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WASHINGTON MONUMENT:
The last item on the agenda was a trip to the Washington Monument. While you can visit this monument free, you need a free ticket to go up the 555' tall monument in an elevator. These tickets are issued on a daily basis at the site on a first come first served basis. I was very keen to go up the monument. We were planning to check out at 12 noon and leave for home, so we decided that Chandu and I would make a trip and try our luck.We started as early as possible, but, still managed to reach there only by 9am and we could get free tickets only for 11-30am. We tried to plead with the guard there, but, it didn't work this time. I was disappointed that i could not go up ( if you have read Lost Symbol, you would know why). However, we spent an hour there going round the monument and taking pictures.It is shaped like an Egyptian obelisk, stands 555' 5 1/8" tall and offers views in excess of 30 miles.It was built in honor of George Washington who lead the country to independence in the war against the British and later became the first president of USA.It was finished in dec'1884.
The circular concourse is made entirely of white stone except for two decorative courses of dark stone which form two concentric circles around the monument (circumpunct?). The capstone weighs 3300 pounds and is made of marble.It is topped with a 9" pyramid of cast aluminum ( which was a rare metal in those days). As per Dan Brown that has an engraving of "LAUS DEO" (Praise God) but i had no way of verifying it. But no reason to doubt it either.
The observation deck at 500' offers an excellent view - to the East is the Capitol , to the North is the White House , to the West is Lincoln Memorial and to the south is Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. This is the cross roads of America!!
We returned to the hotel by 11-30am, checked out by 12-30pm, had lunch at a Bombay Restaurant a Silver Spring and left around 2pm.We had excellent weather right through the drive. We reached Maumee, Toledo (Ohio) around 11pm and checked into Residence Inn, Marriott there. On the way we had our dinner of Panera bread Sandwiches at a service plaza.
We left next morning at 10am after a nice and leisurely breakfast , reached Chicago at 2pm, had lunch at Madras Restaurant at Ogden and reached home at 3pm on Monday the 12th April.Thus ended a wonderful trip, and, a long time wish fulfilled.
If you want to take a guided tour of the Capitol you have to obtain a free pass either online (issued in limited numbers) or at the site (again limited numbers). We were able to get passes on line for the tour at 9-30am on Saturday.As this involved a very early start, it was decided that I and Bharathi would go first and make the tour while the other three would join us later. As i was pretty confident of going on our own they let us go armed with Madhuri's cellphone.
We were dropped off at Silver Spring Metro station by Chandu at 7-45am. We took the Red line to Metro center and Blue line from there to Capitol South and reached there by 8-45am. From there it is a long walk to the entrance of Capitol Visitor center.
CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER:
This is located on the east front at First street and East Capitol street. Entry to this is free from 8-30am to 4-30pm , Mon-Sat.This is a very modern construction underground of 58000 sq.ft area with the entry at ground level. After a very thorough security check and trashing all the water bottles that we were carrying we were let in.
We go one level down to the main hall called the 'Emancipation hall. The hall has four skylights which provide excellent light and also a great view of the Capitol dome. The hall has a plaster model of the STATUE OF FREEDOM which rests atop the Capitol dome. Isn't it an irony that this statue was put there by slave laborers!!!! But that is history and America has corrected that.
The hall also has a touchable model of the capitol dome and twenty four statues representing the diversity of USA. It also has a 186' long Wall of aspiration having some historic documents. From there we go to the guided tour of Capitol.
CAPITOL:
We are first taken into a orientation theater and shown a 13 minute film titled "OUT OF MANY,ONE ( E PLURIBUS UNUM), the theme on which America is built. It is something like the Unity in Diversity that Nehru used to talk about. From there we are taken to the Capitol Rotunda and a few other halls that house historic,significant paintings and sculptures.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to the CAPITOL ROTUNDA - a huge circular hall lined with spectacular paintings and 186' above the hall is the Dome. As you look up at the inside of the dome high above you see the fabulous fresco of APOTHEOSIS OF WASHINGTON.This is a 4664 sq.ft fresco that covers the canopy of the Rotunda and was completed in 1865 by CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI.
On the central panel of the fresco is George Washington dressed in white robes, attended by thirteen maidens, and ascending on a cloud to heavens, above mortal men. This is the moment of his Apotheosis ( meaning transformation) into a God. Nearby are several ancient Roman Gods presenting American forefathers knowledge. Minerva giving technological inspiration to Ben Franklin, Robert Fulton and Samuel Morse. Vulcan helping build a steam engine. Neptune demonstrating cable laying and Ceres, Goddess of Food, sitting on a McCormick reaper. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER seems to be the theme. After a one hour tour and several pictures we were back in the visitor center. Visitors are not allowed into the Senate or House of Commons, for which one has to obtain passes well in advance through the Congressman or Senator.
We came out just in time to receive the other three, and, while we took care of Sreeya and played with her, Madhuri and Chandu did a quick tour of the visitor center. We took a cab from there and went to a subway for a lunch of sandwiches and coke. From there we took another cab and went to the White House visitor center.
WHITE HOUSE VISITOR CENTER:
This is located on SE corner of 15th and E streets. It is open all days 7-30am to 4pm and entry is free. A guided tour of White House is only possible if planned at least a couple of months in advance. In the center we sat comfortably and watched a very nice Video that takes us on a guided tour of White House. The video starts with a welcome by the First lady and ends with a good bye speech from President Obama. The Video is wonderful guided tour and also gives us historic tidbits. Across the road is the Freedom Plaza and we took a walk there. From there we
took another cab and proceeded to Lincoln Memorial.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL:
In the National mall, the three great monuments are in a straight line. At the eastern end is the Capitol, at the western end is the Lincoln Memorial and at the center is the great obelisk, Washington memorial.
I have been a great fan of Abraham Lincoln from my school days when i first learned about his definition of Democracy as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. I read with reverence about his role in abolition of slavery and the heavy price he paid for that (his life).
The Memorial is open 24x7 as befitting a great leader of the people. the Memorial is a huge hall at a good height accessed by climbing several steps. In this hall with three walls and the front open is the huge statue of Lincoln sitting on a throne. The view from the top is breathtaking - all three great structures in a line. On the southern wall is inscribed his famous Gettysburg address where he spoke of......government of the people,by the people and for the people..... On the northern wall is his very impressive second inaugural speech.
We were dead tired but had to walk a bit before we got a cab that took us to Federal triangle station from where we took the train to Metro Center and the Red line from there to silver Spring. It being a Saturday, there was no hassle for public parking there and it was free too. We reached our hotel at 8pm.
We were advised to use Metro rail rather than our car for sight seeing due to parking problems in the Mall area. The Silver Spring Metro station was about 15 minutes drive from our hotel. We planned on an early start , but, managed to leave hotel around 9-30am. It was an unusually cold and windy day. It took us a bit of time to find a all day public parking and finally we entered the station past 10am.
The Metro rail is very convenient and very popular public transport in Washington DC. There are four lines operating in different routes - Red, Blue, Orange and Green. They overlap sometimes and intersect at convenient points for transfer from one route to another. Silver Spring is on Red line and we bought a all day ticket for $ 8 per head and boarded the train. We got off at Metro Center and transferred to an Orange which was one level below us and got off at Smithsonian. Most of the stations are underground but a few are at the ground level too. The trains were comfortable and well maintained.
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM:
This museum is located on the Independence Avenue and 4th street. Even as you enter the museum the first exhibit that hits your eye is the APOLLO 11 Command Module " COLUMBIA" on display. I recalled the thrill of man's first landing on moon and the famous quote of Armstrong "... a small step for man but a giant leap for mankind.."
Upstairs we visited the WRIGHT BROTHERS 1903 FLYER and spent sometime there.You look at that first aircraft made and flown by them and you realize how much progress man has made in the twentieth century.
There were a number of other rockets and planes on display and there was quite a rush too. We spent an hour there and then walked down to our next destination National Archives.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES :
The National Archives is located at 700, Pennsylvanian Avenue.We sat outside while Chandu went to get our lunch of subway sandwiches. My interest in the Archives was ignited more than a decade back when i read Jeffrey Archer's book "Honour among Thieves". ( if you have not read it i recommend it). This museum has on display THE ORIGINAL CHARTERS OF FREEDOM.
Entry to the museum is through free passes some of which can be booked in advance on internet and some of which are issued at the museum on a daily basis. We couldn't get the advance booking through internet and there was a very long Q for the other passes. I found a much shorter Q for those with internet booked passes. The original documents are stored in underground vaults and pulled out at specified times of the day. As per the information on web site on that Friday there were two more pull outs at 2-30pm and 3-30pm. I didn't want to miss at any cost, so, left my folks saying that i would try my luck.
I went and joined the short Q of special passes. When i reached the gate i told one of the black officers there that i have come from far off India, could not get the pass on the web, it was my ambition to see the Original charters of freedom as they are sacred and could the officer help me. I must have sold my self well because he just said " sir, you come with me" and took me past the security (after a check of course) straight to the Exhibition hall where they were on display. Others must have thought i was some VIP visitor as he escorted me!!!!!!!
I saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights (collectively known as charters of freedom). I also saw the original 1297 MAGNA CARTA on display there. What really impressed me was the care with which these centuries old documents are preserved by the Government at a great cost and revered by the people. I thanked the officer profusely while leaving the museum because he made a dream come true for me. When i joined my group they were just finishing their lunch and were very happy for me.
Our next destination was the Holocaust Museum and we took a cab there.
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM :
Back in seventies i have read several books on Nazi atrocities , Concentration camps and Gas chambers, mostly by Leon Uris. I was deeply moved by this genocide and mass extermination of people by Hitler. Thus, the Holocaust Museum was a must see for me.
This is located at 100, Raoul Wallenberg Place,SW. There was a heavy rush of tourists at this place too. There is permanent exhibition for which entry is only through daily passes and they ran out by the time we went there. However, there were many other things to see there.
We saw a 15 minute movie called LIBERATION in a auditorium there. It included the stories of holocaust survivors and their liberators ( in first person), soldiers who freed the victims from the concentration camps. It was very touching and left a lump in my throat.
We also saw a very touching exhibition " Remembering the children- Daniel's story" which tells us the story of Holocaust as witnessed and suffered by Daniel, a young jewish boy in Germany, with a almost real life depiction through pictures and his diary.
I climbed up several steps with Chandu along and visited the Hall of Remembrance where we pay a silent tribute to the six million jews who were exterminated by Hitler and the Nazis in the concentration camps.
We returned to our hotel by the same route by 7-30pm, tired but satisfied.
After a good night's rest, we had a hearty breakfast of fruit juice, fruit, cereal , muffins and bread toast and left Youngstown at 10-30am. we took I 76 E to Pittsburgh. At 10-45am we enterd Pennsylvania state. We branched off to 279 south to go to Pittsburgh and arrived at the temple in Monroville by 11-45am.The Sri Venkateswara temple at Pittsburgh was built in 1976 and was the first big hindu temple in USA. It is affiliated to the TTD. It is alocated atop a hill and amidst picturesque surroundings and has a very serene atmosphere.There was hardly any rush and we had a very satisfying darshan of the Lord Balaji and other dieties. We spent an hour and half there.About a mile from the temple is a UDIPI HOTEL. We had an excellent lunch of 'thali meal' there. If you are ever in that neighbourhood, don't miss it. We left at 2pm and had a lovely drive through the hilly penn state in excellent weather. We reached our destination SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND at about 7pm. The last half an hour drive was through a crawling peak hour traffic.We checked into the Residence Inn, Marriott, at 7pm. Suite # 331 is an identical accommodation.
We left our home at Aurora at 1pm with Chandu driving the almost new Dodge caravan min van. It started raining even before we left downtown chicago. Madhuri told us that thunderstorms/ rain is predicted all along our route that day.We took the I 80 E out of Chicago and soon entered Indiana at Gary.The rain/ storm was with us right through our drive through Indiana. It was scary at times due to poor visibility / heavy downpour, but, chandu was cool and his driving top class. We crossed the state line into OHIO at about 5pm (205 miles from home) . The rains finally left us around 7pm. We stopped at one of the service plazas at 8pm and had a fill of 'Pulihora' for dinner along with chapattis which we brought from home. We reached our destination of Youngstown, Ohio at about 9-30pm and checked into the Residence Inn, Marriott. Our accommodation was a 2 Bed room, Living room-kitchen suite and most comfortable. I may add here that Madhuri booked all the hotels and standardized on this accommodation. We had another bite before going to bed around 11-30pm.
Washington DC was one place in USA which i always wanted to visit but couldn't do so till now. So i was really thrilled when Madhuri & chandu started making plans for such a trip. We all agreed that the best way to see US is to travel by road. They did all the planning like logistics, hotel bookings, itinery etc. Chandu hired a allmost new Dodge caravan mini van and we left on 7th April'10 and returned on 12th . The group comprised of i ,Bharathi, Chandu, Madhuri and Sreeya papa. I am writing it as different chapters for convenience of readers.Day 1 - 07-04-10 - Travel from Aurora to Youngstown (OH)Day 2 - 08-04-10 - Pittsburgh and travel to Silver spring (MD)Day 3 - 09-04-10 - MuseumsDay 4 - 10-04-10 - Capitol, White House and Lincoln MemorialDay 5 - 11-04-10 - Washinton monument and travel to Maumee, Toledo (OH)Day 6 - 12-04-10 - Travel back to AuroraYou can read it in one go ,or, in parts. Hope you will enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it.
