Our last day in Washington, D.C. was Thursday, November 7. We thought we might try yet another day, but
by our eighth day in the city, we were getting worn out.
We spent our last day in D.C. at the Smithsonian Museum of
American History.
This museum is stuffed with pieces of Americana. We saw the original Star Spangled Banner –
yes, the one for which the national anthem was written at Fort McHenry in
Baltimore. (And it was much larger than
I thought it would be!)
We saw pieces of pop culture: Dorothy’s ruby slippers,
Kermit the Frog, Archie Bunker’s chair.
And there’s nothing that makes you feel older than seeing items you grew
up with in a museum. Right there in a
glass case at the museum was an Apple II computer, just like the ones I learned
to use in junior high school! I’m not
that old!
We saw Abraham Lincoln’s death mask, as well as the top hat
he was wearing on the night of his assassination. We saw Julia Child’s kitchen. We saw the gowns that the First Ladies wore to inaugural balls. We saw old trains
and cars – even an old RV (along with a description of the “Trailer
Problem”)! We saw the counter that the
Civil Rights lunch counter sit-in took place.
We saw the Watergate file cabinet that was broken into, which ultimately
caused the resignation of President Nixon.
There were so many neat things to see at this museum! We spent several hours there before heading
back home again. Interestingly enough,
while eating lunch in the cafeteria we bumped into the same people who were in
line behind us at the White House! And
our 15yo son actually saw someone he knew from Boy Scout camp in Texas! What a small world!
When we left the city, we bid it farewell. There were many more things we wanted to see
in Washington, D.C., but we could have spent another two weeks there and still
not seen it all. I really like D.C. and
hope to return in the future.
