OU4LIFE
3/15/2006, 12:28 PM
those of you that aren't interested can eat me. This is our trip in pictures. I took 267 pics, but these are the ones I liked the best. It may take some time to load.
First of all, DC is a pretty cool city. I'm sure there are some bad parts, but we were out walking fairly late at night back to the hotel and I never felt threatened. The weather was awesome. 77 the day we flew in, 81 the day we left and 72 and 74 in between. Never had the need for even a light jacket.
First afternoon we got there, we decided to walk to the White House from our hotel, it was just about 5 blocks. note the protestors....they were there EVERY day. Hey folks, get a job.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/White%20House%202.jpg
This is me in front of the White House after telling a protestor that came up to me to fvck off.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Mark%20WH.jpg
through the fence:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/WHnorthlawn.jpg
then we walked around the white house to the west, and there was this pretty cool building. I can't remember the name of it.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/building%20by%20White%20House.jpg
and then on around to the south lawn: What you can't see just to the left and obscured by the tree, is the sniper on the roof. I counted 3 of them...i'm sure there were more.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/WHsouthlawn.jpg
then on around to the east side and up 15th street I think, was the Treasury building with a statue of Hamilton out front:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/AlexHamilton.jpg
Then back to the hotel to get ready to go to dinner at Fogo De Chao, which was damn tasty.
The next morning I was on my own as the wifal unit had conference meetings all day. So I headed out to the national mall. I passed the Old post Office building, very cool...and took the time to go up into the clock tower. Ben Franklin has a statue in front of the old post office:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Franklin%20Old%20Post%20Office.jpg
and the Old Post Office:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Post%20office%20clock%20tower%202.jpg
from the top of the clock tower in the old post office building:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Capital%20from%20clock%20tower.jpg
Then on over a couple blocks to the National Archives which as you know, houses the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. this building is very dark and low lit to help preserve the documents, which are deteriorating very badly. No flash photos are allowed, but I took one of all the documents anyway, here's the Declaration:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Declaration%20of%20Independence.jpg
then it was off to the Smithsonian Air & Space museum...I got a lot of pictures in there, but I don't really want to post them all, so here is one of a full size replica of the mars rover, it's almost 6 feet tall...I never thought it was that big. Those tires are about the size of basketballs.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Mars%20Rover%20replica.jpg
then coming out of the air & space museum, there was a cool view across the mall of the National Art gallery, which is NOT a Smithsonian:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/National%20museum%20of%20Art.jpg
Then I tripped over to the Smithsonian Castle. A pretty cool looking building, but nothing much to see inside.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Smithsonian%20Castle.jpg
then over to the museum of natural history. Lot's of cool $hit in there man....bugs, skeletons of just about damn near every animal...cool stuff..and of course the T-Rex fossil
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/T-Rex.jpg
upstairs they have the bugs, including this giant bird eating spider which clung to the side of the wall in his cubicle, he was bigger than my freaking hand.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Giant%20bird%20eating%20spider.jpg
also upstairs is the geology wing, which houses the Hope diamond, that thing is about the size of a golf ball. Pretty if you like that stuff. I'd rather have the golf ball.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/The%20Hope%20Diamond.jpg
By then it was getting on in the afternoon, so I decided to head back, stopped at the Ford theatre along the way, and also visited the house that Lincoln died in just across the street. The dude lived for nearly 8 hours with a bullet lodged behind his right eye. Here is a pretty cool picture of the inside quilting of the Brooks Brothers coat Lincoln was wearing the night of the assasination. If you look close, you can see that it says "One Country" and "One Destiny" on the inside of the coat. I think you can make a damn good argument that this guy was the best president we ever had.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Lincoln%20coat.jpg
One the way back to the hotel, I passed several churches. Almost all of the churches in DC have some cool-a$$ architecture. Here are two of the cooler ones, check them out:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/church%20on%20Mass.%20street%202.jpg
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Church%20on%20F%20street%203.jpg
The on Sunday, the wife and I signed up for the Old Town trolley tour...it's not cheap, but it takes you lots of places. We jumped on the green line first, and headed out to the National Cathedral. Wow. Just wow. 2nd largest cathedral in the US, 6th largest in the world. Impressive place. Here's one picture:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Cathedral%20through%20trees.jpg
This trolley tour allows you to get off at any stop and then catch the next trolley that comes by, well our next driver stops and sees my OU hat and say's "Welcome Sooners" Turns out he lived in Norman for several years, he was a great and informative tour guide. He went by Sooner Steve.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Sooner%20Steve.jpg
Sooner Steve took us over to the Lincoln Memorial and dropped us so we could see that area. The Lincoln is probably my favorite monument that is dedicated to 1 guy. It's a cool place.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Lincoln1.jpg
for scale, the statue is 19 feet tall, if he were standing he'd be 27 feet tall. I'm pretty sure he wasn't that big.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/LincolnMark2.jpg
then we walked over to the Korean War memorial. 19 soldiers walking up a hill along with a granite wall that has faces carved in it. It was originally supposed to have 38 soldiers, but there wasn't room so they only did 19.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Korean%20War%20statues.jpg
they say they look very lifelike at night when they are lit....i'd like to see that next time I go. there is also this carving by a fountain that pretty much says it all:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Korean%20War%20Memorial.jpg
From there is was out to Arlington. This place is so huge....57 acres I think it what they said. This is a tiny piece.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Arlington3.jpg
It just so happened that the first tombstone i read was an Oklahoma one:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Oklahoma%20Headstone.jpg
we then went on up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.....very impressive place. If you go to DC, you HAVE to go pay your respects IMO.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Tomb%20of%20Unknown%20Soldier.jpg
We also got to see the changing of the guard. Words can't describe. There's just no way to convey the respect I have for the men and women that have given their lives for my freedom.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/change%20of%20guard%20salute.jpg
From there it was back over to the Lincoln, and then on to the Jefferson memorial....damn cool memorial also.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/JeffersonMem.jpg.
That was pretty much nearing the end of the day, we milled around the new WWII memorial and the Washington monument for a while before heading back to the hotel. Monday morning we went to the White House visitors center and looked around, it was ok. Then we went to the national aquarium....pfffft, 5 bucks to get in and it sucked. I think it was the only museum we had to pay to get into, and it was by far, the worst.
All in all a very nice trip, steeped in the history that founded this great land we live in....I highly recommend it to everyone. It should give you pause to stop and think how lucky we are to live in this country with the freedoms that we have, and it should also remind you of some great men and women that gave their lives so that we can enjoy those freedoms.
God Bless America....and if you're not down with that, then I have no use for you.
First of all, DC is a pretty cool city. I'm sure there are some bad parts, but we were out walking fairly late at night back to the hotel and I never felt threatened. The weather was awesome. 77 the day we flew in, 81 the day we left and 72 and 74 in between. Never had the need for even a light jacket.
First afternoon we got there, we decided to walk to the White House from our hotel, it was just about 5 blocks. note the protestors....they were there EVERY day. Hey folks, get a job.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/White%20House%202.jpg
This is me in front of the White House after telling a protestor that came up to me to fvck off.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Mark%20WH.jpg
through the fence:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/WHnorthlawn.jpg
then we walked around the white house to the west, and there was this pretty cool building. I can't remember the name of it.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/building%20by%20White%20House.jpg
and then on around to the south lawn: What you can't see just to the left and obscured by the tree, is the sniper on the roof. I counted 3 of them...i'm sure there were more.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/WHsouthlawn.jpg
then on around to the east side and up 15th street I think, was the Treasury building with a statue of Hamilton out front:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/AlexHamilton.jpg
Then back to the hotel to get ready to go to dinner at Fogo De Chao, which was damn tasty.
The next morning I was on my own as the wifal unit had conference meetings all day. So I headed out to the national mall. I passed the Old post Office building, very cool...and took the time to go up into the clock tower. Ben Franklin has a statue in front of the old post office:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Franklin%20Old%20Post%20Office.jpg
and the Old Post Office:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Post%20office%20clock%20tower%202.jpg
from the top of the clock tower in the old post office building:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Capital%20from%20clock%20tower.jpg
Then on over a couple blocks to the National Archives which as you know, houses the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. this building is very dark and low lit to help preserve the documents, which are deteriorating very badly. No flash photos are allowed, but I took one of all the documents anyway, here's the Declaration:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Declaration%20of%20Independence.jpg
then it was off to the Smithsonian Air & Space museum...I got a lot of pictures in there, but I don't really want to post them all, so here is one of a full size replica of the mars rover, it's almost 6 feet tall...I never thought it was that big. Those tires are about the size of basketballs.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Mars%20Rover%20replica.jpg
then coming out of the air & space museum, there was a cool view across the mall of the National Art gallery, which is NOT a Smithsonian:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/National%20museum%20of%20Art.jpg
Then I tripped over to the Smithsonian Castle. A pretty cool looking building, but nothing much to see inside.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Smithsonian%20Castle.jpg
then over to the museum of natural history. Lot's of cool $hit in there man....bugs, skeletons of just about damn near every animal...cool stuff..and of course the T-Rex fossil
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/T-Rex.jpg
upstairs they have the bugs, including this giant bird eating spider which clung to the side of the wall in his cubicle, he was bigger than my freaking hand.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Giant%20bird%20eating%20spider.jpg
also upstairs is the geology wing, which houses the Hope diamond, that thing is about the size of a golf ball. Pretty if you like that stuff. I'd rather have the golf ball.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/The%20Hope%20Diamond.jpg
By then it was getting on in the afternoon, so I decided to head back, stopped at the Ford theatre along the way, and also visited the house that Lincoln died in just across the street. The dude lived for nearly 8 hours with a bullet lodged behind his right eye. Here is a pretty cool picture of the inside quilting of the Brooks Brothers coat Lincoln was wearing the night of the assasination. If you look close, you can see that it says "One Country" and "One Destiny" on the inside of the coat. I think you can make a damn good argument that this guy was the best president we ever had.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Lincoln%20coat.jpg
One the way back to the hotel, I passed several churches. Almost all of the churches in DC have some cool-a$$ architecture. Here are two of the cooler ones, check them out:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/church%20on%20Mass.%20street%202.jpg
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Church%20on%20F%20street%203.jpg
The on Sunday, the wife and I signed up for the Old Town trolley tour...it's not cheap, but it takes you lots of places. We jumped on the green line first, and headed out to the National Cathedral. Wow. Just wow. 2nd largest cathedral in the US, 6th largest in the world. Impressive place. Here's one picture:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Cathedral%20through%20trees.jpg
This trolley tour allows you to get off at any stop and then catch the next trolley that comes by, well our next driver stops and sees my OU hat and say's "Welcome Sooners" Turns out he lived in Norman for several years, he was a great and informative tour guide. He went by Sooner Steve.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Sooner%20Steve.jpg
Sooner Steve took us over to the Lincoln Memorial and dropped us so we could see that area. The Lincoln is probably my favorite monument that is dedicated to 1 guy. It's a cool place.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Lincoln1.jpg
for scale, the statue is 19 feet tall, if he were standing he'd be 27 feet tall. I'm pretty sure he wasn't that big.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/LincolnMark2.jpg
then we walked over to the Korean War memorial. 19 soldiers walking up a hill along with a granite wall that has faces carved in it. It was originally supposed to have 38 soldiers, but there wasn't room so they only did 19.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Korean%20War%20statues.jpg
they say they look very lifelike at night when they are lit....i'd like to see that next time I go. there is also this carving by a fountain that pretty much says it all:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Korean%20War%20Memorial.jpg
From there is was out to Arlington. This place is so huge....57 acres I think it what they said. This is a tiny piece.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Arlington3.jpg
It just so happened that the first tombstone i read was an Oklahoma one:
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Oklahoma%20Headstone.jpg
we then went on up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.....very impressive place. If you go to DC, you HAVE to go pay your respects IMO.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/Tomb%20of%20Unknown%20Soldier.jpg
We also got to see the changing of the guard. Words can't describe. There's just no way to convey the respect I have for the men and women that have given their lives for my freedom.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/change%20of%20guard%20salute.jpg
From there it was back over to the Lincoln, and then on to the Jefferson memorial....damn cool memorial also.
http://members.cox.net/markandrob/WashingtonDC/JeffersonMem.jpg.
That was pretty much nearing the end of the day, we milled around the new WWII memorial and the Washington monument for a while before heading back to the hotel. Monday morning we went to the White House visitors center and looked around, it was ok. Then we went to the national aquarium....pfffft, 5 bucks to get in and it sucked. I think it was the only museum we had to pay to get into, and it was by far, the worst.
All in all a very nice trip, steeped in the history that founded this great land we live in....I highly recommend it to everyone. It should give you pause to stop and think how lucky we are to live in this country with the freedoms that we have, and it should also remind you of some great men and women that gave their lives so that we can enjoy those freedoms.
God Bless America....and if you're not down with that, then I have no use for you.