Washington, DC

As I prepare for a weekend trip to Washington, DC, I realize that I should have named this blog "Wandering Through 50.1" or some such name. DC certainly counts as a unique visiting spot, although of course it isn't a state.


My first trip to DC is probably the most memorable for me, although I have since been there on at least three other occasions. The first visit was an actual vacation, as opposed to the subsequent trips which were for business reasons, so that is the one I want to write about... I went a lot more places on that trip.


My partner and I stayed with a friend who at the time lived in the bottom floor of a brownstone just east of the Mall, only a subway stop or two away. The friend worked at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian, so of course we had to visit there on our trip. Our visit happened to occur at the same time that the museum had a Star Trek exhibit - a retrospective of the original television series. So we got to view uniforms and equipment. I have a photo of my 20-something self standing in the transporter room with cardboard cutout figures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and another of me in the Captain's chair from the Enterprise bridge. (Not digital photos, so I don't have copies to post here.) Since we were all huge fans, it was quite a treat.


I didn't realize before visiting Washington that the Smithsonian Institution was more than just one building. To this day I don't believe I have visited them all. National Air and Space and the American History Museum were on our schedule, along with the National Zoological Park (part of the Smithsonian! Who knew?)


The American History Museum had an exhibit at the time of the internment of Japanese-Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I find it unbelievable that I, after all my formal education, did not know that America had done this. One more reason we should applaud our museums. The exhibit was sobering, to say the least.


On the other hand, the museum also had more lighthearted displays, such as gowns of First Ladies and memorabilia from various famous television shows.


Then there are the national monuments. We ascended the Washington Monument and peered out its small windows in all four directions. I don't recommend the trip - it was pretty cramped. We saw the Capitol, of course, and the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. The one that touched me most - being from the Vietnam generation, or close to it - was the Wall. It is beautiful in its simplicity and very moving. Especially when you find a name on it that you know.

I learned to eat sushi in DC. Before my first visit, I had never tried it and honestly didn't think I would care for it. On the other hand, it was before the current trend of sushi restaurants practically on every corner.