A Few Final Pictures from the Trip

Here are a few extra pictures from our road trip to Washington D.C.  Not sure I can handle this sort of road trip every year.  I think next year we'll probably fly somewhere.  When I was a kid, my parents used to take us on quite a few road trips, but then later on we only went to Las Vegas, which was a pretty short drive from Los Angeles.  Now I understand why.

The Pentagon

Other than the 9/11 Memorial, there is very little to see at the Pentagon, unless you have a pass to tour the building, which we didn't.  As soon as you get off at the Pentagon subway station, and go up the escalator, you see signs everywhere that tell you not to take pictures.  You are also reminded that there are "thousands" of eyes watching you.  I have to admit, I felt uncomfortable here.  As we were walking to the 9/11 Memorial, we paused for a few minutes to get a drink of water.  A security officer approached us almost immediately, wanting to know where we were going.  If this is the kind of reception given to a white guy with small children, imagine someone of Arabic descent casually strolling outside the Pentagon.

We were told we could take pictures inside the 9/11 Memorial, but nowhere else.  So I was able to snap the few pictures you see here.

The memorial is actually quite nice.  With each of the 184 victims (from American Airlines Flight 77, and the victims in the Pentagon building) given their own illuminated bench with running water.  The youngest victim was only 3 years old.

Arlington National Cemetery

I guess it might seem weird to some to visit a cemetery when you're on vacation.  But this is no ordinary cemetery.  This is where the Kennedy's are buried:  John, Jacqueline, Robert, and Edward are all here.  My kids seemed to be fascinated with the "eternal flame" at JFK's grave, wondering how it can stay lit even in the rain.

I couldn't see Edward Kennedy's grave, as it was being closed off for renovation.  I was surprised at how small Robert's headstone was.

Being an admirer of JFK, I had to visit this site.  He was one of the great presidents, and I can't imagine what might have happened if George Bush had been in charge during the whole "Cuban Missile Crisis."  I guess none of us would be here today.  It's sad that today's extreme right-wing has now tried to portray Kennedy in a negative light, with Rick Santorum saying that Kennedy's speech in 1960 made him "want to throw up."  I guess it's no wonder that guy didn't survive the primaries.

Washington D.C. - The Monuments

There are lots of monuments in Washington D.C.  You can easily spend an entire day trying to see them all.  Some are easy to find (The Lincoln Monument), and some take a little more effort (The Korean War Memorial).  It requires a bit of a walk to see some of the less popular ones (which explains why there were only about 1 or 2 people at the FDR Memorial).  But you if you have time, you should try to catch them all.

I knew there was some controversy over the MLK Memorial, and I'm not sure if they resolved the problem with that one or not.

Washington D.C.

Now we finally reach the highlight of our summer road trip...Washington D.C.  If I seemed a bit too negative in my reviews of other cities, you won't find it here.  I liked Washington D.C. a lot.  I'd even live there if I could afford it.  It's a bit hard to come back to Austin when you've just spent four days in Washington D.C.  You could be walking down the street in Washington, looking for a place to eat, and along the way, say "Oh, there's the Capitol building over there.  Oh...there's the Supreme Court.  Oh...there's the Washington Monument.  Oh...there's the White House.....the Federal Reserve...the FBI..."  Then you come back to Austin and it's.."Oh, there's the Rudy's BBQ.  There's the Luby's.  There's the pawn shop."  It's just not as exciting.  But...yes, I realize not every city can be Washington or New York.

There is so much history in Washington D.C. and by walking the streets and visiting all the numerous monuments and museums, you really start to appreciate the founding fathers even more.  I wasn't sure why the Lincoln Memorial had such a prominent place in the National Mall, while the Thomas Jefferson Memorial is relegated to the distant background (with far fewer tourists).  And you have to really search for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.  Luckily, we had time to see them all.

I really wanted a tour of the White House.  I wrote to my congressman two months in advance, hoping to secure a slot on one of the tours.  No such luck.  We were declined.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because we were from Texas, which isn't exactly an Obama friendly state.  Or maybe it's because one of our group isn't an American citizen (yet).   Or maybe they just have too many requests.  Who knows?  We did, however, get a tour of the Capitol, and we also had passes to the House and Senate.  The debate in the House at the time was regarding Obamacare, and that was actually pretty interesting.  But when you're with two kids, you can't really stay to watch for too long.

We stayed at a very nice hotel called The Madison.  It's a 5 star hotel located just a few blocks from the White House.  I booked it through Priceline using the "name your own price" deal they have.  I told them I wanted a 5 star hotel in Washington and I only wanted to pay $99 per night.  I was pretty shocked to actually get one, so I'll give Priceline a little plug there for getting us such a great deal.  My only complaint with them is that they charged $40(!) per day to park there, and they wanted $5 to use their business center (computer with internet) for a mere 10 minutes.  The parking I can (kind of) understand, but most hotels offer free internet.

For someone like me who always likes to save money, the National Mall is a dream come true.  Everything is free.  Every museum.  Every historical building....free of charge.  I was telling Christy that they could easily charge money for a "National Mall Pass" which would give you access to all the museums for a price (say like $20 or $30) and it would be worth it.  But no...they are all free, which is awesome.  Even the Washington Zoo, which isn't even part of the National Mall, is free.  Food isn't cheap, though ($3.50 for a tiny hot dog?)  And the subway was a little more expensive than I thought it would be.  But I guess with all the free entertainment, it sort of balances out.

I hope I can go back again in the future.  There was a lot of construction and renovations going on when we were there, so it would be nice to see it again in all its glory.

Nashville

We spent two days in Memphis, and only one afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee.  Christy and I later agreed that we should have spent more time in Nashville.  Nashville seemed to be much more alive and exciting.  While Memphis proclaims itself the "Birthplace of Rock N' Roll," Nashville claims to be "The Birthplace of Country Music."  It's just too bad that I dislike about 95% of today's country music.

In our brief time, we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Walk of Fame outside.  I was surprised to see many rock stars on the Walk of Fame.  Jimi Hendrix was there, as was Elvis, and even Steve Winwood, lined up right along country stars like Dolly Parton.  We also walked all over the downtown area, passing many clubs along the way.  Many of the clubs (and the BBQ restaurants) were already packed with people, and this was in the very early afternoon.  We went to the Capitol building, which was closed for renovation at the time we were there, but it didn't seem as impressive as the Capitol building here in Austin.

The one place I would have liked to visit was the Grand Ole Opry.  That was the only historical venue that I was familiar with and I knew its history.  Unfortunately, it's not located in the downtown area, and we didn't have time to check it out.  The Grand Ole Opry is like the Hollywood Bowl in L.A.  You should try to catch at least one show there in your lifetime.


I'd stop in Nashville again if I ever find myself driving through Tennessee again.  Memphis...probably not.