(Washington, D.C., U.S.A.)

I went a little crazy today on Washington’s National Mall.

First up was a tour of the U.S. Capitol building (pictured above).  This is similar to Canada’s Parliament buildings, with a lot more marble.  I had to apply for this in advance and, given all of the security and complicated logistics, the tour itself was somewhat underwhelming.  It’s a remarkable building but, after a 15 minute video, the tour itself was barely 30 minutes long and was extremely crowded.  The tour nonetheless reinforced how Canada and the U.S.A. arose from very different circumstances and how those differences continue to shape our respective countries today.

Already growing weary of the security measures at every site, I took advantage of the fact that I could take a shortcut tunnel to the Library of Congress and not go through another metal detection process.  The Library of Congress is another opulent structure with a couple of special items…including an original Gutenberg bible.  Oh yes, it also contains basically every book,  recording and document ever published.

Growing hungry, I remembered that the nearby National Museum of the American Indian had a very highly regarded cafeteria.  I decided to eat food from the Northern Woodlands; my main course was maple-brined turkey with cherry marmalade and it was very good.  I’m really glad that I decided to see the museum after lunch, as it had extensive displays from not only the U.S. but also from indigenous peoples throughout North and South America.

There were some common themes in the exhibits – in particular, a number of different groups had philosophies based on the four points of the compass.  In fact, the Anishinaabe of Manitoba have a legend about a man who travels extensively in each of the four directions in order to bring wisdom back to a tribe that has lost its way.  I have come across the theme of travel as a valuable means of learning quite a bit recently.

Next up was a visit to the top of the Old Post Office building.  With the Washington Monument closed, this was a good alternative way to see the National Mall from above.

From there, I dashed over to the National Archives.  The chief attractions there were a trio of original American documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution) and an original Magna Carta from the 13th century.  While it was great to see these “star attractions”, there were also many other worthwhile items.  I particularly enjoyed the exhibit on “signatures” – it turns out even celebrities like to get autographs from other celebrities!

I was getting quite tired by this point, but nonetheless proceeded to the National Air & Space Museum as it was open late.  It was sobering to see the nuclear missiles (both Soviet and American) as well as the spacecraft from the Apollo/Soyuz joint mission of the mid-1970s.   Other notable exhibits included an actual lunar landing module and a series of photographs from Mars.

Objectively, this was probably too much sightseeing for one day.  However, all of the above sights are free and are located within easy walking distance of one another.   I am treating this as a “first cut” at Washington:  Louise and I will undoubtedly return before long, so I now have some ideas about what deserves a closer second look and what is of relatively lesser interest.

I’m very excited about tomorrow.  I’ll be exploring a new (museum-free) neighbourhood…and finally seeing something special that I began setting up two months ago!