Washington DC
23 April 2017 | Washington DC
Belinda & Kit
Picture Shows 'Abe' in the Abraham Lincoln Memorial
More pics at; https://goo.gl/photos/kEtH33McW3RTn3qS9
Shortly after we arrived in the Washington Channel we were invited over to the Capital Yacht Club by Scott Berg, who'd noticed our OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) burgee. Scott is a past Commodore of the Seven Seas Cruising Association, a US organisation affiliated to the British OCC, and will shortly be OCC Port Officer for Washington. Scott was very helpful during our stay and kindly helped us with a battery problem. Our OCC burgee is often recognised and because of it we've met some great people as we've travelled up the coast of the US.
We really enjoyed looking around Washington DC, we took our time and visited a few of the principal attractions each day. The weather was quite changeable with sunny hot days interspersed with wet grey days - a bit like the UK but warmer when the sun shone! We arrived just in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival although there had been a waterspout through the basin the previous week that stripped all the blossom from the trees. The festival was a small affair on the waterfront with lots of food stalls and a couple of bands, but the fireworks at night were spectacular and we had a great view from the boat!
The National Mall stretches 2 miles from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument about halfway between. All along the Mall are huge buildings, many resembling Greek Temples, that house National Museums, Art Galleries, and monuments. There are sculpture gardens, the National Botanic Gardens and parkland. Much of this is part of the Smithsonian Institute, and most have free admission. The Smithsonian Institute was funded by an Englishman, James Smithson, who never visited America but left $500,000 to found an 'establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge' in 1826.
Perhaps what is most impressive is the huge scale of all this - and of course the space around all the buildings, the US does have lots of space!
Amongst the sites we visited were Capitol Hill, The Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington Monument (you have to get close to appreciate the size), and the American Indian Museum, National Art Galleries (modern and traditional), Smithsonian Castle, Arthur Sackler Gallery, Freer Gallery, Union Station (an amazing building) and of course the White House, (well, we had to didn't we?).
We walked miles but also used the buses and Metro (underground). The Metro is not as extensive as London Underground but covers the central area. The stations, although modern, are huge and very dark and dour. Unlike London there is no advertising so all you can look at is grey concrete - who'd have thought we'd miss advertising!!
Away from the big tourist attractions the areas we liked most were the Eastern Market Area with paved, tree-lined streets, an open market, street musicians and interesting shops, and Dupont Circle with cool cafes and bars.
...and speaking of bars we found an Indian restaurant close to our moorings that has a Happy Hour for both drinks and small portions of lovely food - a great place to relax after a tiring day being tourists! We had many interesting conversations in there; people were very friendly and interested in exchanging views when they realised we're British.
After two weeks we were ready to move on; the constant hum of the city and the drone of planes landing at Ronald Reagan Airport - not to mention White House helicopters flying overhead up the Washington Channel - was beginning to gall.
Just as we planned to leave there were a couple of days of bad weather which delayed our departure. The pressure was so low that on high tide the water came right up over the wall and into the park next to the Channel (see google pics).
These tidal inundation events are becoming more common apparently - Climate Change doubters take note!!!