Final day in DC

Hi all,

Today was sadly our final day in DC. Rob, Maria and I set off for the National Arboretum first. It was opened in 1927 and has lots of different gardens and sections. We saw some koi in a pond at the Visitor Centre, and then headed to the Capitol Columns. These columns were part of the State Capitol building, but were removed during an extension of a particular wing. They were kept in storage from 1958 to 1984 before being displayed at the Arboretum. We also looked at a section with lots of beautiful late blooming azaleas.

Our next stop was the National Portrait Gallery. We got a parking space right nearby for free as it was Memorial Day (a public holiday) here. This was really interesting, and free like so many other museums in Washington DC. The first portrait we saw was of a man named Jose Andres, a cook who goes to the sites where natural disasters etc have occurred and cooks for those affected. The museum opened in 1968 and exhibits portraits of individuals who have significantly influenced US history and culture. We explored a section of the ground level that had Civil War era paintings in it and also some portraits from revolutionary times and of great inventors. Then we headed upstairs and went to the ‘America’s Presidents’ gallery which had a portrait of each American president in chronological order from the beginning. At the end of every presidency the gallery commissions portraits of the president and their spouse for the collection. When that President is no longer in office or running for re-election, the museum displays it.

After the gallery we had lunch at Chick-fil-a, which Maria and Eric love and wanted us to try before we left. It’s fried chicken, and we had some nuggets and a chicken sandwich. The chick-fil-a sauce was delicious!

Our final stop of the day was the Air and Space Museum. Rob and I had each been here previously but they’ve been undergoing lots of renovations and updates since I was last here in January 2017. Rob had half the museum closed in February 2020, and half of it was still closed today. But we each saw lots of new displays and enjoyed looking at the many planes and space memorabilia on display. Exhibitions of note were about the Wright Brothers, the Space Race and how our lives impact the solar system and our planet. The Wright Brothers and early flight sections made me reflect on how lucky we are to fly places relatively cheaply and safely these days. In the first three years of public flying (1908, 1909 and 1910), 33 people died which is crazy! We also read that Alaska has six times the pilots and 16 times the aircraft per capita than other states due to limited roads between major towns, which was interesting.

Afterwards, we had an ice cream at 'Jeni's' on the way home (delish!!) and then Eric cooked us dinner, some yummy chicken and vegetables with a salad too.

I'm so sad to leave Maria, Eric and Wonton. It's been so fabulous spending time with them along with Rob. The four of us get on so well and I feel really sad to say goodbye to them. Rob and I have to get up at 3am tomorrow for our flight to Los Angeles - yuck! Our final two nights are in Santa Monica.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox