Getting Stuck into America's Culture in Washington DC

My plan for Washington had been to meet up with Daniel Owens (Mountain Mama), who I had travelled the Bolivian Salt Flats with. Unfortunately he was scheduled to be in the town of Richmond for the time I had, so that would be impossible. So I booked into a hostel and, after a short stopover in Miami, arrived in Reagan International airport in DC at 7am on a warm Sunday morning.

I bought a metro ticket and made my way over to LOFSTEL hostel very easily. This place was slightly different to what I had grown accustomed to. On the surface it seemed like a standard family house, converted to accommodate up to 30 people in bunk beds. After chatting to some of the guests I figured out that almost everyone is staying there for at least a month and is either interning or working in DC. Short term travellers like myself were a minority although I didn't really feel out of place at all. I also felt a bit old as the average age must have lain at around 20 years old with the odd exception.

The informal setting meant that the on-duty hostel officer was not there but rather enjoying an extended brunch. No worries I thought, so I dumped my bags in the corner and took a walk back to the metro to begin my sightseeing tour. I got off at L'Enfant station which was on the edge of the National Mall (not a shopping centre but rather a huge stretch of land, a national park in fact, dotted with museums and memorials) and right next to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Kris (from Vegas) had recommended the place so I popped in. Entrance was free as were guided tours, so I joined one group where we were taken through the history of aviation starting with the Wright brothers and ending at the Apollo 11 space shuttles. Alan Bean, a famous American astronaut, was at the museum that day for a book signing. I got a lucky snap of him!

The main hall in the National Air and Space Museum

The Original Wright Brothers Flyer

Alan Bean signing for his new book

The Moon Lander

Stepping out of the museum and into the Mall, I got to see that I had a lot of walking to do. The Mall stretches for around 4.5km end to end. I was on the east side near the Capitol building so I decided to march over there first. After checking it out for a bit, I turned around and started walking back towards the towering Washington Monument. This thing looks immense from a distance and is even more breathtaking when you stand beneath it. You can even take an elevator up to the top of it but it was closed by the time I had arrived there. After admiring it for a while I carried on the hike towards the World War II Memorial which is in the centre of the mall and on the edge of the reflecting lake. Fountains and large sculpted displays commemorated the American and Allied war effort.

Hippies

The Capitol Building

Smithsonian Castle

Washington Monument

Looking up from the base of Washington Monument

Looking over the Mall towards the World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial - Spooky Soldiers

The Mall is headed by the Lincoln Memorial. I made my way towards it, walking alongside the reflecting lake. I detoured slightly to the left to view the Korean War Memorial which is a slightly spooky display of American soldiers on patrol. There was a swell of tourists at the Lincoln Memorial but I managed to sneak through and check out Abe sitting on his pedestal as well as the chiseled speeches to the left and right. Next was the Vietnam War Memorial which bore the names of the soldiers who died fighting there in chronological order.

Lincoln Memorial

Old Abe

A great view over the Reflecting Pool and Mall

Vietnam War Memorial

After absorbing all of this for a while I recollected my thoughts and tried to figure out where my next destination was. I wanted to see the White House but I hadn't brought a map. When I located one I realised it was back the way I came! Stifling a groan, I trudged back along the reflecting lake and took a left to the White House. After getting in the obligatory pictures, I was free to retire to my hostel bunk. The nearest Metro station was a fair way off again so by the time I got back to the hostel I was well and truly buggered. My feet ached from the unsupportive flip flops I had been wearing. A quick dinner and chat with the fellow dormies was followed by a long sleep-in.

Final stop of the day - The White House

I had met an interesting chap from Belgium called Stign. he worked as a business management officer for Verizon and was on a 3 week holiday down the east coast. He suggested we visit the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy building. This was an extension of the museum I had visited the previous day but contained much larger exhibits. It was located in a reallocated aircraft hangar near Dulles airport. Luckily for us, Stign had a hired car with SatNav so we got there with a minimum of hassle. Once inside I got to see some incredible aircraft including the F-14 Tomcat immortalized in the movie Top Gun, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (fastest aircraft ever built), the Enola Gay (B-52 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima), an Air France Concorde and finally the Enterprise Space Shuttle. This was a small sample of a massive range of aircraft present. Going through everything took a fair while and it was after lunchtime that we left for our next stop, the Pentagon.

The Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird... pretty awesome!

Jet turbines

F-14 Tomcat made famous by Top Gun

Enola Gay

Concorde

Space Shuttle Enterprise

Cruise Missiles

Photography is not allowed in the area surrounding the Pentagon although I think Stign managed to get a covert shot in. We were a bit put out not to see any Secret Agents. The people who worked there seemed mainly middle aged computer nerds with large rimmed glasses. Then again we surmised that a Secret Agent probably intended to look like that to throw off suspicion. After much discussion and analysis, we concluded that the most likely Secret Agent candidate was a grey haired 70 year old woman with a walker. There was just something not right about her.

You couldn't really see much of the Pentagon from our vantage point so we decided to move on to Arlington Cemetary. This place is probably one of the most significant sites in American heritage. It is a resting place for a great many of America's war heroes from just about every conflict since their independance. Upon arrival you can take in the huge scale of the cemetary. Identical, small, simple white gravestones line up in the groomed, rolling fields as far as you can see. They are shaded by the odd tree and there is a very peaceful atmosphere. It is quite an experience to behold. One of the main attractions is the burial site of John F Kennedy as well as the tomb of the Unnamed Soldier. We walked in silence along the paths and roads.

Arlington Cemetary

John and Jackie Kennedy's resting place

Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unnamed Soldier

By now it was around 6pm and we were hungry. We drove back to the hostel where I made some food. Shortly afterward, Mary and Kendra organised a trip back the National Mall to see the memorials at night. Even though my feet were still hurting, I decided to go along. It was well worth it as the sites were all lit up and the crowds were minimal. We hung out around the Washington Memorial and then the Lincoln Memorial, enjoying the balmy summer night.

My brief sojourn was over but I felt like I had seen a lot. I certainly had given my legs some serious exercise! Onwards to the last stop of the Trek. New York City.