Washington Day 2

We started today with a visit to the White House or what you could see from behind the fence and then another fence line. It was good to see it though as we had seen it on tv so many times. At the moment there were renovations happening so there are cranes everywhere but that was ok.

It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be and in a position which is right in the heart of Washington DC. Don't know why I thought it wouldn't be where it is. Funny the impressions you have from over the other side of the world. The building which was next door was another impressive one, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Very ornate and probably more appealing than the White House, for me anyway. We walked around to the other side which is the one we see often as well but it was where the cranes were operating so the view was a bit obscured. Another thing that caught our eyes was a tree planted just outside the white House and it was the White House Christmas tree. It looked a little worse for wear but maybe it starts to grow in the later months.

We left Cheryl and John as they were going to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum as this was one of the things John really wanted to see while here in Washington. As it turned out they got back on the trolley car and on the way stopped off at Capitol Hill and spent time there before making it to the Air and Space Museum later in the day. 

Peter and I walked up the road the the Washington Shop which had all manner of gifts and bits and pieces to do with the White House, Donald Trump and anything to do with Washington. I was looking for something to take home but decided that it was all a bit tacky in some respects or not what I was looking for. We then made our way to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History which is about American culture not native culture. We weren’t that interested in going to many of the museums as for some reason it wasn’t a priority but thought we should do at least one.

We chose this one because it was more about the America we knew and it also had a great exhibition on the Presidents and First Ladies. Also being a very hot day again it was a respite from the heat. 

The museum was very well laid out and we found out that all the Smithsonian Museums were free which is a great idea as it does encourage visitors especially families to go and see what they have to offer. 

The Presidents exhibition was very good with lots of interesting information about each one. We also saw Abraham Lincoln’s hat which he was wearing on the night of his assassination, a very poignant piece of history.

The First Ladies exhibition was also very interesting as it showed the influence that each one has had on the White House and some of the items they bought while there especially the dinner services which were fabulous. The section I liked best was all the First Ladies inauguration dresses. The dresses were beautiful and with the last few First Ladies I can remember seeing them on tv wearing them.  

Betty Ford's Dress and Rosalynn Carter's Dress

Hilary Clinton's Dress

Michelle Obama's Dress

We had lunch at the museum and then went and looked at the synergy of Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument in the environment as they are directly opposite each other down hill from each other. 

By this stage of the day it was getting on so we decided to go back to the apartment and enjoy a rest, well that was for Peter, I did more of the blog while I had some time.

I messaged Cheryl to let her know what we were up to and she messaged that they had just got to the Air and Space Museum and John was like a kid in a lolly shop! We all knew how much he wanted to go there so it was good that he was able to enjoy it. 

Once they got home we were off again to dinner in Chinatown which wasn’t too far from us. A bit of a struggle to find somewhere but we eventually did and had a nice Chinese meal before walking home.