Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain

Washington DC is the capital of the United States of America. When in a new area, we find it beneficial to get the lay of the land. We knew were not going to undertake to drive into Washington, DC with Boss. Remember that Boss is a one ton dually with an extended bed and wide hips. Finding a parking place is difficult. We have heard the horror stories of the Beltway, not to mention the traffic in DC proper. The beltway is an Interstate highway system, which encircles the city: well known for major traffic jams.

We found out that DC has a terrifi Metro, train/subway, system which will take the traveler closely anyplace in the general area. First we had to find the stations near us and check out the parking. The station at College Park is convenient, but has a postage stamp parking lot. Mostly students from the University of Maryland use this depot by way of their shuttle bus. The other station, the terminus of the Green line is Greenbelt, the planned city built after W.W.II. The parking lot there has it is own shuttle bus to help the patrons from the far reaches of the lot. Nearby is Greenbelt Park, a concealed gem in the National Park Service. Even though the park is officially closed at this time, arid camping is still permitted in one of the areas for only $14.00 per night (half for Seniors with the Golden Passport). A dump station is available for the necessary. The campground is less than a half mile from the College Park train station.

Our goal today was to scale the Washington Monument for the aerial view of the city and then visit the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. To enter the Washington Monument, you need to have a ticket, picked up for free at a nearby kiosk. To get a ticket you have to be there by 8:00 AM. We arrived when it comes to 11:00 and all were taken.

We headed to the Lincoln Memorial thru the Vietnam Wall, a moving sight with the flowers, wreaths, and letters laid at the base of the monument. At the South end are two books with the names of the dead in alphabetical order. The names on the memorial are chronological. Look up the name of the person in the book and you will be directed to the panel on which his/her name appears. Across a little green are two more memorials committed to the survivors of the war: one of three soldiers, the other of the women who served.

What may be said regarding the Lincoln Memorial which has not been done before. These days barricades and fencing restrict the tourists’ movements. You can not walk altogether around the Memorial on the upper level. On the ground floor, however, is a museum which chronicles the construction of the Memorial and the events which have taken place at the site, such as the freedom marches, Marion Anderson’s concert, and Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a Dream” speech. Once again the NPS has scored with a terrifi movie relating the importance of Abe Lincoln’s life through his words and pictures and the affect all around the history of our great country. The musical background is Aaron Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait.

Down from the Lincoln Memorial, opposite the Mall from the Viet Nam Memorial, is the Korean War Memorial. Make sure you have a ranger tour to derive the utmost from the experience. The intention of the memorial is to implicate everyone, the living and dead, into the experience. Originally there were to be thirty-eight(re: 38th Parallel) life-sized statues of soldiers climbing the rugged hill to freedom. The number was halved to nineteen.

Approaching from the road the one soldier is looking over his shoulder signaling to the troops massed in the woods behind to come out into the clearing, filled with juniper and rocks. As you climb the hill to the US flag, the symbol of freedom, you see at the end etched in stone that over 53,000 men lost their lives and more than 8,000 were MIA. At the top is a reflecting pool with a triangular wall jutting into it (the Korean Peninsula). Not to be overlooked is the dark wall on the other side of the hill. Into the wall are carved 2,500 photographic images of men and women who were ancillary to the combatants. You can not see the faces from afar, only up close. Drawing near the wall the real faces may be seen staring out at you, and you yourself are likewise reflected in the wall along with the nineteen soldiers climbing the hill to freedom. You become percentage of the memorial and memorial becomes part of you. This is an eerily haunting sentiment which lingers allround the day.

Across the road to the tidal basin we walked. The thousands of Japanese Cherry Trees were in full bloom. In the distance stood the Jefferson and the Washington Memorials. Along the way lays the memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This comprises of four outdoor rooms of writings, water and statuary, each one committed to a term in office. The monument is a lovely tribute to a great president who led us out of the desperation of depression and the horrors of war. The tribute pales in comparison to what we had just experienced earlier.

The Jefferson Memorial is another on the must see list in Washington DC. Dedicated to reason and enlightenment, this makes a fitting end to an emotion filled day.

Some impressions of Washington and Washingtonians. The city looks like Illinois in the summer: construction everyplace you look; cranes, chain link fencing, barricades. Police presence where ever you look: on foot, in cars, on bicycles, motorcycles and horses. Joggers, I mean some joggers, not just a few pass by no matter where you are; in the park, on the tidal basin paths, on the street. People out in outstanding numbers, either seeing the sights in little groups or huge tours, or individually. A calliope of people, scents, sights, and sounds fill each pore of the body.

The early bird catches the worm, or breakfast with our Senators. Every Thursday morning at 8:30, while Congress is in session Senators Dick Durbin and Peter Fitzgerald hold a continental breakfast with their parts in one of the subcommittee rooms in the Dirkson Building. We were likewise given passes to the Senate and House of Rep galleries. Check with your Senators, if they do the same.

A tour of the Capital is given only by Senate or House personnel. You have to know someone to visit your building. What has our country come to when you can’t even visit your capital building? Luckily we had gallery passes.

Our introductory stop was the Senate. What a marvelous place to see government in action.. We were disappointed by the paucity of gallery occupants. Less than ten percent of the gallery was full. The ones who came in were largely school groups. Granted no world shaking votes were being taken, but we heard Sen. Barbara Boxer of CA argue for an amendment to add antiterrorist gadgets to mercantile airlines. This was supported by Sen. Evan Bayh from IN who likewise spoke. Sen. John McCain of AZ spoke in rebuttal. Sen. Kennedy came into the Chambers later. Every hour the President Pro Temp of the Senate changes. Every fifteen minutes, the court reporters rotate. What is missing is progressed electronics. There are no tote boards, cell phones. The only computers we saw were one on the secretary’s desk and the ones operating the television cameras.

From the Senate to the House of Representatives. Whereas the Senators had person desks and chairs, the Reps. sit in pew like seats with dividers amid them. They have no desks. If they want to speak, they ought to go to one of the tables on either side of the center aisle and be recognized. One representative was giving a speech when it comes to bringing the troops home from Iraq. He at last withdrew his amendment, but got his anti-war point recorded in the Congressional Record.

Went to the Rayburn Building, where our Representative, Jesse Jackson, Jr. has his office. We still vote in Illinois and keep up with the local politics. He was out of the office, but his little daughter, Jessica, was in charge and had the staff running around looking for a lost soccer ball. His staff is in routine of setting up a tour of the Capital for us.

To finish our day on “The Hill”, we visited the Supreme Court. They were not hearing any cases that afternoon. So we were capable to visit the courtroom and receive a lecture (tour) of the building. When they are in session, you have to get into line very early to listen to each case. When all of the seats are taken the rest of those in line are permitted to sit on wooden chairs in the rear of the Chambers for three minute periods. The plaintiff and defendant lawyers have only one half hour to plead their case. Did you know that there is another court above the Supreme Courtroom? It is a basketball court. Both courts can not be in session simultaneously.

We tried to see the Ford Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. The line was very long for the guided lecture. We are not permitted to fetch backpacks into the theater. But after 12:00 you may go for a look see inside for a few minutes.

On our way to the theater we passed the new International Spy Museum. The price of entry was more or less steep, $12.00 per senior. I was expecting to be disappointed and ripped off. Much to my surprise, I was neither. The museum is high tech and delves into the a good deal of distinct features of espionage, from Biblical time to progressed surveillance gadgets and techniques. The museum is disunited into dissimilar subdivisions with a good deal of hands on activities. We expended over two hours there and could spend more time observing all of the videos and programs. Yes, Agent Maxwell Smart, they had your telephone shoe too. There were a heap of replicas from the cold war, even the poison injecting umbrella. Did you recognise that Julia Child was once a spy? Maybe that’s how she got all of her recipes.

Off to the Ford theater we went (only a block away). Lincoln saw percentage of “My American Cousin”. Today “1776″ was on stage. Unlike 40 years ago, Lincoln’s box is now off limits. A picture hangs in from of the bunting where Boothe caught his spur and thereby broke his leg. The museum downstairs and the house all over the street, where Lincoln passed from physical life are closed for renovation,

On the way to the division of the Interior, we passed by the Willard Hotel, a strikingly gorgeous edifice, where final negotiations were kept to keep the Union merged in 1861. We passed by the White House. Guess what-under construction-many blockages. The nearest anybody may see of the White House these days is by watching West Wing. Another gorgeous building is the Old Executive Office Building (one of the greatest in Washington), next to the White House. This is likewise closed to the public. Interesting is that on the other side of the White House is the Treasury, close sufficient for the President to keep an eye on the money.

Finally we made it to the Department of the Interior. The building is more than two blocks long. Anne James gave us a wondrous tour of the facility. There is a huge museum in the building depicting the history and respective distinct features of the department. The Interior was formed in 1849. The indispensable foci of it today are Land management and Indian Affairs. On the seventh floor is the old cafeteria with murals painted by artists from respective Native American tribes. The windows give a gorgeous view of the city.

All of the government buildings are closed on Saturday. Off to the Smithsonian we went. Everything is free. The introductory museum we wanted to see was the National Air and Space Museum. Get there early to keep out of the way of the long lines. The museum is two floors tracing the history of flight and space exploration. Some of the firstborn aircraft include Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis, Yeager’s Bell-1, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules, V-1 rockets, Steve Fossett’s balloon capsule, and a lot of others. The Enola Gay is in storage. Later this year the museum will open an addition near Dulles International Airport and display much more of it is collection.

We had a short time to visit one of the lesser museums of the Smithsonian. Next door is the Hirshhorn Museum specializing in modern sculpture and paintings. The museum, itself is a work of art, circular in design with a pretty center atrium with a fountain and surrounded on the outside with graceful sculptures. They had an exhibit of Gerhard Richter, an East German escapee. His paintings depict either a bad case of myopia or an unwillingness to say in an open way what he wanted to say. Many of his paintings are blurred, but photographic in nature. He loved the use of the color gray.

Today we planned as a day off. I had wanted to do a little genealogical research. So I figured that today would be a good one to find out info regarding my relatives. The National Archives are located in Washington DC and they have a branch in College Park, MD. Arriving at the Archives, NARA, I registered and received a photo ID to do research. Sadly, all of the records I was seeking were at the downtown office. The gentleman said that there was a free shuttle bus, which runs each hour on the hour amidst the two facilities. I scarcely believed my ears. Noon came and I hopped on the promised shuttle. I thought that this would take some time due to the horror stories of Washington DC traffic and the blockades everywhere. Taking the main roads, we passed through Hayettsville, Catholic University with the Basilica, numerous ethnic neighborhoods. Within thirty-five minutes, we were at NARA, on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the heart of downtown DC. We had hit the mother lode again. Free transportation without the hassle of finding a parking space at the METRO and the same travel time from College Park to DC proper.

NARA is the repository of federal records more than thirty years old (72 for census). The exhibition hall, closed for renovations, has the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on display. Showing my registration card I was permitted finish access to the microfilm subdivisions and later to the main reading room, where initial records are pulled for the researcher by a very helpful staff. One note of caution: be sure you leave sufficient time for the record pulling. It takes galore time to retrieve them. I took the four o’clock shuttle back to College Park.

We took the NARA shuttle downtown and went to the National Gallery of Art, a mere two blocks away. This is an unbelievable series of finelooking buildings with two main structures: East Wing and West Wing. Inside are fountains, gardens with live flowers, and, of course art. Their collection of Impressionists is not as broad as other museums, but they do have something special: the only Leonardo Da Vinci in the US, Ginevra de’Benci. We expended the entire day immersed in the beauty provided by the outstanding master artists and sculpturers. There were particular exhibits by Gainsborough, Kirchner, Vuillard, and Matisse. Next week begins an exhibit of Remington’s Night paintings. We want to go back.

At the entrances of galore of the exhibit rooms, there are boxes with data cards in dissimilar languages regarding the works in the specific hall. The visitor reads the card and then replaces it in the box for others to use. I have not seen that type of data at other galleries.

We in the long run got through to Andy Wilson, the intern for Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and had a tour of the Capital. His staff was happy to see us again. A staff led tour opens doors for the tourist not available to the usual gallery viewer. We were competent to go through concealed stairwells and go into the rotunda with a magnificent view of the capital dome. Today the Senate was talking about the Budget, which it later passed. The House was talking about natural gas drilling. We were on the way back to the Rayburn building, when the House called for a vote. Bells held ringing in the corridors, and the Representatives we hurrying to the House chambers. It was stimulating to see our government in action.

Because it was lunchtime, we were shown where the cafeteria was in the House complex. If you are ever in the area, I commend eating lunch there. The cafeteria resembles a feed court. The prices are reasonable and the portions ample.

Our next stop was the Library of Congress, the Jefferson Building. Self-guided tours are offered, but the docent guided ones are better. The paintings and statuary in the great hall are allegorical. Everywhere you look, you see the thought that went into the construction to one of the biggest libraries in the world. On display are one of the three finish Gutenberg Printed Bibles in the world and the last hand illustrated written Bible. The main reading room is consecrated to the dissimilar subjects of knowledge. The Library of Congress has it is own web site, http://www.loc.gov. Here you have access to their card catalogue and to other info offered by the library.

Today we journeyed to The Holy Lands, a.k.a., The Franciscan Monastery. The facility was built so that persons could visit the Holy Land Shrines, without having to spend all of their cash to go to the Middle East. The shrines are replicas of Golgatha, the sepulcher, the manger at Bethlehem, etc. There are also replicas of the catacombs. Tour guides give perceptivities into how the internet sites were authenticated. Even being a skeptic, I was impressed by their psychological result of perception learning and reasoning and the significance of the shrine. This is a highly commended stop for any Christian visiting Washington.

A few blocks away rises the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The church consecrated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, was started in 1920s and is still under construction. The architecture is a combining of Byzantine and Roman: the dome fashioned after the Capital dome and the Campanile after the Washington Monument. Besides the main upper Nave and the Crypt nave, there are galore side chapels and oratories sponsored by dissimilar groups of humans in the world. Each one is consecrated to Mary. The predominant manner of expressing the art is thru mosaics. The sheer amount and quality of the mosaics ranks it amid the top cities of the world.

On to the Natural History Museum. What we liked with regards to the museum was the use of skeletons to classify the respective species of animals, from prehistoric times to the present era. Some areas are under construction: namely the mammals Hall and the Native American exhibits. The geological collection of stones, particularly the Hope Diamond, salivates any woman who loves to wear gorgeous gems. The myriad colors of the dissimilar types of geological establishments are a delight to the eyes.

The staff at the museum do a lot of things right. Comparing this museum is like comparing apples and oranges with the Chicago Natural History Museum. Each one has it is strengths. Overall, I would have to rate the Field Museum in Chicago a higher grade for extensiveness of it is collection, except for the geology department.

Visited the Holocaust Museum in DC. This is a moving experience. I have done broad exploration on this black spot in World history. I was impressed by the lack of bias in the exhibits. The self-guided tour takes you up to the fourth floor, where the history of the rise of Hitler and Nazism is told in visual pictures and short videos. The lesson learned on this floor is that much of the prejudices, feeding upon usual people’s fears, and the manipulation of the media are still with us even seventy years after the events leading to this tragedy. Moving to the third floor, one encounters the solution to the Jewish Problem: the ghettoes, slave camps, death compounds, etc. Not only were Jews hunted down, but likewise Jehovah Witnesses, gypsies, Polish and Russian Intelligentia, and any individual deemed inferior to the Aryan ideals. On display are mounds of footwear from the prisoners, some of their personal artifacts, and one of the boxcars employed as transportation to the camps. From my readings of the atrocities committed in the camps, a heap of of the exhibits were understated. The second floor exhibits emphasize the resistance to Nazism by the Jews and a heap of citizens of occupied countries. Also recorded, in a muted way, is a condemnation of the silence of a heap of allies denying cognition of the genocide, which was known to be occurring.

On a lighter note, we visited the US Forestry Service. How do you say Smokey Bear? We found utile info with regards to our national forests and resources for camping and visiting them.

On the way back to the Archives, we stopped by the Smithsonian Castle, so named because of the architecture of the building. The main floor is open to the public and acts as a welcome center, finish with a video, explaining the respective museums of the Institution. The Commons at the west end of the building is employed as a banquet hall. It reminds me of the nave of a medieval gothic chapel, without the stained glass windows.

The path back took us through a butterfly garden. Most of the plants were not in bloom, yet. There were a lot of signs describing the respective plants and trees and the type of butterflies which they attract. This was a beauteous ending to a cathartic day.

The National Zoo boasts the home of the giant pandas. On the whole, we were disappointed with the treatment of most of the animals. No zoo is perfect. Each one puts their energies and resources on specific species of animals. From our observations, it seems that the National Zoological Park has a lot to learn from other institutions. Most of the animals, particularly the more modern animals are separated from each other. We did not speak with anybody and find out if there any palliating circumstances for our observations. Even the outstanding apes were secluded from each other. We thought in regards to what would have happened at the Brookfield Zoo a few years ago, when the gorilla saved and cared for the child who fell into their exhibit, if they were not permitted to socialize and live naturally as a troop.

Took a trip to Walter Reed Army Hospital today. This the place where presidents get their annual physical exam. On campus the AFIP (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) has a museum committed to medical exploration and history. They have an extensive microscope collection, beginning with the primitive ones of the 17th century to the progressed electron microscopes of today. They are presently exhibiting the cycle of life from the hereditary stage to birth. They use galore dissimilar forms of photography, from MRIs and X-rays to normal photos. Many are surreal.

After spending a couple of hours at the museum, I wanted to visit Georgetown and embassy row. Driving in DC may be a real challenging experience. Not only do you have the diagonal streets intersecting the grid patterns, you have originative signage, or the lack thereof. Maggie was getting more disturb because of the labyrinth we were traversing. We in the end found Embassy Row, on and around New Hampshire near the Dupont Circle. Off the circle is M Street, which is the main drag of Georgetown Heights. We got a outstanding view of the stores and the throng of persons on the streets, because traffic moves at a tortoise’s crawl.

Crossing the Potomac River, we wanted to keep out of the way of traffic to get back to College Park. I knew there was a highway which runs along the front of Arlington Cemetery. Eventually this would take us to I 95 and College Park. Cruising down the highway a police officer flagged me over and told me to follow him. I did not think that I was the millionth vehicle to travel the road. I was also sure I wasn’t speeding: just keeping up with the Jones’s. I found out that duallys were not permitted on this road since 9/11. Other pickup trucks, SUVs, etc. are allowed. He took down my critical data and then tried to take a mug shot for the FBI. After breaking two cameras he was in the long run successful. Look for my photo at your nearest post office. Now that we are wanted by the FBI, we will just have to flee the country.

On Monday, April 21, 2003 we toured the Smithsonian American History Museum. We expended five hours there and could have expended an further and added five hours. Some of the highlights include Louis Armstrong’s firstborn trumpet. The crinkled bell of the horn reminded me of my trumpet in grammar school. The exhibits on the American Presidency and of the First Ladies were exceptional. I specially enjoyed the traffic control through the exhibits. There was normally a specific entrance and exit. This made journeying through them easier. The original floor was devoted to respective industries: agriculture, maritime, railroads, information, transportation, and Julia Child’s Kitchen. The museum has something for just regarding anyone. Having been to Fort McHenry, we were happy to see The Star Spangled Banner undergoing restoration.

The numismatic collection of coins and cash is very extensive. What I never realized was the potpourri of currencies, both alien and domestic, in circulation for the duration of the beginning of our country’s history. Each colony printed and minted it is own currency. British, French and Spanish currencies were also considered legal tender. It was worse than the difficulties the Europeans have with the Euro. A mutual currency was a requirement to have a real country.

Went to The National Building Museum. The building’s pretty atrium soars fifteen stories and is supported by huge pillars. On the primary and second floors are exhibit halls surrounding the atrium. Some of the exhibits are semi-permanent. You never recognise what will be shown. The atrium was a buzz with people setting up for the greatest craft show in the country. The Smithsonian Institute holds an annual contest for craftsmen and the winners exhibit their work at this museum. The items on display are also for sale.

A few short blocks away is the Postal Museum, a share of the Smithsonian. This museum explores the history of mail service, from blazing trails from New York to Philadelphia, to Ben Franklin’s appointment as Postal chief in the mid 1700s by The Crown, to the Pony Express, RFD, and Air mail. The building itself is impressive. It is in the Old Post Office with a splendid main hallway with a heap of cages lining both sides.

Next door is Union Station. It is still a gorgeous impressive building, having undergone extensive restoration and now housing a good deal of feed courts and dissimilar shops to pick up last minute items before going home.

Today we visited most of the rest of the Smithsonian Institute: the Freer Museum of Art, the Sackler Gallery, the Museum of African Art and the Arts and Industry building. This sounds like a lot of walking, but the museums are little in area. The introductory two emphasize Eastern art from China, Japan, India, and Islamic works from dissimilar countries. Some of the pieces from early China and from the Islamic World are exquisite. Not to be missed in the Freer Museum is the Peacock Room by James Whistler. He got carried away with a commission to decorate a dining room. He took the peacock motif to the greatest or most complete or best possible extent. Even the ceiling is painted peacock feathers. The room is breath taking and is a perfective receptacle for the Chinese Porcelain collection of the owner.

The African Museum has some old pieces from ancient Nubia, which is South of Egypt in present Sudan. There are likewise some 20th Century pieces reflecting the culture of the people of Western Africa.

Not to be missed is the Arts and Industry Building, the host for some Presidential Inaugural Balls. The atrium is spacious and shaped like a cross. The building hosts particular exhibits, which alter on a regular basis.

One other exhibit was of a tropical butterfly house. Enclosed in a closed environs (temperature 90°, humidity, 85%), hundreds of butterflies from Central America flew at will. I seemed to be a peculiar favorite, because they held landing on my head. Maybe my animal attraction has been lost on the faulty species. Or perchance they like gray hair. They were very beautiful.

Went to the tower of the Old Post Office: a dissimilar building than the Postal Museum. Washington DC has had a series of Post Offices as the demands of the Capital increased. This building has an eight-story atrium with an further and added three-story bell tower. On the twelfth floor an open observation deck gives a birds eye view of the city below. Within the tower are the Congress Bells. These alter bells are still rung by hand by a particular group of ringers. They exercise each Thursday evening to perfective their skills. They hold the record for pealing. A peal is a series of over five thousand rings of the bells according to a set pattern, which is never repeated, for the three-hour duration of the peal. The group has a conductor who directs the ringers in the precise patterns. If they miss a beat, they have to begin all over.

Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain

The Shanghai features a mix of very sophisticated placed lacquer “rain” on the cap and an added filigree metallic share “waves” on the bottom of the products. A subtle pale gold effect embellishments the black lacquer. 8 citrine stones are set on the body of the lighter and on the clip of the pen; 8 being a lucky number in Chinese culture. The Citrine stone is a fine gem from the Quartz family that has a warm yellow color and is believed to have healing properties. The top of the pen is signed with a pale gold D circled with black lacquer, and the bottom of the pen is engraved with the Shanghai logo.

Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain Picture

Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain Photo

Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain Pic

Dupont Shanghai President Limited Fountain Photo