A Half-Day in Washington, D.C.
Our next stop after Pittsburgh was straight to the US Capital. As we walked toward the National Mall (the central area containing the main points of interest), we came across the Library of Congress. This is the 2nd largest library in the world by catalogued size (number of items) and is free to enter.
Inside you find thousands of books on display behind glass as well as artifacts and exhibits primarily dedicated to wars to US had fought in. Every 30 minutes or so, the tour guides allow a group of visitors to view the library collection from a mezzanine. I was one of the fortunate ones to get a glimpse into the main archives.
We stayed here until their 5:00 pm close and walked toward the back of the US Capitol Building. I was actually amazed by how close visitors are allowed to walk up to the Capitol Building without issue. I mean you can walk right up to the foot of the stairs, which I did not believe I’d be able to do.
If you are unfamiliar with the lay of the National Mall, it’s essentially an upside down T shape with the Capitol Building on the East, the Lincoln Memorial on the West, the Washington Monument between these two points and the White House north of the Monument.
As we continue working our way Westward through the National Mall, we approach the Washington Monument which is much taller in person than it would have you believe.
Unfortunately, the elevator that rides to the top of the Monument is closed until Spring 2019 as they are replacing it with something more modern and safer (as they should after the events of Spiderman: Homecoming).
From here we press on to the Lincoln Memorial on the Westerly point of the National Mall. The tall staircase fronting the building seems to be a popular resting spot for tourists as they plop themselves down on the steps.
From here, looking back toward the Washington Monument, there is a wonderful symmetry that’s difficult to pull away from. What’s more is that the change in shading (about 1/4 of the way up) on the Washington Monument becomes very noticeable from this vantage point. The reason behind it is that the project was halted mid-construction due to lack of funds and the breakout of the American Civil War. Once the project resumed, the marble used to complete the obelisk came from a different source.
Within the Lincoln Memorial sits a 19-foot tall Abe gazing directly ahead with a stern look on his face. The American flag is draped over the chair he sits upon. The entire statue is carved from 28 blocks of marble and weighs 170 tons in total.
This was all we had time to view this day before the dark of night made any further sightseeing impractical. Before heading off to Myrtle Beach the next morning, we did squeeze in an hour to see the White House from the outside.
As we walked the perimeter of the fenced White House, there were a few key structures that were architecturally and historically very interesting. The four that stood out to me were the following:
That’s all I had time for in Washington! Next up was Myrtle Beach and Charleston!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
