Monuments, Memorials and Museums

After three days of cycling to get from Philadelphia to Washington, today was an off day, or more accurately “a picture is worth a thousand words” kind of day.

The last time I was in Washington for anything other than an airport layover was a very long time ago – more specifically when I was eight years old. And that’s clearly long before I decided to pack up the bulk of my possessions, put them on a bicycle to travel solo for over 6,000 km. So, today I was a tourist. And with only a day to spend here, today I was a whirlwind tourist with the goal of seeing as much of Washington’s sights as I could. For better or worse, it would be quantity over quality.

Nicole lives about 10 km from Washingon’s National Mall, so step one of the day was deciding how to get there. Bus? Taxi? Walk? Cycle? The obvious upside to sightseeing by bicycle is that you are able to get to a lot of sights. Quickly. The downside is the overwhelming temptation to turn everything into a drive-by (or ride-by). Despite the downside, it’s likely no surprise that I went with the cycling option. It is a cycling trip after all.

The National Mall is in downtown Washington and home to many of the sights frequently seen on TV and in the movies. The Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Institute, the Capitol, and so on. Given the number of monuments, memorials, and museums (that’s a lot of “M”s), it’s no surprise that the National Mall covers a pretty significant amount of space. Space that is very suited to being traversed by bicycle. It’s also space that should really be explored over the course of a few days.

The ride from Nicole’s to the downtown area was pretty uneventful – and primarily downhill. My plan was to head directly to the Mall, starting with the Lincoln Memorial. However, as I neared the area I had to stop for many red lights along the way. One light in particular was at Pennsylvania Ave. Fortunately my brain was somewhat awake at the time and I remembered that Pennsylvania Avenue is home to the White House. I decided the Lincoln Memorial likely wasn’t going anywhere any time soon so I detoured over to the White House.

Not surprisingly, the recent security issues surrounding the White House have resulted in, well … surrounding the White House with a fence. Now, you might think, “Wasn’t there already a fence around the White House?” And the answer is yes. Yes there was. But now there’s a secondary, makeshift fence surrounding the original, not-so-makeshift fence. The illusion of safety.

As you might imagine, the White House is a pretty big draw for tourists and today was no exception. I don’t know if there were more tourists than usual for this time of year but I suspect so. I say that because I saw more than a few people wearing Seattle Seahawks’ jerseys – the Seahawks are in town for Monday Night Football. Adding to that is the start of playoff baseball in Washington. It’s a big weekend for sports in Washington. I considered going to the baseball game but playoff tickets from scalpers are more than a little outside of the budget.

So, back to the whirlwind tour. After taking the typical photos of the White House, I resumed my journey to the Mall. Side note: My timing was a little off today. About 30 minutes after I left the White House, Marine One (the presidential helicopter) landed at the White House – taking off again shortly thereafter. I was that close to a presidential sighting. Oh well.

Despite the overcast day, the Mall is a very impressive sight. My original plan of starting at the Lincoln Memorial didn’t work out only because I just happened to arrive at the Washington Memorial along the way. From there I headed west to the Lincoln Memorial – passing the World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool along the way.

The Lincoln Memorial is rather impressive. In addition to the giant statue of Lincoln, there’s also a giant display of the Gettysburg address. As speeches go, it really is a good one. Yes, that’s my brilliant observation of the day. I didn’t stay as long as I had planned inside the Memorial as apparently I wasn’t supposed to have my bicycle up there. I don’t know why. Not wanting to leave my bicycle unattended I opted to move along. There was still a lot to see.

My next destination was the United States Capitol which was back towards (and beyond) the Washington Monument. Along the way I passed the Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Smithsonian Institute and, well … many other such sights. I had planned to go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum but then I got sidetracked. I’ll let the photo gallery best sum up the rest of the sights.

After riding by many of the sights in the Mall (but by all means not all of them), a thought occurred to me. Yes, it happens occasionally. I wondered if the Pentagon was within cycling distance. It was. Even though I suspected the Pentagon would be a little bit disappointing, I went anyway – which is why I missed the Air and Space Museum. I say I suspected the Pentagon would be disappointing only because the beauty of the Pentagon is in seeing it from above. Not really possible on a bicycle. And tours of the Pentagon need to be booked two weeks in advance. That also wasn’t going to happen. That said, I’m glad I went. It really is an impressive building. The downside is there are “No Photography” signs posted everywhere. The illusion of safety.

Getting to the Pentagon required me to cross over from D.C. to Virginia. Once there I was very close to Arlington National Cemetery, which became my last stop of the day. Ending a day of sightseeing at a cemetery may not be the most uplifting end to a day but it was certainly memorable. And perhaps the highlight of the day. As much as a cemetery visit can be a highlight. Oddly enough, despite not having been here since I was eight, the tomb of the unknown soldier was pretty much as I remembered it.

The evening ended with an excellent (and filling) dinner with Nicole and her sister, at her sister’s place. Well, it ended with dinner and watching the Nationals lose a close one to the Giants. After the game it was suggested that I stay in D.C. for another day so I could take in Game 2 of the series tomorrow evening. Hmmmmmm … tempting, but likely not in the budget. I’ll have to consult my accountant.

Despite this being a non-travel day, I still managed to put another 45 km on the bike. Not bad for a day off. It’s tempting to stay in Washington longer to actually go inside some of the museums but the cooler nights and the falling leaves are a constant reminder that I really need to continue my way further south. Hopefully once I reach the Carolinas I won’t have to be as concerned about the weather. But for now, I am.