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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Washington
in the Fall We chose exactly the right time to visit this beautiful city. The trees were resplendent in their fall colours and the weather was bright and sunny with none of the dismal November skies we had left behind in England. Our hotel was a modest Travelodge with what I christened a George B bath. If one runs more than 5 inches of water, a ten stone getting in would probably have quite a displacement flood. However, we did get breakfast which is not the usual practice in US hotels. Also, there was a shuttle service which took us into Union Station each day for the start of our sightseeing. From the top of Capitol Hill, Washington DC must look like a many pointed star. The East-West roads are in alphabetical sequence while the North-South streets are numerical. Diagonal roads are named after the 48 states as Avenues with the exception of California Street and Ohio Road. One interesting fact we were told by the tour operator was that, for the inauguration of the President, the traffic signs and lights along Pennsylvania Avenue are removed, and reinstalled the following day. I queried this as it did not seem to be generally known by Washingtonians, but the next time we drove along that route, it was obvious that the lights were on bases screwed into the paving stones, so that they could be removed without too much trouble. I recently joined an international organisation called Servas through whom one can make contacts with like-minded people as one travels. Thereby, courtesy of a lady who had worked in the Library of Congress for 30 years and who lived nearby, we spent the first morning being escorted around the Capitol area and the Library of Congress. The enormous area of space over which all the National Monuments and buildings are located is awesome to British visitors, accustomed as we are to having 1,000 years of history in the obstacle position to every step of forward change (progress?) The plan for the Library of Congress took 30 years to complete under the jurisdiction of George Washington, then about another ten years to erect and it bears evidence to this wide open area on which an ambitious layout was spread. The building itself defeats all superlatives. We were told of enormous millions of books, 85 miles of shelves and numerous Reading Rooms (each one almost matching the British Museum) for every specialism which human life, our earth and the human mind can cover. Our guide did more than justice to the history and symbolic splendour of this superb edifice with its function as a cathedral to honour and utilise human knowledge and the written word in every language and culture. For fuller details I refer you to the guidebooks and websites. Our next
day was spent riding the Old Town Trolley. The first stop is at Union
Station which is clean, magnificent in marble tiles and pillars with a
city inside of shopping malls, food courts and other services as well
as the access to the trains which are its raison d’être. Outside is the impressive Christopher Columbus monument around which the traffic circulates. It honours the vision of this pioneer in opening up the new world with statues portraying the old and new and his conviction that our earth was round. Alongside the square the flags of all the States are flown in the order of their joining the Union, plus the dependencies Puerto Rico, Guam etc. Some of the name plaques appeared to have been removed - vandalism? From here one can walk through an area of beautiful houses, some recalling New England, other reminding me of New Orleans. Many of them had historic associations or famous residents in this or previous generations. We stopped at the White House visitor centre, the Lincoln memorial and reflecting pool and Chinatown. I found this disappointing having seen the one in New York. Georgetown is a lovely area with a lot of character. There were many tall, narrow houses; as the guide explained, they had originally been taxed according to road frontage. At the White House visitor centre, I caused quite a holdup at security as I’d been tucking bits and pieces into my pockets. So I felt like Just William when I had to empty everything to full view, but the staff were polite and patient. To visit the White House itself, one has to go through one’s Senator or Embassy, with about a year’s notice required. The visitor centre has much information in the form of pictures and exhibits reflecting the opulence and splendour as well as giving much information about all the State visits and other important events which have taken place in this prestigious centre. It shows examples of how the building has been modified by all the former Presidents and their first ladies. On leaving, I looked for somewhere to sit. As I wandered across some steps, I was surprised to see a workman laying what appeared to be interlocking rubber carpet squares on the concrete. I said, “Excuse me if this is a stupid question: but what are you doing?” He said, “They come down in ice skates and it would be dangerous without these.” I then realised there was a large central kiosk ahead and notices saying that ice skating would commence from 1 December. There was a large area like a paddling pool which was obviously going to be covered with ice. It was a lovely well-treed square with many coloured lights being hung, so I guess it is now looking like a skaters’ fairyland. Another trip was to sail on the Spirit of Washington, a cruise tour which takes one along the Potomac and we thus saw all the waterfront area. We were informed that the word Potomac means trading post. Anything less like the wigwams, teepees and wooden palisades which this term conjures up, one cannot imagine. We saw the many impressive buildings of Government and National Corporation Headquarters as well as the rather boring outline of the Pentagon, a bit like a bunkered air-raid shelter. I guess the Trading Post has moved on somewhat. Another day was spent on a trip to Mount Vernon, the George Washington estate and place where he died. We first visited the church which he attended in Alexandria. To my surprise it was plain, all white and the pews all numbered and enclosed as in the days of rented pews, so the tourist attraction was to be photographed in the George Washington pew. Mount Vernon has an impressive view over the Potomac and covers a large area. It was a well-organised estate (now run by the ladies of Mount Vernon) similar to that of our earlier gentleman farmers. One thing which surprised me was the overall evidence of slave labour used on the estate. Stemming from the birthplace of William Wilberforce, I had managed to forget somehow about the date of their Civil War and the much later date of emancipation in the USA. Earlier I had been talking to a lady who claimed that her origins dated back to a slave bought from China, and I had doubted that her research could have been accurate. But, of course, it was feasible and her English surname genuinely recalled an English gentry family. I would have liked to spend more time at the Smithsonian as well as the rest of Washington, which covers such a large area. I managed only one museum, the Museum of Indian Culture. This is a yellow building shaped like three or four grand pianos cantilevered on top of one another with an enormous beehive attached and waterfalls around it. I learned a little from the many displays, but feel it is necessary to spend much more time to do justice to the colossal amount of information and exhibits. From here, I went on to Texas for Thanksgiving and then back to the UK. First published in VISA issue 60 (April 2005) |