I got up early this morning in order to get over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to line up for tickets for the tour. I was the second person in line and so got my choice of tours once they opened. After that I hustled over to the Washington Monument‘s line and waited for them to open. Luck was with me because I managed to get a ticket for that one as well. After that I popped over to the Smithsonian Castle for a little breakfast and then got in line for the BEP tour.

The BEP tour was short but very interesting. The printing lines were in operation and the people working down below us were waving at the tours as we went by. It was fascinating to see paper money actually being made. Once the tour is over you’re routed through the gift shop (of course) and I picked up a couple things. I had wanted to pick up a couple uncut sheets of currency but carrying them home might be problematic so I’ll be ordering them on-line.

After getting out of the BEP I went over to the Holocaust Memorial and got a ticket for the permanent exhibit and then went over to the cafe for lunch. Security was tight at both the Memorial and cafe. Lunch eaten, I headed in to see the exhibit. It’s a very powerful, moving experience. I’ve seen some of it before, watching the History Channel as much as I do, but seeing it all in one place it really hit home. I’ve got my own feelings about what happened and why, but that’s a discussion for another time. Go, see the exhibit, and think about what you’ve seen.

I got out of the Holocaust Memorial with some extra time before the time slot for the trip to the top of the Washington Monument so I went over to the Sackler Gallery to see some more Mughal albums and Chinese bronzes. Afterwards I went over to the Washington Monument to get in line for my trip to the top.

The elevator ride up was just an elevator ride, though we did have a Park Ranger talking about some of the history of the monument and what we’d see when we got up to the top. Finally up there I can say that the view was impressive. I could see and got good photos of The Capitol, the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, The White House, and the Smithsonian Castle. The trip down was interesting because the elevator windows were made transparent every so often to see some of the stones placed on the inside by different states, cities, groups, and people.

That was the end of the day, save dinner, which was shepherd’s pie at the local Irish pub.

Got dressed up and went up to the Capitol for Sen. Cornyn‘s Texas Tuesday coffee hour. By luck I got to talk to one of the Senator’s aides whose specialty is health care. It was lucky because I had planned to discuss S.616, a bill which would close a HIPAA loophole. After talking there and meeting the Senator I went out and got a pass to go see the Senate in session and got to hear Sen. Kennedy speak for a little while.

After leaving the Capitol the next stop was the Supreme Court. It’s a really interesting building, and although the tour was short it was informative. I got to see the chambers and some of the other features of the building and took some interesting photos.

Right next door to the Supreme Court building is the Library of Congress. I didn’t take the tour, opting instead to walk around and see a little of the building’s beautiful decorations. I didn’t get to go in to the reading room, but that’s OK.

The last bit of sightseeing was actually the longest and most time consuming. I spent time on the west end of The Mall at the monuments. There were a lot of people at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with many touching tributes left by families and loved ones. I also saw the Vietnam Women Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, The World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. All of them were very touching and I’m glad that I took the time to walk all that way to see all of them.

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant in China Town.

Breakfast was a donuts down at Union Station followed by a short Metro hop over to the Smithsonian to spend some time at the National Air and Space Museum.

It’s been about 7 years since I’ve been in the Air and Space Museum and while many things haven’t changed, some have. The front hall was missing one of its signature pieces, the Wright Flyer, and had a new addition, Space Ship One. The commercial aviation exhibit was interesting, and I don’t remember it being there from before. After that I went through the various exhibits including the World War I and II aviation, got to see the ME-262 and one of the few Mitsubishi Zeros which still exist, and finally found the Wright Flyer in it’s own special exhibit which went in to a lot more detail about the Flyer and the Wrights’ history. Finally, a trip to the gift store where I found a few things for Reese.

After that I headed back over to the National Gallery for lunch since the McDonald’s at the Air and Space Museum didn’t appeal to me one bit.

The afternoon saw me over at the National Archives to check out some of our country’s history. They’ve got an exhibit with items from the archives, including Rosa Parks arrest, the Emancipation Proclamation, a letter from George Washington, and much, much more. After finishing that I queued up to get in to the rotunda to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Magna Carta amongst others.

On the way back I stopped at the Capitol City Brewing Company for a burger and a pint of porter. Both extremely yummy, one of the best porters I’ve had in a while.

A quick breakfast at Starbucks and then headed back over to the Mall, this time by Metro instead of walking. The first stop was the Smithsonian Castle (the first time I’ve been in there) and then over to the Freer Gallery to see a really nice collection of western, Islamic, and Asian art.

Lunch today was at the cafe in the National Gallery‘s east building.

After lunch I went over to the National Museum of the American Indian and really spent some quality time going through it. The last time I was in DC was in 2001 and it was still being built so it was completely new to me. It’s very well done with many educational and informative exhibits, some of which were really sad. Over all it was a great museum and should be visited if you’re in the area.

It started raining on the way in and had no quit on the way out so it was a quick walk over to the nearest Metro station and then back to the hotel to drop off the camera bag and head out to dinner.

Dinner was at Zaytinya, a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern tapas restaurant which served up some excellent lamb amongst other yummies.

The shuttle driver was about 20 minutes late this morning, but I got to the airport with plenty of time to catch the flight to D.C. The flight itself was a little bumpy and with the exception of the hard landing, completely uneventful.

After getting checked in to the hotel it was time for lunch, which turned out to be a buffalo burger at the National Museum of the American Indian.

After that it was off to the National Museum of Natural History to browse the gems and minerals section and to see the Hope Diamond. Most impressive stuff and looking better than the last time I was here.

On the way back to the hotel I detoured up to Ford’s Theater, which was closed for renovations, and the house where Lincoln died, which was open.

Finally a stop by the Navy memorial.

Dinner tonight was at The Dubliner, an Irish style pub just around the block from the hotel.