Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 2: Washington DC
After suffering the effects of jet lag, we got a late start to the day. However, we managed to make it to Arlington National Cemetery in time to view the noon changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Admittedly, this experience was more meaningful for Cathy and I than it was for the kids. As an American adult, you cannot help but be moved emotionally when you view the reverence and ceremonial precision of the Marine guards as they carry out their timeless vigil.
While at Arlington we also visited the Eternal Flame at the JFK grave site. As we were leaving the Cemetery, we saw the Presidential Motorcade arrive. No idea why the President may have been visiting - wish I would have snapped some pics.
From Arlington, we took the Blue Line to the Smithsonian Metro stop and exited to the Mall. We decided to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and find refuge from the hot and sticky conditions. We spent the rest of the afternoon there, but only saw a fraction of what could be seen. We decided to see an Albert Einstein Planetarium show and an IMAX movie. I think Jacob was the only one of us to remain awake through the "Cosmic Collisions" show. The IMAX movie, "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag," sounds enticing, but was actually a real yawner. I fail to understand why IMAX film makers continue to neglect the power of the medium and leave out the potentially stunning visuals one would expect to see - you know, fighters cruising through varied landscapes like canyons, mountain ranges, etc. Maybe 3-4 minutes featured these scenes, but the rest ranked an enthusiastic "thumbs down" from me.
For dinner, we ate at Jaleo in Crystal City. Jaleo is a Spanish tapas confiteria that features a menu full of what are essentially appetizer plates. They also feature several paiea offerings. After some coaxing, we got the kids to try some tapas and they loved them. We also ordered the shrimp paiea, which was melt-in-the-mouth scrumptious. I have eaten there on several occasions while in DC on business, but never expected the kids to go for anything out of their frame of reference. Now the stage is set for more experimentation during the rest of the trip.
I will be posting the best of our pics on my Picasa site, so if you want more context to what we saw and did look there.
The plan for tomorrow: Get up much earlier, book over to Union Station and take the Acela Express (AMTRAK) to NYC, then on to Boston. We hope to be able to go to the Statue of Liberty during our train layover in New York. Let's see how we do.
While at Arlington we also visited the Eternal Flame at the JFK grave site. As we were leaving the Cemetery, we saw the Presidential Motorcade arrive. No idea why the President may have been visiting - wish I would have snapped some pics.From Arlington, we took the Blue Line to the Smithsonian Metro stop and exited to the Mall. We decided to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and find refuge from the hot and sticky conditions. We spent the rest of the afternoon there, but only saw a fraction of what could be seen. We decided to see an Albert Einstein Planetarium show and an IMAX movie. I think Jacob was the only one of us to remain awake through the "Cosmic Collisions" show. The IMAX movie, "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag," sounds enticing, but was actually a real yawner. I fail to understand why IMAX film makers continue to neglect the power of the medium and leave out the potentially stunning visuals one would expect to see - you know, fighters cruising through varied landscapes like canyons, mountain ranges, etc. Maybe 3-4 minutes featured these scenes, but the rest ranked an enthusiastic "thumbs down" from me.For dinner, we ate at Jaleo in Crystal City. Jaleo is a Spanish tapas confiteria that features a menu full of what are essentially appetizer plates. They also feature several paiea offerings. After some coaxing, we got the kids to try some tapas and they loved them. We also ordered the shrimp paiea, which was melt-in-the-mouth scrumptious. I have eaten there on several occasions while in DC on business, but never expected the kids to go for anything out of their frame of reference. Now the stage is set for more experimentation during the rest of the trip.I will be posting the best of our pics on my Picasa site, so if you want more context to what we saw and did look there.
The plan for tomorrow: Get up much earlier, book over to Union Station and take the Acela Express (AMTRAK) to NYC, then on to Boston. We hope to be able to go to the Statue of Liberty during our train layover in New York. Let's see how we do.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
