Mushala Musings: July 2016

My sister, Roseanne, and her friend, Alicia, came to Louisville to visit. We went to Scimpff's candy store in Jeffersonville, IN, sight seeing around Louisville, and watched fireworks. We had a good time. They were on their way to Washington D.C. and invited me to go along with them.

Myself, Roseanne, and Alicia at Ford's Theater.

The Balcony where President Lincoln was assassinated.

Ford's Theater. They still have evening plays here.

The Peterson House across the street from Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was brought to die. The heat was oppressive.

Ford's Theater. I came to Washington D.C. 19 years ago with my eighth grade class. I think it was 1997. Their wasn't a visitor's center then. They have a large basement visitor's center now. It was very good, but too crowded. It had President Lincoln's suit he was wearing the night of his assassination.

I liked this quote at the Korean War Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial. President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address were engraved inside. Despite it being the hottest and most extremely humid day I have ever experienced, I could still feel the spirit in this special place.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking out to the Washington Monument.

Inside the Capital Building. This star is the center of the capital and every street emanates from this point.

The capital is undergoing renovations, so the dome is covered up. This mural is at the very top. It depicts George Washington as a God (but we know that he probably is one;-). The women surrounding him represent the 13 original states. To give perspective, the figures are about 14 feet tall.

Every state donates a statue of someone important to their state. I am standing with Brigham Young. Our tour guide was fantastic. Everyone in the group wears a head set and he speaks into his so you can catch everything he says.

The capital with the scaffolding outside.

Across the street from the capital is the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building. The Library of Congress is housed in three buildings.The James Madison Building and the John Adams Building. The Jefferson Building is open to the public and is spectacular. I didn't get to visit the library of Congress when I went in 8th eighth grade and so it was fun to see something different. The Library of Congress is the world's largest library. It houses most of Thomas Jefferson's original library that he donated to the library after the British burned down the original library in 1814.Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams were instrumental in creating America's first library. I was deeply moved in recognizing all that our founding Father's truly did for us. The Library of Congress houses the Gutenberg Bible and many other rotating displays. When we were there they had Pre-Colombian artifacts from South America and Jacob Riss's How the Other Half Lives on display.

The Library of Congress, Jefferson Building is beautiful inside. The murals, tile work, mosaics, and sculpture are breathtaking. The reading room is magnificent. I din't take many pictures because I just wanted to take it all in and not look like an Asian tourist. Sorry for my prejudice.

Folger Shakespeare Library. It was a very informative museum and houses the largest Shakespeare collection outside of England. We saw Shakespeare's first folio. It was fun to see how many words and phrases we still say today that Shakespeare popularized or invented. It was very beautiful inside. They have a theater made to look like the Globe Theater (not an outdoor version however). The tour guide was excellent.

We went to the American History Smithsonian. I toured America at War, American Stories, the African American Experience, Julia Child's kitchen, and the Star Spangled Banner exhibits. I liked the seeing the flag that the Star Spangled Banner was inspired after and the pictures of African American midwifes. America at War was also informative. I have to read every plaque at museums and that was a little frustrating for Rosie and Alicia. They like to breeze through stuff.

Mt. Vernon is George Washington's home in Virgina. It is very peaceful. They have an excellent museum that is new since the time I was last there. I came to better appreciate what a truly great man George Washington was. He was largely self taught. Some of the things that I learned about him was that he implemented scientific farming practices and built canals. He recognized America's unique place in the world and he tried his best to give people that vision.

We ate a Vietnamese restaurant one night. I had my favorite vermicelli bowl with fish sauce. We stayed at Best Western hotel in Arlington. We used uber to get our way around the city, except for one day we used the city bus.