Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Smithsonian

Thursday afternoon was quite the experience! Let me tell you something, though--if you ever go to Washington D.C. and you want to see the Smithsonian, there's no possible way you can see much of anything in one afternoon! I'd say you would need at least a day for each building to truly appreciate it. I could not believe how HUGE the buildings were!

Despite the short amount of time we had, my dad and I were bound and determined to see two of the museums: The Air and Space Museum (my dad pictured with the sign above left) and The Museum of American History (me in front of the building pictured right). My dad and I joked about how we needed to see two things before we left Washington D.C.: "The Spirit of St. Louis" (the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic Ocean) and Dorothy's red slippers from The Wizard of Oz. My dad wanted to see the former and I wanted to see the latter. Well, as you can see by the pictures below, we did what we set out to do!



I've used this word a lot when describing any part of the trip, but it is so fitting: "overwhelming." That's what it was like walking into the museums, especially the Air and Space Museum. There was SO much to see and do, that all we could really do was look around, eat at the largest and strangest McDonald's in the world (in my opinion!), snap a few pictures, and buy a few souvenirs at a gift shop. You would not believe the sheer size of these buildings!

For example, here's the Museum of Natural History from the outside, which we did not even attempt to step into due to time and exhaustion:


And don't even get me started about the Metro. That was an experience-and-a-half for sure, and one I don't think I really want to repeat too often! But that's another story...

6 comments:

Mary Bast said...

Hey Amber!
Wow, those are some great pics! I've been to D.C. seven times (I'm an avid pro-life marcher every January lol), and pretty much each time we've gone we've just had time to go to Union Station and maybe squeeze in some of the political buildings (Supreme Court, etc.) This past time, though, I went with my college and we had an entire day and a half to sightsee.

Needless to say, it was absolutely FABULOUS!!!

We saw the Natural History museum, the American History museum, everything, it seemed like...but if you ever go back to D.C., you simply MUST see the National Archives. It's truly a living history, and I remember, crystal clear, the goosebumps that kept trailing up and down my arms every time I saw another historical document.

I'm so glad you're enjoying your time in D.C.! :)

--Mary ^_~

Amber Holcomb said...

Mary,

Thank you! Happy to hear you liked the pictures, and how cool that you've been to D.C. so often! There's simply SO much to see and do, that I'm sure you need to go there even more than seven times to make a dent in the list of things to see. ;)

And that's great that you got to see so many of the museums and such! And the National Archives sound incredible, too!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I'm actually back in California now. It was a short trip, but I feel like a lifetime was packed into those few days. :)

~Amber

Ariel Wilson said...

I hated the Metro system :P So confusing!

Amber Holcomb said...

Ariel,

Yes! It took my dad and I a while to try and figure out how to work the machine to just get our tickets! But once you're on the Metro, it's nice to be able to get where you want to go quickly. Just be sure you're ready when you arrive at your destination, 'cause the doors will only be open for a split-second! ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Amber

Amanda Stanley said...

Hi Amber! I just LOVE all these pics you keep sharing! My favorite from this post is definitely Dorothy's ruby slippers :D

Thanks again for sharing so many pieces of your trip with us, you make us feel as if we were there!!

Blessings,
Amanda Stanley

Amber Holcomb said...

Hi Amanda! :)

That's great that you're enjoying the pictures! That makes me glad that I'm sharing them! :D And aren't the ruby slippers pretty? But they looked a little stiff, so maybe not the most comfortable to wear! But isn't that how all girl things are: pretty but uncomfortable? ;)

And thank YOU for coming along with me on my trip! It was quite the experience!

~Amber