The South Riding RV Travels

April 6th (am) - Washington Presidents

The weather was such a contrast now we were 300 miles further south, and in Washington DC the cherry blossoms were just reaching their peak. So we got up early and caught the 06:51am train the 60 miles to the city. It was not expensive at $18 each despite not being subsidised but there are only a couple of trains each way each day. Public transport here is almost non existent.

The cherry blossoms extend all around the Tidal Basin at the end of the Mall and were very attractive. The trees were a gift from Japan and were planted in 1912.

Americans never do anything by halves and the monuments to their presidents around the Mall are certainly on a grand scale. This is the Jefferson memorial and every couple of minutes you could catch a plane almost landing on the roof as it came into the city airport. The statue is inside and the walls are covered with very grand statements and speeches. They bring all the kids to see them but I wonder how many understand their meaning.

The Roosevelt monument was a much lower key affair but in some ways more statesmanlike. Many Americans also regard it as the most attractive and the statements on the wall are much shorter. They bear reading today but would have been revolutionary in his time. It was also good to see his wife Eleanor honoured as well. So often the women are forgotten and many of them have been as great in their own way as their husbands.

The Lincoln memorial is even more grand with a magnificent view past the Washington Monument to the Capitol building. However it was full of tourists (as was the whole area) and English speaking voices were the exception rather than the rule.

Benjamin Franklin doesn't make it to the grand monuments but does have his place outside the Old Post Office which is a grand building which now houses a food court. We went up to the top which offers panoramic views of the city but the internal architecture is equally inspiring.

From high above the Post Office we caught this view of the Capitol Buildings. They look very impressive. Washington is very much a planned city and lacks the chaotic charm of older European cities but it has enabled the centre to be laid out in a coherent and spacious manner with some grand statements. One cannot help but marvel at the vision of the men who started it all.

No trip to Washington would be complete without a look at the White House. However it is now surrounded by umpteen fences and security screens and we ended up on the wrong side of them. We probably would have needed a Social Security Number to have got closer. From time to time you can see the snipers now positioned on the roof. One can't help but feel that much of the security is illusory and is there to look as though something is being done. But there is beginning to be some resentment of its increasing impact upon day to day life.

One American institution is unfazed by all this. We found hundreds of copies of Mickey outside a trade centre. This was one of the more colourful. At least he still makes you feel welcome!

This was a day full of photo opportunities. We did not visit the Smithsonian because we had been there before. I know you could visit it forever and not see it all. But we chose a more peaceful afternoon and went to the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens.