USA and Caribbean 2012 Day 13 – Washington DC

A day was all we had to walk around DC and therefore we had to start the day early. Went over to Union Station where the subway was also located. Similar to the MRT that we were used to in Singapore, just less crowded. First stop was the White House. Alighted 3 stops later at Metro center stop, which wasn’t really close though that was the best. Once above ground, the chill began to bite with the light morning breeze blew. Suddenly we missed the tropical sun of the Caribbean. The streets were quiet on the Sunday morning as we tried to navigate with the help of street maps towards the President’s Residence.

Waiting for the train at Union Station.
Waiting for the train at Union Station.
Not many people on the train.
Not many people on the train.
Buildings around the town.
Buildings around the town.
Buildings in town.
Buildings in town.

While around location, we got confused the White House with the Treasury since they were all white and fenced up. It was weird too that there weren’t many people taking photos there and that’s when we knew we made a blunder. The White House building was pretty far away from the fence and I had to zoom in for a shot at it.

White House zoomed.
White House zoomed.

A towering obelisk stood within sight and it was something useful for us to reference to in order to walk about the huge sightseeing area close by.

Silhouette of the obelisk near White House.
Silhouette of the obelisk near White House.

With a map in view, we started southwards across the road to WWII memorial. There weren’t many tourists around but people were out and about jogging in these parks. The skies were clear blue and while we wandered about, we also yearned for the sun to rise quickly for warmth.

Looking towards Lincoln Memorial from the WWII end.
Looking towards Lincoln Memorial from the WWII end.
Walking towards Abraham Lincoln Memorial.
Walking towards Abraham Lincoln Memorial.
At the WWII memorial.
At the WWII memorial.
Emblem on the ground.
Emblem on the ground.
Pond at WWII memorial.
Pond at WWII memorial.
Rows of trees on the pathway.
Rows of trees on the pathway.
Long reflection pool.
Long reflection pool.
Obelisk standing at the end of the pool.
Obelisk standing at the end of the pool.

From the end of the reflecting pool where the WWII memorial was, we walked towards the Lincoln Memorial at the other end, enjoying the serenity of the surroundings that had the occasional choppers flying around. Seated within the pillared buidling at the end of the reflecting pool was the giant statue of Lincoln. View of the where Lincoln was sitting was impressive.

Abraham Lincoln statue.
Abraham Lincoln statue.
View from the Linoln Memorial.
View from the Linoln Memorial.

The area was huge and took a bit of walking from memorial to memorial, though quite easily accomplished with the cool weather. While walking towards Martin Luther King’s statue, we walked past the Korean War Memorial that had a couple of stone statues that looked war weary and had a eerie reflection from the glossy tiled wall.

Korean War Memorial.
Korean War Memorial.
Martin Luther King statue.
Martin Luther King statue.
View of the obelisk from   opposite side of the basin.
View of the obelisk from opposite side of the basin.

Famous leaders of the US given the acknowledgement for their contributions and influence in shaping America, figures from the texts of history books immortalized in the various statues standing around the park. The visit also renewed interest for history.

Franklin Roosevelt statue.
Franklin Roosevelt statue.

As we walked around the central pond towards Jefferson Memorial, a sudden cold gust came about and hurried us towards the building. Within moments up the steps, a tall silhouette stood in the middle of this building which reminded me of Greek architecture. It was a good hideaway from the cold outside, especially the shop within that had heater – welcomed temporary relief.

Thomas Jefferson memorial with pond with ducks.
Thomas Jefferson memorial with pond with ducks.
In front of the Jefferson Memorial.
In front of the Jefferson Memorial.
Silhouette of the statue in the memorial.
Silhouette of the statue in the memorial.
Statue of Thomas Jefferson.
Statue of Thomas Jefferson.

We left the memorials and started heading to our next destination, the National Air and Space Museum. It was not close but manageable distance, and also provided the opportunity to look around this streets of DC.

US Holocaust Museum.
US Holocaust Museum.
Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution.

There were many museums of interest in DC but we didn’t had the luxury of time. Chose this because I was interested in space related stuff. There was already a line waiting to enter the museum, and that was a tell-tale sign that we made a right choice. It was a large area consisting of many flying objects from rockets to planes to Apollo 13. Brought back the childhood interest of space exploration.

Had fast food for lunch within the museum itself, caught a IMAX movie (at a price), read up on the rich history of aviation and touch the moon rock (supposedly). Good time spent at the museum before heading out to Capitol Hill.

National Air and Space Museum.
National Air and Space Museum.
Aeroplanes.
Aeroplanes.
Rockets.
Rockets.
Something that landed on the moon.
Something that landed on the moon.

Capitol Hill had the grandeur of “the building” of DC, something like the Eiffel of Paris. In this near perfect blue skies, the view couldn’t be more lovely. Only issue was trying to stabilize the freezing shaking hands while shooting.

Another shot of Capitol Hill and a statue in front of it.
Another shot of Capitol Hill and a statue in front of it.
Bronze chariot in front of Capitol Hill.
Bronze chariot in front of Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill was still open for visit by the time we were there though the visit was limited to a few places within the building. There was some hearing going on for the day which we went to sat in for a while. There were many people sitting in too, surprisingly. Sat in, waited for a while for people to arrive. Then some people started talking and there were some discussions and I did not understand a single bit even though it was in English. Soon after, we left for our final destination, the International Spy Museum.

Inside Capitol Hill.
Inside Capitol Hill.
Statue inside Capitol Hill.
Statue inside Capitol Hill.
Sunset on the streets of Washington.
Sunset on the streets of Washington.

The Spy Museum was kinda of an interesting visit, where we could get to be an agent, learnt the trades and see all the interesting gadgets that secret agents used. Fun.

Spy mueseum.
Spy mueseum.

That concluded a full day walk around the city of Washington DC. It was actually exhausting since it was really an entire day of walking. The day hadn’t ended exactly, even after having dinner at Union Station. Went back to the hotel to rest before our overnight bus ride to NYC for the New Year 2013 Countdown.

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