to Washington baby!!!!!! We knocked on the door, but I reckon the Prez wasn't home or something. I figured if he would have been home, he would have said, "Hey, that's ol' Strider and Hard6! Let 'em in - I always have a hoot with them rascals!"
We left a note on the front door just to let him know we had swung by - oh well, his loss.
We actually did something different today. Like I said, we are doing things that we haven't done on this ride, so we figured that neither one of us had been on a train in our adult lives, so it cost us less than $20 for a round trip train ticket to Union Station from Fredericksburg. Didn't have to worry about where to park or something happening to the bikes (plus we would have paid more for parking than the train ticket), so off we sailed this morning.
You wanna talk about Country comes to Town???? We had to ask an ATF Special Agent guy how to find the bathroom in Union Station!
(By the way, in case you go (and need to go) it is by the A Gates).
History Lesson: Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, D.C., when it opened in 1908. It is one of the busiest and best-known places in Washington, D.C., visited by 32 million people each year. The terminal is served by Amtrak, MARC and VRE commuter railroads, and the Washington Metro transit system of buses and subway trains. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad announced in 1901 that they planned to build a new terminal, people in the city celebrated for two reasons. The decision meant, first of all, that both the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad would soon remove their trackwork and terminals from the Mall. Though changes there appeared only gradually, the consolidation of the depots allowed the creation of the Mall as it appears today. Second, the plans to bring all the city’s railroads under one roof promised that Washington would finally have a station large enough to handle large crowds and impressive enough to reflect the Capital’s role.
We learned today that it held the record for the largest train station in the world - for ONE WEEK when Grand Central train station in New York opened.
We got a tour bus that you can get on and off and man did we pick the wrong one. Do not take the Old Trolly line. The other ones had 2 or 3 buses come by for every one of ours. Anyway, we rode by the Capital but I won't post about it tonight since we are going to see it tomorrow (Got some shots of it, but will post pictures tomorrow).
We got off at the Jefferson Memorial and checked it out first. One thing we did learn that all the memorials are built by private fund raising. None of our tax dollars go into the building of one of these memorials.
History Lesson: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States. The neoclassical building was designed by John Russell Pope. It was built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain. Construction began in 1939, the building was completed in 1942, and the bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947. When completed, the memorial occupied one of the last significant sites left in the city.
Composed of circular marble steps, a portico, a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and a shallow dome, the building is open to the elements. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River. The Jefferson Memorial, and the White House located directly north, form one of the main anchor points in the area of the National Mall in D.C. The Washington Monument, just east of the axis on the national Mall, was intended to be located at the intersection of the White House and the site for the Jefferson Memorial to the south, but soft swampy ground which defied nineteenth century engineering required it be sited to the east.[citation needed] The Jefferson Memorial is managed by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks division. In 2007, it was ranked fourth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.
We then got back on the bus and checked out the Lincoln Memorial.
History Lesson: The Lincoln Memorial is a United States Presidential memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and was dedicated on May 30, 1922. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue (Abraham Lincoln, 1920) was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin.
The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.
Then we got to see the Vietnam Memorial. It lets you know that freedom is not free.
History Lesson:The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for.
Its construction and related issues have been the source of controversies, some of which have resulted in additions to the memorial complex. The memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the best-known part of the memorial.
The memorial was inspired by the 1971 establishment of the Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel (now the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park) in Angel Fire, New Mexico, which was begun by the parents of Marine First Lieutenant David Westphall, who was among thirteen men in his unit killed in an ambush in Vietnam in 1968.
The main part of the memorial, which was completed in 1982, is in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. The Memorial Wall was designed by U.S. landscape architect Maya Lin. The typesetting was performed by Datalantic in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2007, it was ranked tenth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects.
After a LONG walk across the mall, we got to the WWII Memorial. Folks, bring some COMFORTABLE walking shoes if you go to DC. Everything is big and takes a lot of shoe leather to get to.
History Lesson: The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
It opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004, two days before Memorial Day. The memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As of 2009, more than 4.4 million people visit the memorial each year.
You also get to see the Washington Monument.
Then we walked back across the mall to the Korea War Veterens Memorial. This one is awe inspiring. The figures and faces etched into the marble are unreal and are like ghosts looking back at you.
History Lesson: The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by the U.S. Congress (Public Law 99-572) on October 28, 1986, with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission. President George H. W. Bush conducted the groundbreaking for the Memorial on June 14, 1992, Flag Day. It was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, President of the Republic of Korea, to the men and women who served during the conflict. Management of the memorial was turned over to the National Park Service, under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As with all National Park Service historic areas, the memorial was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the day of its dedication.
Then it was time for some dogs and water!!!!
Got back on a different bus and went over to Arlington Cemetery. Another note that freedom is not free..... :'(
John F Kennedy and the eternal flame.
Checked out a few other places and worked our way over to the White House.
History Lesson: The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the executive residence of every U.S. President since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the home in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades which were meant to conceal stables and storage.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829. Due to crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had nearly all work offices relocated to the newly-constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; both new wings were connected by Jefferson's colonnades. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946 creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled, resulting in the construction of a new internal load-bearing steel framework and the reassembly of the interior rooms.
Rode the train back to Fredericksburg and looked for a place to eat. Man, we hit one of those surprises on a road trip. We found the 2400 Family Resteraunt on Prince Anne. Looks good but kind of like a greasy spoon right. Home cooked Greek food! The Baklava was outstanding and JP ate two pieces!!!!!
Well, my riding buddy is already laying down with his sock on his head and when I finish up with today's ride report, I am as well. Awesome day and we are still having a ball!!!!!! Only problem today is each of us owes the city of Fredericksburg $15 for where we parked at the train station. I think they had a sign hidden by a bush or something, but we dang sure had a slip of paper on each of our bikes with an envelope to mail the fine in. Parked the bikes by the room again and settled in for the night.
One more day to see some of the musuems in Washington and then we sail off on another history filled adventure!!!! Haven't gotten a map out yet and figured out where - but an adventure I am sure it will be!!!!
Oh yeah, this is interesting. This is Arlington House where Robert E. Lee lived at Arlington Cemetery. The government passed a law that you had to pay your taxes in person. Well, needless to say, Robert E. Lee couldn't come to Washington to pay his taxes since there was a little war going on. He sent a courier with his tax money and they wouldn't accept it and siezed his property.....ready for this....for a little over $90 in owed taxes.
Anyway, more to follow......
