Spring Break, Part III -- Washington DC and Environs

After driving all over southern Virginia and then southern Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) for the better part of three days, we stayed at a Holiday Inn a block away from the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, which made our enjoyment of the National Mall so much easier.

This is truly one of the great places on the planet. Where else can you see George Washington's camp cook set and one of his dress uniforms, the Flag that flew when the Star Spangled Banner was written, the Magna Carta (one of the originals), the Declaration of Independence (the original), the Constitution (an original) the Bill of Rights (original), the Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis, and the space capsule that went to the moon and back, all without even getting in your car?   I have always wondered: how is it that a nation made up of peoples from all over the world, with different and often conflicting religions, cultures, and histories, and even speaking different languages, somehow coheres into one common country that achieves so richly?

I don't really know all the answers to that, except that whatever it is, it resides here, on the National Mall, and in this great city. Here is our narrative, our value statement, our place of common pride, which every person should visit and experience as fully as they possibly can.  Because this country, for all of its warts and yahoo idiots that can occupy the halls of government, is truly the wonder of the planet.  Here resides the beating heart of freedom, side by side with reverence for the rule of laws made by the people, of the people, and for the people.  It is the audacious dream that collective betterment comes by and through freedom, rather than in surpression of it.  That implies a lot of individual responsibility to fellow citizens--obligations of civility, fairness, hard work, individuality and self-reliance.  There is no question that the phrase "the hard work of democracy" should always have the emphasis placed on the word "hard," but all it takes is one trip to the National Mall to know that it is worth it. Here are some highlights from our trip there.

We started at The Air and Space Museum:

Orville in a replica of the Flyer (Wilbur crashed on the first attempt)

Kate, Alden, Wilbur and Orville

Replica of the Wright Flyer -- gives you a perspective on its size. 

Now here are the kids and the Apollo 11 Capsule that went to the moon.  How is this for a perspective:  just 66 years from the Wright Flyer to setting foot on the moon and returning successfully.  If that does not drop your jaw to the floor, then nothing will.  Our country is amazing.  What can the future possibly hold?

From the Air and Space we went next door to a relatively new addition to the Mall -- the Native American Museum.

The Pottery exhibit they had here was amazing. All from central america -- so colorful and intricate in their art.

This papoose was from the Ute Indian tribe, in our neck of the woods.

From there, it was monuments, monuments and more monuments.  First up was a lovely little island in the middle of a pond with exemplars of all the signatures from the Declaration of Independence carved into stone. (Keegan is running around the island in the second photo in this post).  From there, it was on to the Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, Martin Luther King, and World War II memorials.

Signer's Island

The Vietnam memorial. I was here when President Reagan dedicated it in 1984. It was a rainy veterans day.  We all had to pass through metal detectors, and I have never seen so many guns, knives and handgrenades (I kid you not) in my life. It is quite an experience to be with hundreds of thousands of Vietnam Vets.

Keegan really and truly loves his brother, and nothing makes me happier.

There are very few places I know that feel as much like a temple as this spot does. The reverence and hushed voices that pervade this place are amazing considering all the people that come.

Two great girls in a great place.

The Korean War Memorial is very interesting.  Kind of like the Vietnam, only not quite. I did love this quote though:

The MLK memorial is new since I was here last. He really is one of my personal heros.  It takes so much to go through what he did and not hate. Just amazing. I didn't really like the likeness of him -- too stern and condemning, in my view, but the monument itself is great. One of my favorite quotes of all time is this one:

Such a handsome, good boy.

Last but not least, we went to the World War II memorial. I love the place they gave it on the Mall, but I am not sure the memorial does justice to that greatest generation. They really need a very talented artist to do something amazing.  Hopefully one day. That said, there are some favorite parts, such as the quote Kate stands next to below:

This one was also pretty special for Aldy--he has been in love with aircraft carriers lately, and consequently, has devoured everything he can learn about the battle of Midway.  He enjoyed sitting in this spot.

And with that, we ended our first day in the Nation's capital city.  More to come.

A Very Bailey Spring Break, Part II -- Jamestown and Gettysburg

After enjoying Williamsburg, we took the short drive to Jamestown to see the replica ships and the environs of America's first English colony (est. 1607), home of John Smith, Pocahontas, and all that.  The kids loved it. The replicas are exact, the historical actors are spot on and very informative, and the Fort and Indian village provide a great education.  Add a lovely setting, and you have the makings of a hit.  Here are a few more pictures.

We all had fun exploring the interior of the largest ship, the Susan Constant.

I have no idea how they kept track of all the ropes.  They are innumerable and seem to go every which ways. Who knows which one does what?

Aldy manning the cannon.  Needs to lower it a bit or he could sink us.

The tiller, which is not attached to a wheel at all -- just a stick that moves back and forth above deck.  Who knew that America was colonized before ships had steering wheels?

Alden loves ships, particularly battleships and aircraft carriers, but even an old sailing ship makes him feel right at home.  Is that a contented smile or what?  I think he may be a navy man before it is over.

Wicciups of the Algonquin tribes that inhabited the area.

Alden got lessons in canoe making, the OLD fashioned way -- with rocks, shells, fire and a downed tree.  The kids loved these hollowed out logs.

The Fort at Jamestown, faithfully reconstructed. Just a postage stamp of a foothold in a whole new world.

You can't believe the steps they had to go through just to fire a gun.  Too bad that is not the state of technology these days -- would lead to less shooting victims, I am sure.

From Jamestown, we headed up to Gettysburg, PA.  Kate has been pestering us to visit for nearly two years, ever since she saw the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, and given that she was almost half way through The Battle Cry of Freedom, it was pretty hard to deny the request.

Not that we wouldn't have come anyway.  Gettysburg is one of those special places where our country and freedom hung in the balance, and prevailed by a hair's breadth and substantial . . . Providence, fate, luck, or whatever you want to call it. Irrespective the label, it teaches the same thing . . . Freedom and this amazing land are fragile and precious, and like all things rare, unique or valuable, are purchased at great cost.  So much more I would like to say, but if Lincoln decided that three paragraphs (one only a sentence long) were enough, who am I to write more. Instead, just a few photos to give you a sense of the place.

 We found this map to be very helpful in orienting ourselves. The battle actually started the first day, on the other side of the town, but Confederate forces soon chased Union lines back through the town and up to Cemetery Hill, which would be the same spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address a few months later.  Here is evidence of the battle in the town (see the original bullet holes in the wall).

We hired a guide through the visitor center, who provided a nice overview tour (even driving our car for us).  He explained that these cannon had a range of two miles, as far away as the far tree line. This is near Cemetery Hill, one of the early turning points, where the Union forces first stopped Confederate advances and thus laid the scene for the two days of battle to follow.

Here is a view of the Peach Orchard and Big and Little Round Tops, the site of the next big turning point, where the unbelievable heroics of the Massachusetts and New York infantries kept determined Confederate charges from taking over these vantage points, which would have rendered the entire Union front vulnerable to capture or if lucky, a pell mell retreat.

This is the Devils Den, where Confederate soldiers repeatedly pressed up hill against Union positions, making it a blood bath.

Alden and Keegan scrambling about on the Devils Den. I'm sure every one of the soldiers on both sides were just this innocent and beautiful at one time.  What happens, I wonder, to change us so, and leave kids like this, just a decade on, lying in pools of blood, heaped among rocks, in a place far from home?

The scene of Pickett's Charge, on the third and final day of battle. Imagine 12,000 men, screaming and running towards you, across this mile long field.  Lee thought the Union lines would be weak at the center (the low spot in the lines) and so sent his entire force at once across this great divide between the armies. Before the day was out, 7,000 o f those 12,000 would be dead or wounded in this place.  So many, on both sides, that their graves, later placed on Cemetery ridge, were only marked by numbers, or headstones like this:

Such was the site that greeted Lincoln, as he delivered these words:

Next up, Washington D.C.