Day-10 .. DC - memorials, museums, explorations

It's spring break EVERYWHERE !   There are over 150 charter and school buses around the National Mall.   I changed my plan for today.   I will visit the memorials and then see if the National American History Museum was busy.   It was not as windy today, still a little chilly in the morning.  Windbreaker needed.   Started out at 45-deg.  .. ended up at 69-deg.

Rode my bike behind the Smithsonian Castle and thought this scene needed to be in the blog.

don't forget to check out the gardens behind the castle .. very pretty

Started at the Jefferson Memorial.   Across-the-tidal-basin it looked neat.

large group in front - getting instructions 

Lincoln memorial was mobbed so I biked over to the Vietnam Memorial and walked my bike reading as many of the names as I could.   There were hundreds of school kids making tracings.   I think their teachers gave them specific names and which 'block' they were on.

National American History Museum is unbelievable!   EVERYTHING's there!  From the 1600's to today .. on many subject and object groups.  Thousands and thousands of items in these collections.  A massive museum.  Here's some pic's:

Whoops, I guess I focused on industrial equipment ...
Another favorite of mine was .. nautical ...

Did you know that we have a [Smithsonian] FAMOUS person in our family ?
Ft.Collins was highlighted, front and center, in the INNOVATION section, and Marty's picture was and is still there!  .. for the whole world to gaze upon.

I had fun biking through several sections of DC, Foggy Bottom, Penn Quarter, Chinatown, and Capitol Hill, in order to get to the SURPRISE find of the trip!  The POSTAL MUSEUM!   Next time you're in DC you HAVE to see it!   First, here's some pic's on my way to it.

here it is,  you'll see why it needs to be this large !

RA & David -   you remember our trip to London and being surprised at how good the 'Museum of London' (next to St.Paul's) was??   This museum will also surprise you.   Who would think .. The Postal Museum?

First, it's all about the stamps :

an expensive stamp, right ?

two walls with slide out trays of stamps, ALL kinds!

Then, on another floor, American History revisited, to show how we delivered mail, from the 1700's to today :

mail trains

stagecoach and airplane delivery

A very fun museum.   A must see.   No crowds whatsover.
It was late in the afternoon, and instead of going to The Nationals baseball game, I needed to bike several miles to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.   Vania had tipped me off at breakfast about free concerts given every day at 6-pm.   So off I went.   Performing tonight was The Shenandoah University Trombone Collective.   They were amazing!   A great way to cap off another long exciting day experiencing Washington DC!

Tomorrow, I'll maybe limit my exploits to the Library of Congress if I still plan on driving over to Salisbury to watch a college D3 lacrosse game.