Vanessa's Vacations: Washington D.C., Part 2

In the second part of my Washington D.C., vacation series I will be touching on museums that tourists should visit that are around the National Mall.

The White House

The White House was built between 1792 and 1800. John Adams, our second president and his wife Abigail took occupancy in November, 1800.

Although the rooms are beautifully decorated and there is a great deal of information to absorb from the 20-minute self-guided tour, getting into the White House is not like it used to be. You must request admission through your U.S. representative or senator. And you will be notified a week before the tour. That’s if it’s available. 

Also a reminder, if you take the tour, you cannot take anything in. No back packs. No cameras. Just your driver’s license and cell phone(still no pics.) Don’t try to slip anything pass Secret Service. You won’t win. And if you try and cause a fiasco, you just may shut dwon the capital.

I did learn if you are with a group, you can split up. Let them hold your belongings while you take the tour and vice versa.  This avoids having to go back and forth to the hotel.

Museums

The Smithsonian Museums are free. We went to the National Museum of American History, Air and Space Museum and the Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center.

Our favorite exhibits at the American History Museum were Dorothy's ruby red slippers she wore in The Wizard of Oz, the Julia Child exhibit (my future Cake Boss Maddy loved it), Fonzi’s jacket he wore on Happy Days, the Star Spangled Banner exhibit and the first ladies gowns. 

The Air and Space Museum and it’s Apollo missions were a hit with my daughter Abby, who one day wants to be an aerospace engineer/astronaut. The Wright Brothers' plane is also there. 

At the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is at the Dulles Airport, we took a two-hour docent tour. The tour guide was very knowledgable and well worth the time. But the tour could not answer why Joliet’s John Houbolt wasn’t credited for the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous at the museum. If it wasn’t for the LOR, the Apollo 11 landing of the moon may have not happened.

Highlights of the tour were the Concorde, the Lockheed SR-71 BlackBird; the fastest jet ever built and the space shuttle Enterprise, which was built to perform test flights in the atmosphere. Since it was built without engines or a functional heat shield, it never went into space. 

Our tour of the U.S. Capitol Building  was with interns from the office of  U.S. Representative, Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). The tour can be done on your own, but we received more information about the building through a private tour.

 Included in the tour was the entrance into the Old House and Senate, as well as the current House of Representatives quarters. In the Rotunda are statues from each state. Ronald Reagan’s includes pieces of the Berlin Wall.  And Illinois has President Abraham Lincoln.

The Library of Congress houses a collection of books from Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection. It includes books from gardening and winemaking, to history, philosophy and chemistry. Downstairs, by the gift shop, there is a tunnel connecting to the Capitol Building. Use this to avoid long lines.

The original copies of the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives.

If your a Lincoln buff, do not miss going to the Ford’s Theater. Tickets are free but are on a first-come basis. To ensure entrance, we purchased the audio tour for $9 per person via Ticketmaster. It included an audio tour of the museum and entrance to the theater to hear a park ranger talk about the night Lincoln was assassinated.

On display in the museum is the gun John Wilkes Booth used to shoot the president and the blood-stained pillow that propped the head of the dying Lincoln.

 The theater is still housing shows today and the museum is not always open when the museum is. Check their website before you decide to visit.