The science of government is my duty to study . . . I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. - John Adams, 1809
It has been another busy day in Washington DC. Before I begin, I want to wish my dad a Happy Birthday. He turned 89 years old today and looks great – he is the patriarch of our family and has always been the one that my brothers and sisters have looked to for advice, counsel and direction. He is a great dad, a wonderful grandpa and great-grandpa, and a terrific example on a successful marriage. My dad and mom have been married 63 ½ years and going strong. Maybe by next year I can beat him in golf, but I doubt it! Hope you have had a great day dad, we love you.
Our first stop today was the World War II Memorial, after which we were on our own to tour the Smithsonian Museum of our choice. We then walked as a group and toured the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and then took the bus to the Ford’s Theater and Museum where Abraham Lincoln was shot. After dinner we visited the Korean War, Lincoln and Viet Nam Memorials. The bus was scheduled to meet us at the Albert Einstein statue for our ride back to the hotel.
This is the medallion that greets you at the entrance of the World War II Memorial.
The Memorial is surrounded by pillars with a state or territory name etched into the front or the pillar. On one side, the Memorial recognizes the Pacific theater of conflict and on the other, the European theater of conflict. The memorial lists all the major battles that were fought.
Nathan and Mia are proud to be from California.
You can always see the Washington Monument when inside the WWII Memorial. Here Cory, Austin, and Jacob pose for a photo.
We didn’t go as a group to see the Smithsonian Museums, it would be too difficult to keep everyone together – Nathan and I went to the Museum of Natural History with Austin Stack and his dad. Since we didn’t go as a group the only pictures I have in the museums were of Nathan and Austin.
For you jewelry lovers, here is the Hope Diamond. I don’t know the kid who has his/her face pressed up against the glass, but I try to wait for people to get out of the way before I take a picture.
With the crowds, it's difficult.
I always loved elephants so I couldn’t pass up this picture. We were suppose to find "Martha," the last passenger pigeon, but she was not on display. Lewis and Clark, during their historic expedition in 1804, observed that flocks of passenger pigeons were so large that they darkened the sky. Now they are extinct.
The museum had a special exhibit for viewing live butterflies. We walked into a room that was 85°F and humid and there were all kinds of butterflies in the exhibit. They told us we could stay as long as we wanted, but before we left, we had to make sure no butterflies were hanging onto us. We couldn’t touch the butters, but on occasion, they would land on us.
This is a Caligo eurilochus, or Owl Butterfly from Central and South America.
This is a Heliconius erato from Central and South America. I have no idea what these Latin names
mean, but they do sound cool!
When we finished with the Natural History Museum, we walked to the National Museum of American History where we saw the Berlin Wall, Dorothy’s Slippers, Abraham Lincolns top hat and all the gowns worn by the First Ladies, etc.
We had a very sobering experience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. No cameras are allowed inside. They gave us an Identification Card booklet with the name and history of a Holocaust person. They packed us into an evaluator, symbolic of how the Germans packed Jews into boxcars and sent us upstairs. When the doors opened a film started, telling about one of the German concentration camps, Dachau, a camp located a short distance from Munich. The film showed emaciated bodies of dead people stacked against a one story brick building. I recognized the building! In the summer of 1976, I traveled through German with my parents to visit my dad’s aunts and uncles in Berlin. On the way we stopped in Munich and toured Dachau. That brick building was the museum that housed the pictures and artifacts from Dachau. It was the first time I saw the Holocaust and those images have been burned in my mind. I remember the sign outside the camp that read,
Never Again, Never Again.
We went to the Ford’s Theater and Museum, the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot. Hunter is checking the time on his cell phone as the statue is checking the time with a pocket watch. Technology has really changed.
They are standing with Abe, but they have no idea that Ms Calvert snuck into the picture.
Theater was very important to Abraham Lincoln.
A picture of Seth with the Abraham Lincoln’s reserved booth above.
This is the Korean War Memorial with faces etched into the wall looking at the soldiers that are on patrol.
This depicts a patrol of US soldiers that is opposite the etched wall.
A poignant reminder that our freedom has been paid by the sacrifices of others that came before us. Do you recognize any of the people who’s reflection is below the wording? They are the recipients
of that sacrifice.
It was getting pretty dark by the time we saw the Lincoln Memorial, but we did get a few good pictures. Here is Mrs. Valdivieso with her son, Tyler.
Austin, Cory, Thomas and Hunter at the feet of Abraham Lincoln.
It was really dark by the time we entered the Viet Nam Memorial so this was the only picture I got.
The Albert Einstein Statue. They wanted to get a picture sitting on Albert's lap.
Well, it is pretty late so I better get to bed. We are touring Mt. Vernon tomorrow so we have to get up early. Tomorrow we will continue our tour of the Capitol and other sites. Hope all of you are doing well - I bid you goodnight.
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