My trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this month was one of the best my husband and I have ever taken.
He had been there four times, but not in 20 years. We flew out on our anniversary, Oct. 10, and after we arrived, we changed and took off walking from our hotel to the National Mall. It was 90 degrees, and we walked 11 miles that day, according to my husband’s Fitbit.
Iconic features, like the Lincoln Memorial and the White House, look much more impressive in real life. The massiveness of them just doesn’t translate through the TV or newspaper photos. Seeing an armed guard in front of the White House gate while schoolchildren and families get their photos made is a little surreal.
It was a whirl of art galleries and museums and soaking in every bit of history we could. I found myself trying to memorize information and test myself, but calling that experience overwhelming is an understatement.
I knew that John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the Ford Theater, but I did not know the president was with Maj. Henry Rathbone, or about all the co-conspirators. The dry-witted Parks Service guy, Steve, who told the story onstage was great and combined history with humor.
I have to admit that I had never heard of Resurrection City, organized by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which brought 3,000 poor people to live for six weeks in tents and wooden structures on the National Mall to protest poverty.
I loved the gorgeous Hope Diamond and cases full of dazzling gems, jewels and crystals, including three huge slabs of quartz from Hot Springs from the 1940s. I saw two creepy, fascinating mummies and the plane the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk.
My favorite part of the National Air and Space Museum, however, was an exhibit of art depicting soldiers and scenes from World War I, created by professional artists and the soldiers themselves. The museum was packed, but the room with the artwork was almost empty. I was amazed as I looked at the artwork, including photographs of stone carvings — only recently discovered, because they were mostly on private land — made by soldiers living underground in former stone quarries. Some of the artwork was extremely detailed.
The National Portrait Gallery was a surprise — seeing pictures of people I’d never heard of, but who contributed hugely to the world, like African-American medical researcher Dr. Charles Drew, who made groundbreaking discoveries in the storage and processing of blood for transfusions and managed blood banks during World War II. I also saw portraits of presidents (LBJ called his the “ugliest thing he ever saw” and wouldn’t accept it, so the artist donated it to the gallery) and actresses, such as Katherine Hepburn, whose Oscars were also on display.
The Newseum was my favorite, and we spent 4 1/2 hours there and still didn’t look at everything. You don’t have to be a journalist to appreciate and enjoy the amazing displays there. It has the largest display of unaltered portions of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany; front pages throughout history, including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s and dozens of others from 9/11; and artifacts from the World Trade Center that were found. I loved the FBI room because I am a true-crime fan.
We didn’t make it to the Holocaust Museum or the African-American Museum or several others.
I just wish I’d visited D.C. years ago when I had more than 10 brain cells left, but I plan to go back. The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. I’ve got a lot to learn, but better late than never.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.