Washington DC on foot, part 2

It had been a long day of walking on Day 1: The National Mall from the Capitol to the Potomac River, however the boys were still excited about our second day in Washington DC, which would feature a little less walking and a little more exploring...

Day 2: Ford's Theater, the Old Post Office Tower and the International Spy Museum

With the Washington Monument closed until 2019, there are few options to get a bird’s-eye view of the National Mall, so a visit to the Old Post Office Clock Tower was an easy decision. While the Old Post Office is currently used as the Trump International Hotel, the tower is still operated by National Park Service. However, to enter visitors must circle around to the back and enter through the doors next to the Starbucks. 

Admission is free, and the tower observation deck is open Thursday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm (closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas). Dating back to 1899, it was used as the city’s main post office until 1914. Nearly torn down once in the 1920s and a second time in the 1970s, Trump redeveloped the property into a luxury hotel in 2016. The Old Post Office Clock Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 1973.

In September of 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told (his friend) Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter "If any memorial is erected to me, I know exactly what I should like it to be. I would like it to consist of a block about the size of this (referring to his desk) and placed in the center of that green plot in front of the Archives Building. I don't care what it is made of... but I want it plain without any ornamentation, with the simple carving, 'In Memory of _____.'" I would say they fulfilled his wishes exactly, if not for the enormous Memorial on the Tidal Basin... 

We admired the simple stone and the facade of the National Archives, and then crossed Pennsylvania Avenue. A main artery of DC, Pennsylvania Avenue is a National Historic Site and a unit of National Mall & Memorial Parks. This unique site preserves locations related to the creation of the Federal City, Presidential Inaugurations and other historically significant events.

Across the street from the FDR Stone and the National Archives is the US Navy Memorial and Plaza. Daily interpretive programs at 10am and 2pm meet at the Navy Memorial, an opportunity to learn more about Pennsylvania Avenue and its many impressive memorials. If you can't catch a program, explore on your own. Stanly Bleifield's famous statue, The Lone Sailor overlooks the Granite Sea, a map depicting the world's oceans, using an azimuthal projection centered on Washington, DC. Surrounding the Granite Sea are two fountain pools honoring the personnel of the American Navy and the other navies of the world, and 26 bronze high reliefs commemorating events, personnel, and communities of the various sea services.

Continuing north. On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at the box seat at Ford’s Theater. Timed-entry tickets let you see the site, although the theater still holds performances so call ahead/arrive early to guarantee you can get in. The basement museum has Booth’s pistol on display, but we crossed the street to the visitor center that also has displays and interactive exhibits. Adjacent is the Peterson House, where President Lincoln spent his final hours before passing away at 7:22am the following morning; the house was closed to tours on our visit, but the visitor center provided insight into the timeline of events, the aftermath, and the fateful event itself.

Ford’s Theater was the second opportunity for the boys to complete a Jr. Ranger booklet in DC, and I recommend a stop even if not able to secure tickets for the theater tour. After the previous day's mileage the boys were happy to find that our next destination was just around the corner... 

All books about President Lincoln!

If you are a James Bond movie fan you’ll be interested in visiting the International Spy Museum. All sorts of undercover tools of the trade are on display. Although advertised as being a ‘kid favorite,’ my sources suggested it might be a bit heavy on signs with dense text and lighter on the fun displays my kids were looking for. As a happy middle ground we skipped the $23/adult entrance fee and hit the gift shop instead, allowing the boys to browse all the coolest gear and gadgets without the lengthy reading required in the museum. Whether our visit inspired Lauris to choose a spy theme for his eight birthday is a mystery, but I know that reverse-mirrored glasses and secret codes have been the norm around our house since.

On our way east we stopped in at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. That morning we had heard a portion of a ceremony in passing, as fallen LE officers from the previous year were being honored - we didn't want to intrude and watched from a distance. This time in passing we had the Memorial to ourselves, and after a reflective stroll through the shaded walks we turned once more towards our hotel.

One final memorial I would like to mention is the Victims of Communism Memorial. The Memorial is in honor of the more than 100 million men, women and children that were struck down by 20th century totalitarian regimes, and features a 10ft bronze replica of the Goddess of Democracy erected by students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.The design and statue are the work of sculptor Thomas Marsh, and the inscription reads "To the more than 100 million victims of communism and to those who love liberty" and "To the freedom and independence of all captive nations and peoples." Located at the intersection of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues and G St. NW within view of the US Capitol, the memorial was dedicated by President George W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of President Reagan's "tear down this wall" speech in front of the Berlin Wall with these words:

     ...(Victims) include innocent Ukrainians starved to death in Stalin's Great Famine; or Russians killed in Stalin's purges; Lithuanians and Latvians and Estonians loaded onto cattle cars and deported to Arctic death camps of Soviet Communism. They include Chinese killed in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; Cambodians slain in Pol Pot's Killing Fields; East Germans shot attempting to scale the Berlin Wall in order to make it to freedom; Poles massacred in the Katyn Forest; and Ethiopians slaughtered in the "Red Terror"; Miskito Indians murdered by Nicaragua's Sandinista dictatorship; and Cuban balseros who drowned escaping tyranny... We'll never know the names of all who perished, but at this sacred place, communism's unknown victims will be consecrated to history and remembered forever. We dedicate this memorial because we have an obligation to those who died, to acknowledge their lives and honor their memory."

Resources

There were three resources that I found invaluable for planning such a condensed trip, as well as getting the kids enthused about viewing ‘a bunch of monuments.’ The first is “Washington: The Nation’s Capital” brochure by the National park Service, featuring a large map of all the Park Service and public sites in addition to the location of information kiosks and restrooms. To get a copy contact the Park Service, or download a copy online.

Everyone knows it isn’t pleasant to carry around a heavy, cumbersome guidebook, and so I was relieved to find the Lonely Planet Make My Day: Washington, DC guidebook. A flip-and-match format allows you to get the meat of each attraction in a quick look, the fold-out map in the back is a complete city map with bikeshare & public transportation as well as street index, and a pocket in the back can store stamps, receipts or other important papers as you hike your way across the city.

Finally, the kids got into another Lonely Planet book, Washington, DC City Trails: Secrets, Stories and Other Cool Stuff. Reading about the National Mall beforehand allowed them to identify the monuments and memorials on our wanderings; did you know that the north wall of the Lincoln Memorial originally misspelled the word ‘future’ euture, and although it was fixed the mistake is still visible?

The last time we were in DC the boys were too small for much of a tour - see my previous Washington DC post here. Therefore, our goal was to pack as much as possible into our short time in the city, to get an overall perspective on DC and prepare for more in-depth exploration of museums and other sites on a future visit. A walking tour of the National Mall is an ideal way to see the city, and if you plan your route ahead you can see it all on foot, even with children; just be prepared with comfortable walking shoes, plenty of fluids, sunscreen, and patience to stop and rest as needed. We made it home from DC tired, but satisfied we had made good use of our time there, and we’ve already gotten the start of a list for our next visit: Theodore Roosevelt Island, Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon, the National Zoo…

Washington DC on foot, part 1

Washington DC. One of the rare big cities that you can explore for days, with kids in tow, without a car… Which is good, because the cost/headaches of parking are certainly discouraging, and public transportation isn’t an option in some cases. We found ourselves trailing Roberts recently to a conference in the Capital, and set out to see what we could see during our long weekend there.

Day 1: National Mall from the Capitol to the Potomac

It is only about 2.5 miles from one end to the other, but add on getting there, the various meanders, and a couple of side trips, and I estimate we walked at least 6 miles. From the hotel we headed to the US Capitol building, admired the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and Capitol Reflecting Pool then headed west.

While we weren’t exploring any of the museums on this particular visit, we did have our National Parks passports with, and the boys wanted to work on a Junior Ranger program. The easiest way to jump right into it is to contact the National Mall and Memorial Parks ahead of time to request a booklet; that way you won’t be walking from visitor center to bookstore to info station searching for the brochure. If this isn’t an option, your best bet is heading to one of the 5 ranger stations (see map mentioned in resources listed at the end of part 2 for locations). Stamping your passport can also be a challenge; while some monuments/memorials have info stations & bookstores that have the stamp, others do not. Some kiosks were closed, others didn’t have certain stamps. Tip: keep a list of which monuments etc. you visited and then make a stop at the Washington Monument Lodge – they have ALL the stamps.

The Mall is lined with national attractions: the Smithsonian Museums of American History, Natural History and National Air & Space Museum, among others. We haven’t visited any of them as of yet (although we did make it to the much larger Udvar-Hazy Center, which I definitely recommend as the more expansive sister museum of the National Air & Space Museum), with the idea that the boys will be better able to appreciate them when they are a little older. However we admired each grand building as we passed, discussing what was housed there and generating ideas for future trips.

From the 555 ft. tall Washington Monument (which remains closed for repairs) we turned north towards the White House. To request a WH tour, visitors must contact their state reps at least 3 months before travel. Even then it isn’t guaranteed you’ll get a ticket; we’ve tried three times, unsuccessfully. However depending on who is accompanying you, it might be worth walking up to Pennsylvania Avenue to get your photograph of the iconic building, before going over to the White House Visitor Center on the east side.

The visitor center is open from 7:30am until 4pm daily (except January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25), and admission is free. Visitors can explore an interactive touchscreen tour of the White House, view over 90 artifacts from the White House collection and a 15 minute film, and shop at the White House Historical Association retail store. Tip: Leave the pocket knives, food and water bottles at home to make it through security, or split your party in two – one group takes all the backpacks and walks over to take in the view of the White House from the north lawn while the other explores the Visitor Center. We made sure to stop at the Boy Scout Memorial just across the street from the visitor center, near the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion. You'll also encounter the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail which traces the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake.

Disappointed to see the Boy Scout Memorial in disrepair

After the obligatory selfies with the White House we circled the Ellipse and headed to the World War II Memorial. The day had heated up some (90°+ already!) and we stuck to the shaded trails while exploring the Constitution Gardens, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the DC War Memorial to completely circle the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Tip: this portion of the Mall is open 24 hours/day, so if you want to beat the heat schedule your visit for late in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere without the crowds.

The boys were starting to slow their gait, so we crossed the street and lingered in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial bookstore, enjoying the AC and browsing the titles acquiring ideas for books we would like to read. Once they had perked up we entered the MLK Jr. Memorial, studying the quotes engraved in the memorial and enjoying the view over the Tidal Basin. This is the National Mall’s first memorial dedicated to an African American, and to a nonpresident. Behind the Stone of Hope (MLK’s image) are two blocks that represent the Mountain of Despair; the piece was carved by sculptor Lei Yixin.

Continuing around the edge of the water (which just a month ago had been awash in cherry blossoms) we soon arrived at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Up until now we were more familiar with FDR’s cousin Teddy: from our visit to the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in NYC, his work in the field of conservation, and from reading books such as A Splendid Savage. This made it more interesting to tour the five outdoor “rooms” with their statues, quotes, water features and plantings, and I feel as if I learned a great deal. Overall the feel of the Memorial was more of a secluded corner of some extravagant botanical gardens, unusual for one of the more expansive memorials in the area.

At this point we called it quits, however we returned to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on Day 3 of our Washington DC stay. Only another ½ mile further, the circular, open-air domed structure is my favorite architecturally of the National Mall Memorials. Located opposite from the MLK Jr. Memorial on the Tidal Basin, it is a popular spot while the cherry blossoms are blooming, but not as crowded on a warm Sunday morning. While touring the cool interior my thoughts drifted to our visit to Jefferson’s Monticello a few years ago, parallels drawn between the domes and columns of the two structures…

To be continued...

(Part 2 of Washington DC on foot: Ford's Theater, the Old Post Office Tower and the International Spy Museum)

World-renowned potter as TCMU Artist in Residence

Senora Lynch learned how to make bead work, leather work and tribal clothing for pow wows as a young girl, however it was in pottery that she found her calling. She would sit with the grandmothers of the Haliwi-Saponi Indian Tribe while they worked, and by the age of 14 was assisting her Tribe’s elders with pottery classes.

It was twenty years later that pottery returned to the forefront of her life, creating her trademark style of hand-carved pottery after studying hand coiling with a tribal potter. After pounding red clay and rolling it into long ropes, she stacks and smooths the clay to form the desired vessel shape. The piece will be polished with a rock to make it smooth and shiny before etching in designs and finally firing it in a kiln.

Lauris creating a clay turtle at TCMU's art class

Lynch’s work has been exhibited at the NC Museum of History, the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Women Museum of the Arts, and she’s the youngest ever to receive the NC Folk Heritage Award for her work in promoting and preserving the culture of the Haliwa-Saponi people. You’ll find her ceramics on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.

We are honored to have this world-renowned artist in Greenville as the Artist in Residence at the Children’s Musuem of the Upstate this week! Ms. Lynch will be instructing classes during the Amazing Art Summer Camp until Friday, creating clay beads, turtles, bowls and corn maidens. Even if your children aren’t registered for summer camp, you still have a chance to join her afternoon art program today at 2:30. In addition to teaching the children about Native American art and pottery techniques, they will together create clay turtles.

FLOTUS in the garden!

The First Lady has made it a priority to leave a garden-to-table, healthy-foods-in-the-schools legacy. The “Let’s Move” initiative, which started with the 1,100 square foot vegetable garden on the South Lawn, originally developed when Mrs. Obama realized her daughters Malia and Sasha were not eating rounded meals (a lot of eating out and snacking). The garden now produces more than 55 varieties of vegetables that are not only incorporated into White House meals, but also donated to the local soup kitchen and food bank.

source: here

A White House garden is by no means a novel idea: the second President John Adams (and First Lady Abigail) planted the first White House garden in 1800, Roosevelt planted a victory garden during WWII to promote the use of gardens by American citizens in a time of possible food scarcity, and most recently Hillary Clinton utilized the roof of the White House for a vegetable garden. However our FLOTUS is taking the next step and taking to the road, kicking off a garden tour initiative in her last year in the White House.

source: here

Mrs. Obama announced last week that she will travel around the US to gardens, schools and other spaces to help share the stories of local gardens. To kick off this tour she visited a local DC garden that might seem a tad familiar… because you saw it last spring when we toured Ēriks and Linda’s Urban Farm Plans!

In addition to this White House video make sure to watch the video that appeared on the Today show (which also included a surprise visit to two DC-area schools) to see Michelle Obama announce the initiative. You can also follow along on her garden journey through the Instagram account @WHKitchenGarden, and here is the Urban Farm Plans website. Finally, the original post on their backyard garden, The Modern Face of Urban Gardening.

Shenandoah - Skyline Drive and the Blackrock Summit Trail

In the pilgrimage to view fall foliage, thousands visit the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park in late September through October. It’s a quest to arrive on the peak color weekend, and because it isn’t an exact science, leaf-peepers resort to watching “fall foliage cams” and reading “color updates” from various regions. We managed to arrive in Shenandoah right during peak autumn color, and I know this because: 1. it was the weekend that we could make the long trip and 2. it was utterly beautiful and captivating. My point is; make the trip when you can and don’t worry so much about the color meters, as a fall visit to the Blue Ridge will be spectacular, a memorable trip that you will want to repeat every year!

We set out for the southern Rockfish Gap entrance to Shenandoah on Saturday morning, managing to avoid waiting in line to pay our Park entrance fee by beating the crowd to the Park. It’s entirely possible most visitors enter through the Front Royal entrance station as it’s the one furthest north and closest to Washington DC, but it’s more likely that the morning temperatures (which were hovering around 40˚ F) were the reason we saw relatively few cars parked at the overlooks and trailheads the first two hours.

The 200,000 acre Shenandoah NP is very long and narrow, running along the Blue Ridge mountains and including 60 mountain peaks between 2,000 and 4,000 feet in altitude. The Park’s main attraction is Skyline Drive, which runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge. The easiest point of reference for location within the park is milepost #, with numbers running north to south for orientation. Therefore we entered at MP 105, south of which Skyline Drive joins the Blue Ridge Parkway and runs south all the way to Great Smoky Mountains NP. Within 2-3 miles we had already reached the first overlook, of McCormick Gap and Scott Mountain (2,760 ft). We also stopped at Crimora Lake Overlook (MP 92.6) for a look at the lake that’s left over from the valley’s mining days. At one time the area’s mines were among the largest manganese mines in the world and extracted more of the element than anywhere else in the US.

It is easy to stop at each overlook and spend the entire day having just traveled a short distance, but in order to fully experience Shenandoah I feel it is imperative to get out in the woods for one of the dozens of hikes within the Park. We had chosen the 1-mile Blackrock Summit Trail for our morning hike, parking available at MP 84.8. (The trail is rated easy, but be advised that the trail actually circumnavigates the summit (3,092 ft); the rocky top of the mountain isn’t so much of a marked trail but more of a scramble through a boulder field.) Not only is Blackrock Summit Trail one of two Track Trails in Shenandoah, but it also counts as an activity to earn a Junior Ranger badge, making it a very productive morning. I was excited because from the parking lot we followed the Appalachian Trail to Blackrock Summit, giving me the opportunity to tell Lauris and Mikus about this famous trail and share with them my dream of one day hiking it in its entirety. The boys quickly got into their Track Trails adventure, selecting the names “Joker Ghost” and “BumbierJānis” as their trail names. For bonus points, guess which one chose which... (For Kids in Parks Track Trail info please click here.)

From the trailhead we took the AT south for ½ a mile, emerging to the summit and a field of boulders. The autumn panorama was phenomenal, the view over Dundo Hollo and beyond a spectacular patchwork of color and texture. We were far from the only family enjoying ourselves on the Summit that morning, but one benefit of having to choose your own path over the mountain of boulders is everyone was spread out, and I didn’t feel as if we were intruding in other hikers’ space nor did anyone intrude on ours.

The contrast between the rocks, the colorful forest and blue skies made for some fantastic photo opportunities, but it was hard to get the boys to sit still long enough to take a picture. One Lauris and Mikus worked up the courage to climb by themselves (without their parents guiding their every step and holding their hands through more difficult spots) they were hard to stop; I couldn’t bear to watch them clambering about, certain the hike would end at best with a twisted ankle. Of course Vilis wanted out of the backpack carrier as well, but even the trail isn’t the safest for his tottering about, with plenty of trip hazards and slopes to the sides. When quizzed after our trip both boys named rock climbing at Blackrock Summit as their very favorite point of the entire trip.

From this point the Blackrock Spur Trail veers off northwest to Trayfoot Summit (3,374ft) and Furnace Mountain (2,657ft), and the Appalachian Trail continues on to the Blackrock Hut just a short bit south. To return to the parking lot we could either return the way we had come via the AT, or circle around on a service road/trail that parallels the AT along the ridge. We opted to complete the loop, enjoying the stroll down a wide, grassy path even though it didn’t have the status of being a trail as famous as the Appalachian Trail.

Once back at the car and hiking sticks packed in the trunk, we readied ourselves for some more scenic driving down the Skyline Drive. Of course it wasn’t long until we were back out at the next scenic overlook…

History Repeated: Baltics and Eastern Europe in Peril?

A big weekend for Latvians in the US! Friday saw the start of JBANC’s Eleventh Baltic Conference in Washington, DC. The Joint Baltic American Committee was established in 1961 to represent the Baltic-American communities and its three parent organizations: the American Latvian Association, the Estonian American National Council and the Lithuanian American Council. JBANC exists to help coordinate the activities of the three countries in DC with the US government and agencies dealing with issues related to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Karl Altau - Managing Director of JBANC (at podium) and Panel 2: Andrius Kubilius, Andrea Chalupa, Orest Deychakiwsky and Michael Sawkiw

With the subject being “History Repeated: Baltics and Eastern Europe in Peril?” the weekend saw panel discussions such as “Russian Disinformation and Propaganda,” “Defending Ukraine,” “What are Russia’s Intentions?” and “Western Response.” The opening keynote was delivered by Andrius Kubilius, former Prime Minister of Lithuania, and later President of Estonia, H.E. Toomas Hendrik Ilves spoke. Other dignitaries included Artis Pabriks, Member of the European Parliament for Latvia (and former Minister for Defense and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia), Baltic Ambassadors to the US Andris Razāns (Latvia) and Žygimantas Pavilionis (Lithuania), US State Department officials including John Heffern (Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs) and a host of organization leaders from the US and abroad. Political celebrities included American analyst, writer and columnist Paul Goble, and journalist Liz Wahl, whose live resignation and denunciation of RT and the network's coverage of Russian military intervention in Ukraine went viral last year.

The Femme au Foyer special correspondent on the ground in DC had this to say about the weekend:

“Past JBANC Conferences have focused on securing the independence of the Baltic States, on continuing the focus on membership in Western organizations (chief among these NATO) and economic security. This conference was History Repeated: Baltics and Eastern Europe in Peril. Several themes resonated throughout the conference, the key recommendation of many speakers and panelists was to call things by their name: The Wars of Choice that have been started by Vladimir Putin in Europe (Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine) are actual shooting wars conducted against, in the last three cases, independent states.

In sum; this was another in a long line of substantive conferences organized by JBANC and supported by its member organizations that focus on the most pressing questions facing the Baltic States. These conferences attract decision makers and opinion leaders and are attended by people committed to working for the security and economic development of the Baltic States as members of the Trans-Atlantic community of the Western Nations. The JBANC conferences also follow a noticeable trend of being attended by increasing numbers from younger generations; perhaps 25% of this year’s attendees were under the age of 35.” 

European Parliament member Dr. Artis Pabriks (left) with H.E. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia (source here)

The JBANC conference was broadcast on-line through the internet, expanding its reach worldwide.

On twitter: JBANC chatter, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Liz Wahl, Artis Pabriks, Karl Altau

The JBANC website here

Also to watch: Why Lithuanians feel Ukraine's pain

The modern face of urban gardening

At the forefront of the urban gardening movement in Washington DC are people like our friends Linda and Ēriks with Urban Farm Plans. In less than three years they have turned their backyard into a teaching garden, as well as started a business around building composters and greenhouses - and they’re making headlines doing it. It was on our recent trip to the nation’s capital that we had the opportunity to stop in for a visit, and just as wonderful as it was seeing good friends again was gaining inspiration from their garden – productive and growing, even in March.

I’ve wanted to see this backyard farm for myself ever since I first saw a picture of the garden gate, the beams crossing overhead bringing to mind the Latvian Jumis sign. The pagan deity Jumis represents fertility and a good harvest, and a jumja zīme over the entryway is sure to bring prosperity and luck to such a well-tended garden.

Photo: Linda

Although we started off indoors, catching up over coffee (and an elderberry/shitake cordial for the boys, but don’t worry, I made sure to get a taste as well!), it couldn’t be helped that we quickly moved outdoors. Drawn to the garden, Lauris and Mikus made themselves at home, exploring every corner of the yard and inspecting all the new growth while munching on freshly-picked kale. (With all the kale being consumed at our house this last week a frequent comment has been “I don’t like this kale as well as Ēriks’ kale…”)

As I asked question after question on how the garden had come to be, what they have planted and growing where, how they harvest and preserve, and on their future plans, I marveled at just how fully the space was utilized within the backyard. With a parking area taking up a portion of their yard they joined forces with a neighbor, doubling the space suitable for gardening. What isn’t used for growing is given over to composting, storing gardening supplies and building compost bins and hothouses. We got a peek inside one of the hothouses, and I admired a second greenhouse constructed out of an old door. Then there were the compost bins; with solid construction yet easy-to-use functionality, I’ve been mentally reworking our system at home trying to come up with something with the same aesthetics and durability.

While we were poking around Ēriks’ brother Andrejs showed up. In on the endeavor since the beginning, his enthusiasm for the future of their venture is contagious, and it was easy to get excited right along with him for where they’re headed this growing season. I’m looking forward to updates on the garden as well as the online how-to tutorials for DIY compost bins. These guys have a great team, a fantastic garden and boundless room to grow –especially with Jumis blessing the gate

Linda and Ēriks have a portfolio of their work as well as more information on their services on their website, www.UrbanFarmPlans.com. Also make sure to visit their brand new facebook page for seasonal info and inspirational photos!

Planes, spaceships and missiles at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Space Shuttle Discovery

Chapel Hill was just the half-way point to our ultimate destination, Washington DC. The reason for our visit is a longer story involving cousin, fraternities and galas, but just as on our North Carolina stop the boys and I were mostly just along for the ride. We had arrived Friday afternoon leaving time to meet family also in town for the weekend, and then headed to Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg (MD) for dinner. A brewing company based in Delaware, the restaurant had delicious grub… and the crowds to prove it. With the annual Rock ‘n Roll marathon taking place in DC that weekend among other things, we knew we were in for big crowds, but with a little bit of planning ahead and some consulting with a local DC-er we picked a destination for Saturday morning: the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

If you’ve been to the National Mall in Washington, DC, chances are you’ve visited Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum there. Being located in downtown DC has its advantages; an estimated 6.7 million visitors walk through the doors annually, making it the 5^th most visited museum in the world. However, a drawback to the location is available space, as the 161,145 square feet of exhibition floor space can be restrictive when talking about displays of large airplanes. In order to present a much larger percentage of the missiles, airplanes and spacecraft in the Smithsonian’s custody, the companion facility was opened in 2003. Located in Chantilly, Virginia, the Udvar-Hazy Center is adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport, and even boasts an observation tower that gives visitors a 360˚ view of the airport. We didn’t brave the lines to take the elevator up; it was Family Day at the museum, and despite the extra pair of hands helping with the three boys, it was still going to be a challenge to give the entire museum a proper tour.

It was immediately obvious I wouldn’t have gotten far without the company of our friend who has called the DC area home for 16 years, Dziesma, to help manage the boys + stroller in this enormous space with the weekend crowds. To give you an idea of the massive scale of this 760,000 square feet museum, there are two main hangers open to the public, the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, housing 170 aircraft, 152 large space artifacts and thousands of aviation and space artifacts. Udvar-Hazy Center is also home to the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar, where the preservation of the National Air and Space Museum's collections takes place. Visitors can watch the restoration of projects through a window overlooking the hangar, although it being a Saturday there wasn’t any work in progress. Finally, the museum is home to the Airbus IMAX Theater, the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory and the Archives – arguably the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight in the world.

The Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar

One of the most impressive displays is that of the orbital spacecraft, Space Shuttle Discovery. The third of five shuttles built for NASA’s Space Shuttle program, its first mission was from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years it launched and landed 39 times, more than any other spacecraft to date, and it was finally retired upon returning from its final mission on March 9^th, 2012, arriving at Udvar-Hazy on April 19, 2012. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station assembly missions, but might be best known for carrying the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.

Also on display is the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. After the war, the bomber operated from Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico, and although it was flown to Kwajalein for the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in the Pacific, it did not make the test drop at Bikini Atoll. It was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and spent many years parked at air bases exposed to the weather and souvenir hunters before being disassembled and transported to the Smithsonian's storage facility at Suitland, Maryland, in 1961. The cockpit and nose section of the aircraft were exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum for the bombing's 50th anniversary in 1995 amid a storm of controversy, and once restored has been on exhibit at Udvar-Hazy since 2003. The last survivor of its crew, Theodore Van Kirk, died on July 28, 2014, at the age of 93.

The Enola Gay on the right, with the R on its tail

We spent hours admiring the helicopters, airplanes, space ships and historic artifacts on display, and then what felt like hours standing in line for lunch at the McDonalds. Despite that frustration it was an incredible experience, and I hope we have the opportunity to return once the boys are a little older. There is so much history on display, from the first days of flight to modern space expeditions, and it is mind-blowing to think of the distances traveled by these aircraft. Where else in the world can you hold a meteorite in your hand one minute, and admire the fastest jet-propelled aircraft (the Blackbird) in the world the next?!

Dziesma looking out over the hangar, with the Blackbird lower center 

The Smithsonian lists all the objects on display on the museum webpage along with detailed descriptions and other facts. There is no admission, but parking is $15 and the only food available the previously-mentioned McDonalds. The museum is stroller-friendly, although crowds can make navigating more difficult. Thank you very much to Dziesma, our extra set of hands and tour-guide extraordinaire for the idea to visit, the assistance with the boys, and the company! (You can read her version of the day’s events here, although I don’t know if it is to be trusted – she calls the boys ‘well behaved’…) 

My French-born son with the first supersonic airliner to enter service, the Concorde, the boys admiring the helicopters, and Vilis getting a better view