Virginia & Washington DC (2012)

Prolog

After returning from our Pennsylvania trip (October 2011), we decided that next year we should visit Virginia and the Washington DC areas. ERA Realty offered us a “Time Sharing Villa” in Basye, Virginia.  I checked the distance between the villa and Washington DC and found it to be approximately a two hour drive.  We planned our trip so we will spend three days in DC and the rest five days in Virginia.  I connected with our U.S Representative in Washington DC, Gary Miller and was asked to send some information about myself and Tova so they can clear us, security wise, to visit the White House, Capitol, etc.

By the end of August 2012 we received the confarmation and itinerary. 

We were all set for the trip.

Day 1: October 12th, 2012

We woke up at 2:30 AM.  Our flight to Dulles International Airport was scheduled to leave from LAX at 6:00.  We arrived at the airport on time and boarded the airplane.

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The flight was pleasant and we arrived in Washington DC at 2:00 PM.  A shuttle took us to Hertz and at around 2:30 we headed to Basye, Virginia.  We arrived at around 4:00 and found the office of Chalet High North, located at the Bryce Resort Community and met with April who gave us a lot of information of where to visit and described the highlights of the area.  April was pleasant and very helpful.

Our Villa was located right at the Golf Course and the accommodations were very comfortable with 2 bedrooms (one downstairs and one upstairs.)  A spa and a full bathroom were adjacent to the downstairs bedroom. The kitchen was equipped with all the necessary items; the living room had a large HDTV, a couch and a sofa.  The dining room had a nice large table and the views from the balcony were spectacular, the greens were fairly true and well kept, and the fairways were nice. Both of us agreed it was a steal for the money. 

We unpacked and drove about a mile to the center where we located the Copper Kettle restaurant. Dinner was wonderful!

We drove back to the villa, watched TV for awhile and went to sleep.

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Day 2: October 13th, 2012

We woke up at 7:00 to a beautiful sunny day.  Tova practiced yoga for an hour and afterwards we headed to a local café’ to have breakfast.  It was a country-style café, where the waitress knew most of the patrons by first name basis.  The plates were enormous and delicious.

We stopped in the nearby town of Orkney Spring, an unincorporated community in western Shenandoah County,  where we found a beautiful street with white homes on both sides of the road.  The homes were built approximately 150 years ago and were well preserved.  At the end of the road stood tall The Virginia House.  We entered this historic building and found that one of the rooms is dedicated to the history of the place:  The use of the name 'Orkney' is believed to be tied to the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland. The 'springs' comes from the numerous underground mineral springs in the area. The first public hotel was built in the early 19th century, and eventually evolved into what became known as The Orkney Springs Hotel.  Most of the original buildings are still standing, have been restored, and are in use today.  



The Virginia House is believed to be the largest wooden structure in Virginia. It dates to the 1870s and is on the National Historical Register.  A small pond is nearby the hotel where we found many families, who come year around to rest, mingle and to practice their religion.

   

We used the country road, driving to our next attraction and stopped at a farm, which offered local fruits for sale.  We bought ten apples for two bucks, a couple of jams and honey.  The apples tasted so good.  I don’t remember to ever eating such good apples.

The views in the country roads, once again took my breath away.  I stopped many times to take pictures of the open fields.

Our next stop was the historic town of New Market.  We drove through the country roads and the views were amazing.  The town is located in the heart of the beautiful

Shenandoah Valley.

We found the New Market Battlefield, which is a state historic park. We entered the museum and learned a wealth of information about the battle that took place on May 15^th, 1864, in which teenage cadets of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) were pressed into service by Confederate General John Breckinridge in a successful effort to delay the North's march on Richmond, Virginia. We found out that the battle is reenacted each year in mid-May, on the grounds surrounding the museum.

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It took us back in time to a unique Civil War Battle.  We learned that 257 Cadets were called upon to march from VMI in Lexington, VA to New Market to help the Confederate Army to a victory. 

The main hall of the museum consists of a large collection from that battle, including personal items of soldiers killed in the battle.  The one that got our attention was a letter written by one of the soldiers to his father.  It was very simple and emotional letter.

We entered a room where a 40 minutes video titled “Fields of Lost Shoes” was shown about the battle.  It was very interesting and very informative.

We exited the museum and walked through some of the 300 acres field of the battle.  We arrived to the historic 19^th century Bushong Farm. In the museum and during the screening of the video we learned about this farm as follows: During the Battle of New Market in Virginia, the Bushong Farm was caught in the crossfire. Jacob Bushong and his family took refuge in the cellar as the Confederate troops and newly-recruited VMI cadets charged by to counterattack Union fire in the orchard. The Confederate army ultimately forced the Federals to retreat, but the cost was high resulting in hundreds of casualties. The Bushong house and barn were converted into field hospitals for a week, which left permanent bloodstains on the floors and the barn was a hospital for both Confederate and Union soldiers.

We entered the main house of the farm and found items reserved from the battle in different rooms.  We also visited the famous basement.

We followed the path of the self-tour and walked through the breath taking views.  We spotted three canon guns in the middle of the field.

We spent a couple of hours in the battlefield and then returned to our car and drove to the historic town.  We parked our car and walked on Congress Street loving the looks of this narrow street and admired the historic homes.

Our next stop was at the Route 11 Potato Chips factory in Mount Jackson.

 We entered the factory and received a warm welcome.  We met Sarah Cohen, who turned out to be one of the owners.  She was very informative and told us a lot about the factory: It was originally established in a store in Middletown and just moved here in September 2008 to this state-of-the-art chipping facility.  She was not shy to tell us that the facrtory is famous "for its delicious, old style, kettle-cooked potato chips with all natural seasonings". Seasonal specialties include organically-grown Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato  Chips.  After tasting some of the chips we decided on some of them and purchased a few bags full of delicious chips.

We took RT 81 North and arrived at Woodstock, VA.  The city is pretty big, considering all the other cities in the area.  We found a supermarket and Wal-Mart and bought some necessary supply to use during our stay in Virginia including butter, eggs, milk, bread, etc.

  


We took the country roads back to Basye and arrived around

6:00.  We headed to the same café where we had breakfast and had a delicious dinner.  We arrived to our Villa at around 7:30 and after watching TV for awhile we went to sleep.

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Day 3: October 14th, 2012

We woke up at 7:00 and while Tova did her yoga routine, I prepared breakfast.  It was delicious!!  I also prepared few sandwiches and along the chips and the apples that we had purchased yesterday, this would make a perfect lunch for us later on.

We took the country roads to RT 81 and headed north to Shenandoah Valley and to its famous Skyline Drive.

 We arrived at around 10:00 and stopped at Starbucks in the nearby town.  We then entered the park and made a stop at the visitor center where we found one of the rangers and asked him to recommend a trail for us, as we were planning to do some hiking as well.  From the Ranger we learned that Skyline Drive, a 105 mile road that runs the entire length of the park along the ridge of the mountains. The drive is particularly popular during this period when the leaves are changing colors. In total, there are over 500 miles (800 km) of trails within the park. There is also riding, camping,bicycling, and many waterfalls. The Skyline Drive is the first National Park Service road east of the Mississippi River listed as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also designated as a National Scenic Byway.
 

  

We started our journey and stopped many times at the lookouts, to view the breath taking views of the valley beneath our road.  The changing colors of the leaves was amazing and the trees stood tall as soldiers saluting their commander.

 

We arrived at Dark Hollow Falls, the spot that was recommended by the Ranger.  We hiked for about a mile and a half down the hills and arrived, 30 minutes later, at the falls where we ate our prepared lunch. Near us was the platform where we could see the top of the falls.  After lunch we continued about another tenth of a mile, down the trail and reached the base of the falls for a much more impressive view of the falls. Legend says that Thomas Jefferson was quite fond of these falls and spent time quietly contemplating the wonders of nature at the foot of the falls, where we stood.

We toured the falls, took many pictures and then headed back up the hill.  It was a moderate difficulty hike but we made it without stopping for any rest in about 45 minutes.

We continued to tour the skyline and exited the park at

5:00 pm.  

We arrived to Harrisonburg and found a nice restaurant called Charlie where we had a nice steak dinner.

We arrived to our villa at around 9:30 and after shower went to bed.

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Day 4: October 15th, 2012

We woke up at 6:00 and after a great breakfast, prepared by myself, we headed towards Washington DC.  We arrived at 9:00 to the Southwest section of Washington D.C anf found our hotel, the L’enfant located in L’enfant Plaza, a complex of one governmental and three commercial buildings, as well as the "La Promenade" shopping mall. It is named after the famous city planner in the 18^th century.

We found the hotel to be very accommodating and our room was neat and comfortable.  As the temperatures outside were in the mid 60’s, we set the thermostat to a comfortable 70 degrees and went out to the street.  Light rain welcomed us.

We walked to Independence Avenue, turned right and marched in the large avenue towards Capitol Hill and the US Capitol.  We had an appointment for a tour at 11:00 and arrived there few minutes earlier.  As we stood in line to get in, a guard approached us and asked if we had any food and water in our backpack.  Well, I prepared our lunch back in the villa, plus we had all kind of snacks (nuts, breakfast bars, and chocolate) and of course water.  The guard asked us to dispose of it all as food is not allowed inside the US Capitol.  We had no choice and emptied our backpack into one of the garbage bins outside.

After the mandatory security check, we joined a group of other visitors and started to tour this magnificent and historical building.  The first stop was the large Orientation Theater, where a 15 minute video explained the history and the meaning of this building:

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though it has never been the geographic center of the federal district, the Capitol is the origin by which both the quadrants of the District are divided and the city was planned. Officially, both the east and west sides of the Capitol are referred to as "fronts." Historically, however, only the east front of the building was intended for the arrival of visitors and dignitaries. Like the federal buildings for the executive and judicial branches, it is built in the distinctive Neoclassical style and has a white exterior.

Prior to establishing the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., the United States Congress and its predecessors had met in Philadelphia, New York City, and a number of other locations until July 1790 when the Residence Act was passed to pave the way for a permanent capital. 

Philadelphia was chosen as a temporary capital for ten years (until December 1800), until the nation's capital in Washington, D.C. would be ready.

The guide continued her speech: The U.S Capitol is a monument to the American people.  It is where the issues facing the nation are considered, debated and written into law.

Today The Capitol is home to the U.S Congress and its two legislative bodies, The U.S House of Representatives and The U.S Senate.

We exited the theater, stood in the middle of the Visitors Center and looked breathless at the towering and soaring spaces and skylight views of the Dome. In the middle of the dome we spotted the famous painting by Brumidi: “The Apotheosis of Washington”. We were handed ear phones and our guide gave us some facts about the building: She explained how Congress works, how the magnificent building was built and how citizens can participate in this extraordinary experiment called Democracy.  I was wondering at that moment what other visitors, who come from oppressed countries think when they hear the facts about our great nation.  Do they understand? Do they mock us? Do they return home and tell everyone about our freedom?

We entered the National Statuary Hall Collection.  The first I looked at was the dome.  It was so close to us and was glorious.  The hall is comprised of statues donated by individual states.  Each state is allowed to donate two art works.  They are also allowed to change the art work by another.  In this case the “old” piece is sent back to the State, when the new one arrives.  We looked at the statues, 
recognizing individuals who had changed our history.

We were invited to sit at the House of Representatives Gallery as well. Elected to a two-year term, each representative (must be at least 25 years old, a resident of the state and of course a U.S citizen for at least 7 years!) serves the people of a specific congressional district by introducing bills and serving on committees, among other duties. Since the 20^th century the House’s membership has been set at 435 voting representatives.  Every 10 years, after the census, states are assigned a number of representatives based on their population and be redistricted.  Each state is limited to at least one rep.  The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, which is next in line after the Vice President to succeed to the presidency.

We entered the famous room and Tova right away identified the section where Michelle Obama sat a couple of months ago…

We exited the building and walked to the nearby U.S Supreme Court building, which is majestic in size and rich inside. We entered the highest tribunal in the U.S for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of our nation. We found a very large hall with pictures and documents on both walls.  The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress. The number of Associate Justices is currently fixed at eight. Power to nominate the Justices is vested in the President of the United States, and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate.

We stopped at sction dedicated to retired Supreme Judge Sandra O’Connor.  She was appointed by President Reagan in 1981 and was the first woman to serve as a Supreme Court Judge.  She retired in 2006.

We entered the Court Chamber and a gentleman gave us a brief lecture of the functionalities of the Supreme Court as well as other facts.  The one I remember is that the Term of the Court begins, by law, on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October of the next year. Approximately 10,000 petitions are filed with the Court in the course of a Term.   The court hears selected cases until April of a given year and must presents its conclusions by the end of June.  From July to the end of September, the court selects those cases it is going to hear for the next term.  Each case is given a one hour arguments where attorneys for each side is given 30 minutes each to present his arguments (oral only!), and make a presentation to the Court and answer questions asked by the court.  One other fact that surprised me was that the Supreme Court was not provided with its own building until 1935 (after 146 years in existence).

We exited the building and found out that heavy rain poured while we were inside.  We walked a short block and entered the most beautiful building of Library of Congress, established on April 24, 1800 and is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.

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We took a tour and stopped at many statues and pictures where the guide provided us with information about the Library and the exhibitions:

The collections of the Library of Congress include more than 32 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages, more than 61 million manuscripts, the largest rare book collection in North America, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, a Gutenberg Bible (one of only four perfect vellum copies known to exist) and millions of US goverment publications, issues of world newspapers spanning the past three centuries, bound newspaper volumes, microfilm reels, comic book titles, films; maps, works of sheet music, sound recordings, prints and photographic images including fine and popular art pieces and architectural drawings.

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The Library serves as a legal repository for copyright protection and registration, and as the base for the 

United States Copyright Office. Regardless of whether they register their copyright, all publishers are required to submit two complete copies of their published works to the Library—this requirement is known as mandatory deposit. Nearly 22,000 new items published in the U.S. arrive every business day at the Library.

The library is open to the general public for academic research.

The statues on display represent all kind of life aspects: Art (Michelangelo), Philosophy (Plato), History (Herodotus), Commerce (Columbus), Law, Poetry (Shakespeare), Religion (Moses), and Science (Newton).

We concluded our tour with a visit to the private collection of Thomas Jefferson., consists of 27,000 documents.  Jefferson donated this collection after the fire of 1814 that destroyed almost every building in the area.

We walked back to the hotel and found a small triangular park that is divided into a series of beautiful miniature gardens, intended to inspire urban gardeners. Each garden has a specific theme and has been given a name such as 'rock garden' or 'romantic garden'.  The centerpiece of the park is the elegant Bartholdi Fountain. The cast iron fountain is decorated with turtles, frogs, fish and three large sea nymphs holding a basin.

We arrived to the hotel at 6:00.  For our great disappointment the room was as cold as being inside a refrigerator.  We called the hotel maintenance and a guy showed up (30 minutes later!) to tell us that the heating system, in the entire hotel, has been broken for the entire day.  He did offer a local electric heater, which he brought few minutes later.  My only complaint was: Why they did not tell us about it when we checked in?

We showered and used the Metro, located in the bottom floor of the hotel, to get to The Gallery where we found Chinatown. We entered a small little restaurant by the name of The New Ming.  The food was excellent!!

We walked for a while and then returned to the hotel around

11:00.

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Day 5: October 16th, 2012

We woke up at 5:45 as our appointment for the White House tour was scheduled for 7:00.  We had some coffee in the room and walked about 20 minutes towards the White House.  Darkness welcomed us to the street. On the way we passed the Washington Monument.  The sky was clear and the sight of the monument at night was amazing.

We arrived at the White House and were told by the guard that cameras were not allowed and there is no storage place around.  We decided that Tova will take the tour first and that I will take the tour right after she is done.  I walked around Pennsylvania Avenue and took some pictures of the surroundings, including a demonstrator for Peace that is representing some kind of a Peace Movement.  His group had been demonstrating in front of the White House since 1981.

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I waited 30 minutes and as Tova returned I joined the next group to tour 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

After going through three intensive security posts we entered into the most recognized house in the world.   

Every president called this place home, except for George Washington, who selected the site in 1791.  In 1800 the house welcomed its first resident: John Adams and his wife Abigail.

We walked through the path designated to tourists.  Each room had a security guard (at least one that we could recognize), who were very knowledgeable.  To my question one of them answered: “There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence.”

The rooms we visited were:

• The Library: contains volumes of history, biography, fiction and the science, all by American authors.

The Vermeil Room: contains an extensive collection of golden silver and id used for variety of functions.

The China Room: Contains pieces of china and glass used by the presidents.

The East Room: The largest in the White House and is used for receptions, ceremonies, press conferences, and other events.  It was the scene of several weddings.  The bodies of 7 presidents have lain in state there. What caught our eyes was a beautiful decorated glass chandeliers that dated from 1902, the grand piano, decorated with folk dancing scenes and supported by eagles.

The Green Room: Once served as Thomas Jefferson’s dining room, is now used for receptions.  It includes furniture from 1810.

The Blue Room: is often used by the President to receive guests.  It has beautiful furniture purchased by President Monroe.  The one piece that caught my eyes was the Hannibal Clock on a white marble mantel.  The White House Christmas Tree is placed there every year after Thanksgiving Day.

The Red Room: Used for small receptions and is liked most by the First Ladies.

The State Dining Room: Can seat 130 guests.

On the way out we stopped at the entrance were portraits of the recent presidents are on display.  New pictures are hanged two years after the term of a president.  The most recent one is of George W Bush and that of Bill Clinton.  The only president that does not have a portrait is that of Richard Nixon, who was impeached.

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Tova was waiting for me at Starbucks.  I ordered coffee and a coffee cake and few minutes later we walked to the South Side of the White House where we were able to locate the vegetables garden of Michelle Obama.  We spent few minutes there and then went back to our hotel as we had to check-out and also check-in to our new hotel in town.  We walked, once again, next to the Washington Monument.  The weather was perfect with 72 degrees and sunny skies.

We arrived at L’enfant Plaza, checked out and drove to the Liaison Hotel on New Jersey Avenue, right next to the National Association of realtors building.  We found a beautiful, recently renovated hotel.  The location of this hotel is amazing: it is located next to many restaurants, bars, US Capitol and Union Station. The room was not as big as at the L’enfant but the heater was working fine :)

We parked our car on E Street and walked to our next destination to meet our friend Nava for lunch.

We walked up on New Jersey Avenue and visited Capitol Square, where we viewed the Peace Monument, the James Garfield Monument and the Ulysses Grant Memorial.

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We then used Constitution Blvd and saw many famous building on both sides of the street, including the FBI Building, National Archive Building and the Old Post Office.

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We met Nava at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on New York Avenue and 12^th street.  I recommend this place for its elegant, excellent dishes and great service. 

Last time we saw Nava was about 10 years ago and we were delighted to see her again.  We talked and talked and talked and before we knew it, it was time to rush to the Metro and try to make the appointment we had for the 3:00 o’clock tour of the Pentagon.

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We arrived at the Pentagon at 3:07 and were denied to enter and join our group.  Instead we walked to the outdoor Pentagon Memorial that was established to commemorate those who were killed by the terrorists attack on September 11^th, 2001 at 9:37 AM, when a hijacked plane flew into the Pentagon, the nation’s military headquarters, and killed 184 federal employees, military personnel, civilians and flight crew. The victims – men, women, and children– ranged in age from three to 71, and represented a cross-section ofAmerica.

The physical damage to the Pentagon was rebuilt in less than one year later.

The memorial is simple but significant.  We saw a lot of benches spread around the memorial. The designers put a lot of thought into the layout and its symbolic meaning: Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. The benches representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are arranged so those reading the names will face the Pentagon's south facade, where the plane hit; benches dedicated to victims aboard the plane are arranged so that those reading the engraved name will be facing skyward along the path the plane traveled. If more than one member of a family died during the attack, family names are listed in the reflecting pool under the bench, in addition to the separate benches that have been created for each individual. 



A wall along the edge of the Memorial begins at a height of 3 inches and rises to a height of 71 inches, the ages of the youngest and oldest victim of the attack. Approximately 85 maple trees are planted on the memorial grounds.

We took the Metro to Union Station, which was originally opened in 1907 and recently had been renovated.  We walked around the magnificent building for a while, window shopping at the upscale shopping mall’s shops and took a break at nice and elegant café.

We stopped at a New York Delicatessen, picked up our favorite sandwich (Hot Pastrami and Corned Beef) and along a bottle of wine we dined at our hotel room, while watching the Presidential Debate between Romney and Obama.

Day 6: October 17th, 2012

We woke up at 7:00 , checked out of our hotel and had breakfast at a Starbucks Café, up the street.

We walked back to Union Station, found the Blue Line train and headed to our first destination of today.  We arrived and walked towards the Arlington Cemetery.

The cemetery is situated above the Potomac River and across from the Lincoln Memorial.  It is a military cemetery, established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, which was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  The house is referred today as The Robert E. Lee Memorial.  In an area of 624 acres, veterans and military casualties from each of the nation's wars are interred in the cemetery, ranging from the American Civil War through to the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were re-interred after 1900.

The time was 9:50 and we rushed to the Tomb of the Unknowns to view the Changing of the Guards Ceremony, taken place every hour - on the hour.  We arrived just in time to view this amazing ceremony – one I will never forget. The site is a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified. It is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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At the beginning of the ceremony, a single guard who had been marching up and down the platform for the last past hour, was joined by two more soldiers.  One of them was a sergeant. They exchanged salutes and after a few minutes of marching and rifle exercise, one of the newcomers replaced the one that was stationed there.  A soldier with a horn joined the three and the sergeant climbed the few steps, towards the museum entrance, and greeted 3 teenagers.  They had flowers with them and he told them what they need to do in order to participate in the second half of the ceremony.  They all went down the stairs and were joined by the soldier with the horn.  They then laid the flowers on a stand in front of the tomb. 




We later learned that it is considered one of the highest honors to serve as a Sentinel (lookout guard) at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Fewer than 20 percent of all volunteers are accepted for training and of those only a fraction passes training to become full-fledged Tomb Guards. The soldier "walking the mat" does not wear rank insignia, so as not to outrank the Unknowns, whatever their ranks may have been. Non-commissioned officers (usually the Relief Commander and Assistant Relief Commanders), do wear insignia of their rank when changing the guard only. They have a separate uniform (without rank) that is worn when they actually guard the Unknowns or are "Posted".   



The duties of the sentinels are not purely ceremonial. The sentinels will confront people who cross the barriers at the tomb, or are disrespectful or loud.  We also learned that when the cemetery is closed, the guards are beings replaced every 2 hours.  One more thing of interest is that the guard change is conducted in accordance with Army regulations. The relief commander along with the oncoming guard, are both required for a guard change to take place. The guard being relieved will say to the oncoming guard, "Post and orders remain as directed." The oncoming guard's response is always, "Orders acknowledged.

We entered the adjacent museum to view the exhibits. As an Israeli, I was impressed by the number of articles donated by Israeli leaders, including one from Prime Minster Rabin.



Around the building we found the impressive Amphitheater.  

We walked back towards the entrance and arrived to the Kennedy memorial site.  J.F.K was buried here in 1963 on November 25^th.  Alongside him his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who requested an eternal flame for her husband's grave.  Two of the Kennedy’s deceased children (Patrick, who died 3 days after he was born and an unnamed stillborn daughter) are buried here as well, per her request.

 As we walked down the hill we saw a carriage with six horses entering the cemetery site with four riders, who sat tall in their saddles.  This was quite impressive.

 

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As we walked out of the cemetery we looked at the only major national memorial honoring all servicewomen - past, present and future. The Women in Military Service for America Memorial.  It honors some 2.5 million women who have served or are serving in or with the US Armed Forces starting with the American Revolution.
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We started our march towards the Lincoln Memorial, walking on the Arlington Memorial Bridge and crossing the Potomac River. 

We arrived to our destination, 20 minutes later and decided to eat our snacks before entering the site.  We sat right next to The Reflecting Pool,  which is a long and large rectangular pool located on the National Mall, directly east of the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument to the east of the reflecting pool.

We climbed the many stairs and entered the National Monument, which honors the 16^th president of the

United States: Abraham Lincoln.  The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Our next destination was The Vietnam Memorial, which honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War.  There are 58,195 names on the black stone.  The memorial site is simple and powerful. We walked along the wall looked at the many engraved names on the wall, at the flowers, cards and other symbols and remembered those who sacrificed so much.  As I looked both ways from the center it was quite somber when I paused to take it all in, to see panels with names stretching off into the distance.

Not far from the Vietnam Memorial we stopped to look at another mark: A Legacy of Healing and Hope Marker.  It is the Vietnam Memorial for women in service there.  We learned from the plaque that over 265,000 American women served during the Vietnam era (1956 through 1975) and over 11,000 saw duty in Vietnam. The majority served as nurses, caring for thousands of wounded servicemen in the difficult conditions of crowded transports, harsh weather, difficult terrain, and long hours.

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We crossed in front of the Lincoln Memorial right next to the Reflecting Pool to the next site: The Korean War Memorial, which is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle walls.  Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues figures representing a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fourteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy, and one is an Air Force.  The memorial is for those soldiers that took part from 1950 to 1953 in the fight to take stand against what was deemed as a threat to democratic nations worldwide.

We continued walking south and arrived to Martin Luther King Memorial, which was opened only recently (August 2011), not far from the place where Dr. King had his “I Have a Dream” speech.  Doctor King is the first African-American honored with a memorial on or near the National Mall and only the fourth non-President to be memorialized in such a way.  On the walls are inscribed some of Doctor Martin famous phrases, including “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that”.  Tova reminded me of the controversy when a Chinese artist (Lei Yixin) was chosen to sculpt the statue.  The decision was criticized by the Civil Right Movement and when the statue was completed, many saw Doctor King’s face to resemble a Chinese person.  I looked at the face and actually thought it was a great resemblance to Mr. King.

We walked along the huge Tidal Basin (also known as

Twining Lake) and arrived to the impressive Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, dedicated to the memory of probably the best U.S. President and to the era he represents.  He will always be remembered as the President that led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.  He was the only U.S President to be elected four times!

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The memorial includes ten bronze sculptures of President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt featuring waterfalls and giant stones engraved with famous quotations relating to issues from the Great Depression to World War II, such as “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” and “I Have Seen War… I Hate War”.

FDR was the only president to ever have a handicap. He suffered from polio and sat in a wheelchair.  His statue also stirred controversy over the issue of his disability. Designers decided against plans to have FDR shown in a wheelchair. Instead, the statue depicts the president in a chair with a cloak obscuring the chair, showing him as he appeared to the public during his life.  


Considering Roosevelt's disability, the memorial's designers intended to create a memorial that would be accessible to those with various physical impairments. Among other features, the memorial includes an area with Braille writing for people who are blind. However, the memorial faced serious criticism from disabled activists. Vision-impaired visitors complained that the Braille dots were improperly spaced and that some of the Braille and relieves were mounted eight feet off of the ground, placing it above the reach of most people.

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Our next stop was the glorious Jefferson Memorial, dedicated to our third President, the author of the Declaration of Independence and one of the most important figures and Founding Father in the history of the

United States: Thomas Jefferson.

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We climbed the circular marble steps and through the marvelous columns arrived to the middle of the magnificent building where a 19 foot statue of Jefferson was standing tall in the middle, looking directly towards the White House.

We walked down the stairs and entered the museum beneath where many milestones of Jefferson’s life were in display: He was a firm believer in equal rights, democracy, education available to all, freedom of religion and separation between church-and-state; He gave form to the emerging nation, still searching for its identity. Besides being a politician, Jefferson was also an architect, a writer, musician, scientist and inventor.

We walked North around the Tidal Basin and arrived to an orchard with Japanese Cherry Trees, a gift from Tokyo’s Mayor to the city of Washington in 1912.  This is a famous spot in the spring, when the trees blossom.

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Our next stop was the World War II Memorial, dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It was opened to the public only in 2004 and was dedicated by President George W. Bush.

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The Memorial is an oval shape with two arches, representing the war's Atlantic and Pacific fronts. 56 pillars represent the states, territories and the District of Columbia at the time of the war. Two sculpted bronze wreaths adorn each pillar. Small fountains sit at the bases of the two arches. Waterfalls surround a wall of 4,000 gold stars; each one represents 100 U.S. deaths in the war. More than two-thirds of the memorial consists of grass, plants and water. 
A circular garden, called the "Circle of Remembrance," is enclosed by a two-foot-high stone wall. 

 

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We walked along Virginia Blvd and arrived to the Watergate Hotel, famous for being in 1972, the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, then located on the sixth floor of the Watergate Hotel and Office Building.  The offices were burglarized, documents were photographed, and telephones were wiretapped. The investigation into the burglary revealed that high officials in the Nixon administration had ordered the break-in and then tried to cover up their involvement.
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Right next to the hotel is the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Art, located on 17 acres overlooking the

Potomac River.  The building is America's living memorial to President Kennedy as well as the nation's busiest arts facility.

A tour was scheduled for us at 4:00 and we had few minutes to rest from our long day.  I took a ruler and measured on the map the number of miles we walked today.  My calculations showed that we walked for approximately 7 miles!

Our tour started in the Hall of States, which featured flags from all over the world.  We followed our tour guide to the Concert Hall, the largest performance space in the

Center, seating 2,465. Our guide told us that this state-of-the-art facility, was originally opened in 1971.  The 7 famous Hadelands crystal chandeliers, a gift from Norway, are repositioned to clear the field of view from the Second tier center. The hall is the home to the National Symphony Orchestra.

We were given a chance to view the Presidential Suite, decorated with the Presidential Seal.

Our next room was the Concert Lounge, dedicated by the State of Israel.  This lounge is a gift from the people of

Israel. The theme combines images from the present time with the biblical era. The African walnut panels, with their highlights of brass and copper, take their theme from Psalm 150. They portray the artist's conception of ancient musical instruments, with their Hebrew names in English letters. 


Overhead are 40 wooden panels, decorated by Shraga Weil with acrylic paints and 22-carat gold leaf, showing musical events described in the Old Testament: 1) Joshua at the walls of Jericho, 2) David playing his harp, 3) Miriam doing her triumphant dance, and 4) a choir on the temple steps.  While looking at the round tables from the top, I noticed how the mirrors on the tables enhance the beauty of the ceiling. 

We walked back to the main hall and a saw a plaque with President Kennedy’s most famous speech: “My Fellow Citizens of the World Ask Not What America Will Do for You, But What Together We Can Do for the Freedom of Man.”  An impressive bronze statue was centered in the middle. 

In another room, The African Lounge, we saw gifts given to the Center by African nations.  One of the most striking objects in the room is a wooden sculpture, Mother Earth, Condolences to You from Ghana. She represents the Africans' grief over the death of President Kennedy. At the back left hand corner of the Lounge is set of double doors depicting native village scenes. The doors were carved from one 700 year old tree.

Our last stop was at The Opera House, which has about 2,300 seats. Its interior features include much red velvet, as well as a distinctive red and gold silk curtain, which was a gift from Japan. The Opera House also features a Lombeyr  crystal chandelier, which was a gift from Austria. It is the major opera, ballet, and large-scale musical venue of the Center.  The Opera House is the home of the Annual Kennedy Center Honors.

We walked outside where a shuttle, provided by the center, took us to George Washington University where we found the Metro station.  We were back at the hotel at around

6:30.  We picked up our luggage and drove back to Basye, Virginia.  We arrived to our Villa at around 9:00 pm, after stopping in a (lousy) restaurant for dinner.

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Day 7: October 18th, 2012

We woke up at 10:00 (!) and after having breakfast in our villa we drove to Luray Caverns, located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 

At one point, while driving the country roads, I made a mistake and turned into a narrow road that took us to a village, population probably under 10 where we noticed an apple orchard on the side of the unpaved road.  We stopped on the side of the road and picked few of the red, juicy apples.

We passed New Market and arrived at the site. Luray Caverns is a huge cave, which has drawn millions of visitors since its discovery in 1878 by a tinsmith and a photographer.

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We joined a group and started to discover this amazing site.  I I set my camera to have ISO of 3200 (Yes! My camera can handle pictures in the dark without flash!!). We walked along a paved walkway and explored the cathedral-sized rooms with ceilings 10 stories high, filled with towering stone columns and crystal-clear pools.  The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems columns, flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc.

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The cavern is yellow, brown or red because of water, chemicals and minerals. Our guide (who spoke with a heavy southern accent) explained that as with other limestone or caves, formations at Luray Caverns result from a solution of calcium carbonate giving up some of its carbon dioxide, thus allowing a precipitation of lime to form. This precipitation begins as a thin deposit ring of crystallized calcite, but continues to collect, creating stalactites and other types of dripstone and flowstone. Formations at Luray Caverns are white in color if the calcium carbonate is in its pure form. Other colors reflect impurities in the calcite resulting from elements absorbed from the soil or rock layers: reds and yellows due to iron and iron-stained clays; black from manganese dioxide; blues and greens from solutions of copper compounds. Luray Caverns remains an active cave where new formation deposits accumulate at the rate of about one cubic inch every 120 years.

    

 

I enjoyed the caverns a lot.  Some of the highlights were: The Empress Column (35 feet tall), Giant’s Hall (Several stalactites exceed 5 feet), Pluto’s Ghost (all in white), The Double Column (made of two fluted pillars 25 and 60 feet, side by side), and of course the Dream Lake, which is the largest body of water in the caverns.  However, its deepest point is not more than 20 inches.  This sparkling lake reflects a countless fantastic forms and creates a mirror image of the abundant stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

The tour lasted about an hour and for my surprise, Tova, who suffers from claustrophobia, did not complaint at all.  Only in two occasions she asked me to hold her while we were walking.

When we bought the tickets to the Caverns, it included 2 stubs to visit two other museums in the complex.

We exited the caves and entered the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum. The museum unfolds transportation from 1725 to 1941. Collections include the oldest carriage on display, a Portuguese Nobility Carriage, and one of the oldest cars on display in America, an 1892 Mercedes-Benz.

Next, we crossed the road and entered the Luray Valley Museum.   It's a small museum, but is packed with a whole ton of little exhibits and stories of how things were back in the day in southern Virginia. 

As our stomach was yelling for food, we drove to Harrisonburg and settled for a steak dinner at Outback Steakhouse.  We then entered the movie theater, next by, and watched the popular movie Argo.  When we exited the theater, a rain storm welcomed us.  I drove back to Basye (some 35 miles away) and when we entered the country roads, some 12 miles away from our villa,  heavy fog was blocking our view. I was driving under 10 mph the rest of the way and though avoided a collision with a couple of deer, which stood in the middle of the road at one point.

We arrived safely tour villa.  We packed for tomorrow’s return and went to sleep around midnight.