My First Experience in Washington D.C: Part 2

Day 2: March 27, 2012

5:30

Wake up to get Ready and have breakfast.

6:30

Left hotel (Which was only 15 minutes away from downtown D.C.)

Traffic jams were awesome… n0t. I did have a nice laugh with Lawson as we passed every white home on the way shouting, “There it is! It’s the White House!”

8:30

After 2 hours of traffic, we finally made it to the National Press Building in downtown D.C.

9:00

Second Annual Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing began.

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12:30

Lunch Break. Lawson kicked me out for a few hours to go see everything since I had never been to D.C.

12:30-5:30

Started walking the streets of Washington D.C—called myself the tourist in a suit and went to the following monuments/museums in the following order…

Washington Monument

I started here because that’s the first thing you see when you look up. Such a great centerpiece to highlight George Washington, who is one of the centerpieces to the United States` existence.

WWII Memorial

Once I found myself here, I finally got ‘that feeling’ that I was in D.C. I started to think about the fact that my great grandfather served in WWII and that there`s a part of me here.

Then I started thinking about it on a larger level. There`s a part of every American here because they too have had relatives in the past who have served and protected our freedoms.

I said to myself that I was about to experience the history of the United States of America for the first time—and did it feel good!

I really had a feeling that I was about to witness our country and everything it stands for on a level no one can explain.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Was amazed by the number of Korean families and American families who came together at this memorial.

Jefferson Memorial

Beautiful in the spring with the Cherry trees starting to bloom.

Lincoln Memorial

An amazing feeling you get when standing on top of those steps where so many famous speeches have been given. I kept saying to myself Martin Luther King Jr. has stood exactly where I am standing!

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Extremely powerful when you walk along the wall and the names never seem to end.

Discovered a relative of mine (I have never known of) on the wall who served in the war—was amazed that I had never known about him. Called my parents to verify that we were related even though the signs pointed to the fact that we are related–we had the same last name,were the same area, and were related!

Felt proud to have found him and proud to know people today who have served in Vietnam— extremely powerful.

Smithsonian Castle

National Museum of American History

I really enjoyed the exhibit about Francis Scott Key with the flag that he wrote the national anthem about! So cool!!!

National Archives

By far my favorite part! I enjoyed seeing all of Benjamin Franklin`s writings and inventions! It was also neat to see Abraham Lincoln`s telegrams that were handwritten to his generals!

And the best part… The Rotunda—featuring the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.Viewing these documents for the first time gave me chills.

Funny story: So, it`s dark and gloomy in the Rotunda. It is also very quiet and when the security guards tell you not to touch anything or speak loudly, you feel scared and intimidated. So, I am standing in line to wait my turn to see the documents. A reminder that you can`t even hear a pin drop… All of a sudden the man behind me shouts at the top of his lungs, “Tommy! Come here!” Everyone in the Rotunda jumps in reaction to the shout. As for me in being the one standing directly in front of him, I also jumped and took a few steps to run away!  It was one of the scariest moments of my life, but made the experience more memorable!

National Air and Space Museum

This was very cool! I liked seeing all the spacecrafts that have been used!

Smithsonian Natural History Museum

I got lost here—so big!

Out of all the amusing things in there, my favorite part was the dinosaurs—Sorry, had to let the kid in me come out at some point!

U.S. Capital Building

I didn’t go in on account of activists standing around the entrance, but I did enjoy the view of the building!

White House

My last stop!

I enjoyed the walk back to the White House—which was a long ways!

I liked the fact that it was the real one, unlike the white homes Lawson and I were passing by on the way to Washington D.C.

I stood at the gate for a few minutes and wondered if President Obama was home and if he would come outside to play with his dog, but reality set in and the only people I saw was security.

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5: 30 PM

Back to the National Press Building

Met and spoke with many leaders in the American Manufacturing Industry.

Had a fun time with independent Presidential Candidate Buddy Roemmer, Ralph Gomory- winner of two Pulitzer prizes and former director of IBM, Buy American Projects` Roger Simmermaker, and All American Clothing Co. Co-Owner Lawson Nickol.

7:00 PM

Left Washington D.C. and headed back home

Just when we thought our traffic troubles were over, D.C. traffic decided to give us more trouble…

Just as our visit to D.C. started with a traffic jam, it also ended with a traffic jam.

7:00- 9:00

Had some fun with Lawson in traffic jams once again sharing my first experience with him… Enjoyed some more laughs on the way home.

The End.

Logan

All American Clothing Co.