theater, we went to the Air and Space Museum, where students had time for lunch at McDonald's and time to explore the exhibits. After lunch, I went to the gift shop where I bought something for Julie and something for Anna, and a t-shirt for myself. (Note to Julie: 10% off at the Smithsonian shops if you tell them you're a subscriber. Let them know and they can look you up on the register's computer. I wish we'd tried that last week.) I hit some of the highlights here again, like I did last week. The students seemed to really like the simulators, which I didn't see. We had arrived at a little before noon, and we were rendezvousing on the front steps at 2:30.
We walked to the National Archives next. It was not on our original schedule, but I said we had a great experience last week, when only one guy was in front of us to see the Declaration. Maybe I should have been quiet. Our troubles started when our group split into two as we were leaving the Air and Space Museum. It was compounded when we got to the doors and had a long wait to get through security, partly because they were being way more thorough then they were at the Smithsonians, and partly because there were several other school groups there. The real problem was that the whole traffic flow pattern has changed inside the building in the week since we were here. Outside of the gift shop, where we started last week, there is now a huge temporary wall blocking the stairs for construction. Even the tour guides were thrown as we entered the Rotunda a different way. Our group ended up being very confused, split up and disoriented, and the adults couldn't figure out why. Even I hadn't realized why until we got to the very end and I saw the construction outside the gift shop. I think the kids still liked it, but it was a much more frustrating stop than it needed to be. Anyway, we took another group photo of the students on the steps outside.
From there, we walked across the street to the Natural History Museum. Students were turned loose again, with directions to gather at the elephant at a given time. One thing that made this museum visit better was that Mr. L. had a list of 5 things for students to get a picture of:
1. the elephant in the rotunda
2. a giant squid
3. a bat skeleton
4. the Hope diamond
5. a picture of yourself as a Neanderthal (or some other early human ancestor) done by a computer program in an exhibit
At first it seemed odd to me that he didn't include a dinosaur on the list, but it turned out to be a pretty well chosen set of items. They are in very separate corners of the building, and quite a few of the students were eager to go off in search of them. Meanwhile, the chaperones started with a refreshment in the cafe.
By this point, my video camera was on 1/3 to 1/4 power and I knew that the monuments would be coming up tonight. I did take some video in the Natural History Museum, but I'm going to supplement it with footage I took last week. Shh. Don't tell anyone.
We rode to the Capitol, got out, and walked past as our busses drove to the other side. We heard that the statue of Freedom on top of the Rotunda was lit last night as Congress worked late to avoid sequestration, but the flagpoles over both the Senate and House sides were empty today, meaning all our Senators and Representatives had gone home on this Friday afternoon. We went to a seafood buffet place for dinner. The place was nice-- pretty cool atmosphere and down by a yacht marina on the Potomac. The only problem was it was mainly seafood, and it was a buffet. Some of the chaperones had a fun time learning how to eat crab legs, but I just ate cafeteria quality pizza, mac and cheese, and such.
From there we went back to the monuments, which I've been so looking forward to. Seeing the monuments at night can be such a very special experience, but our tour was cut way short. We walked around the Korean War Memorial, took a moment by the Reflecting Pool, and walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, but I felt we were rushed through that. We were supposed to go to other places, but we ended up seeing the WWII Memorial, Jefferson's and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial only from a quick drive by on the bus, and FDR's not at all. I think it was because one of the kids is sick. Whatever the reason, it was disappointing, especially since I skipped them last week. At least it meant I didn't have to be so parsimonious with the last of my camera battery.
Still, it's been one of those days that I look back on, and the morning seems so long ago because of all the things we've crammed in. I like those days.
Washington is rich with meaning on so many levels. It is a city that is full of history, America's memories, if you will, but more and more I think of this city as a place full of personal memories. Many times today I was reminded of trips I took with my mother, father, and brother, or times that Julie and I came here (including of course the day we got engaged), or now, times that we've brought our daughters here.
Today started with breakfast at the hotel, and we were off for a very full day of touring. We started at the Old Post Office to pick up a guide for each of the two busses. We did not get off there, but our guides took us to the south side of the White House (and I pointed out where I asked Julie to marry me). We walked around to the north side of the building, where we made time for group pictures. We took one of the students, and one of the chaperones, but we also took one of the entire social studies department-- all four of us in front of the President's house. There was still scaffolding and cranes in the area around the White House to take down things that remained from Obama's Second Inauguration this last month.
From there, Mr. L. wanted us back on the bus, and we rushed over to the Vietnam Memorial. For some reason, he doesn't like the Wall at night, so we pushed to put it into this part of the day. It was a little rushed, but our guide made it more meaningful by having found several names of people from West Seneca, and one girl made a rubbing of her uncle's name as well.
We went back on the bus and headed to Ford's Theater. We had timed tickets for an entry at 10:30. They didn't have a ranger talk today, like they have other times, but they have a very new museum to tell the story of Lincoln and what happened there that night. We pushed through rather quickly, and made our way to the theater itself, which was being prepared for an upcoming show, and formed a line to peek into the box where the President was shot. We weren't planning to go into the Peterson house, where Lincoln died, because of the slow way we have to cycle through it, fifteen kids at a time. However, there were some that wanted to, so some did. Another brand new museum is next to the house, and it tells the story of what came after the assassination- both immediately, for the conspirators and for the country, and for the historical perspective of Lincoln's legacy. An enormous four-story tower of books shows the huge volume of writing that has been done about him. Meanwhile, there are some chintzy but large souvieneir shops that other kids went to. I found what I think is a great present for Emma at the nice shop that went with the Peterson house. I hope she'll like it!
From Ford's Theater, we went to the Air and Space Museum, where students had time for lunch at McDonald's and time to explore the exhibits. After lunch, I went to the gift shop where I bought something for Julie and something for Anna, and a t-shirt for myself. (Note to Julie: 10% off at the Smithsonian shops if you tell them you're a subscriber. Let them know and they can look you up on the register's computer. I wish we'd tried that last week.) I hit some of the highlights here again, like I did last week. The students seemed to really like the simulators, which I didn't see. We had arrived at a little before noon, and we were rendezvousing on the front steps at 2:30.
We walked to the National Archives next. It was not on our original schedule, but I said we had a great experience last week, when only one guy was in front of us to see the Declaration. Maybe I should have been quiet. Our troubles started when our group split into two as we were leaving the Air and Space Museum. It was compounded when we got to the doors and had a long wait to get through security, partly because they were being way more thorough then they were at the Smithsonians, and partly because there were several other school groups there. The real problem was that the whole traffic flow pattern has changed inside the building in the week since we were here. Outside of the gift shop, where we started last week, there is now a huge temporary wall blocking the stairs for construction. Even the tour guides were thrown as we entered the Rotunda a different way. Our group ended up being very confused, split up and disoriented, and the adults couldn't figure out why. Even I hadn't realized why until we got to the very end and I saw the construction outside the gift shop. I think the kids still liked it, but it was a much more frustrating stop than it needed to be. Anyway, we took another group photo of the students on the steps outside.
From there, we walked across the street to the Natural History Museum. Students were turned loose again, with directions to gather at the elephant at a given time. One thing that made this museum visit better was that Mr. L. had a list of 5 things for students to get a picture of:
1. the elephant in the rotunda
2. a giant squid
3. a bat skeleton
4. the Hope diamond
5. a picture of yourself as a Neanderthal (or some other early human ancestor) done by a computer program in an exhibit
At first it seemed odd to me that he didn't include a dinosaur on the list, but it turned out to be a pretty well chosen set of items. They are in very separate corners of the building, and quite a few of the students were eager to go off in search of them. Meanwhile, the chaperones started with a refreshment in the cafe.
By this point, my video camera was on 1/3 to 1/4 power and I knew that the monuments would be coming up tonight. I did take some video in the Natural History Museum, but I'm going to supplement it with footage I took last week. Shh. Don't tell anyone.
We rode to the Capitol, got out, and walked past as our busses drove to the other side. We heard that the statue of Freedom on top of the Rotunda was lit last night as Congress worked late to avoid sequestration, but the flagpoles over both the Senate and House sides were empty today, meaning all our Senators and Representatives had gone home on this Friday afternoon. We went to a seafood buffet place for dinner. The place was nice-- pretty cool atmosphere and down by a yacht marina on the Potomac. The only problem was it was mainly seafood, and it was a buffet. Some of the chaperones had a fun time learning how to eat crab legs, but I just ate cafeteria quality pizza, mac and cheese, and such.
From there we went back to the monuments, which I've been so looking forward to. Seeing the monuments at night can be such a very special experience, but our tour was cut way short. We walked around the Korean War Memorial, took a moment by the Reflecting Pool, and walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, but I felt we were rushed through that. We were supposed to go to other places, but we ended up seeing the WWII Memorial, Jefferson's and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial only from a quick drive by on the bus, and FDR's not at all. I think it was because one of the kids is sick. Whatever the reason, it was disappointing, especially since I skipped them last week. At least it meant I didn't have to be so parsimonious with the last of my camera battery.
Still, it's been one of those days that I look back on, and the morning seems so long ago because of all the things we've crammed in. I like those days.
posted by Scott at
9:46 PM
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