Oot & Aboot: Yes Mr President

Today I tour the nation’s capital. I booked a tour of DC that was to start midday so I got myself up early to fit in something before the tour started, and hopefully I can check out something when it finishes. I still had Milo in my luggage that I hadn’t gotten to eating, so I took it down with me to the breakfast restaurant and asked for just a cup of milk. I can safely say, the waitress thought I was odd, and I think the couple next to me thought I was eating some kind of diet shake!

I walked past the International Spy Museum the night before and thought it might be fun to check that out. So I wondered over to the museum in the morning to have a look. Washington DC is another of those cities that’s really easy to navigate in. The city is laid out like a grid, and you can either follow streets named after letters, like my hotel being on E St; or you can follow numbered Avenues. It doesn’t get much easier than that. The museum was only a stones throw away from my hotel and I only had to see the crowd hanging outside of it to realize something was in there.

Thanks to the joy of school holidays the museum was really busy. I’m not super keen on what I am to learn about spying, but you never know. I get into the museum rather quickly and have to participate in this game about false identities and have to pick one I am to have for my time at the museum. I can not be bothered with such a game and secretly head out in front of everyone else. The museum is too small given the crowds that pass through it so it’s a shit fight to actually get to the exhibits. But, once there, it was interesting. There were a lot of exhibits on spy gear that spy organizations have used over time, like tiny cameras, lipstick guns, shoe phones (very Get Smart) and recording devices. The museum looks a bit at spies in moves and has on display the James Bond car from Goldfinger. It then goes into the more modern gear of today and the new spying, computer warfare. Overall, it wasn’t too bad and I’m sure I got something out of it. After the museum, I quickly got some Subway before I headed back to the hotel.

I have confirmed today’s tour yesterday and was told to wait at my hotel for the bus to pick me up. Well it got to time and there was no sign of the bus. Waiting and waiting. It got to 15 minutes later and still no sign. I knew the stupid woman I spoke to on the phone yesterday didn’t understand me. It’s all English! So I ask at the front desk about whether they tend to run late and they offer to call. Turns out the bus had no idea it was to pick me up and I am instructed by GRAYLINE to get a taxi to Union station to meet the tour there, they would wait for me. They would pay for the taxi. I’m pretty pee-ood by now but do it as I had no other chance to take the tour. I get to the station and as I have said the station is huge. I’m running around like a headless chook trying to find the dam Grayline tour area, and I find several other people doing the same. It turns out to be tucked behind the station. By the time I get there and speak to someone, who is incredibly rude, I find out they left without me. Well I let rip, and I guess to shut me up they got another bus driver to drive me to where the tour is currently at to meet up with me. I agree and we make our way to the White House. 10 minutes later I find my tour and get about 5 seconds to see the White House and can only take one crummy shot before we head to the next destination.

We drive along Embassy Row to get to Arlington Cemetery. Embassy Row is just that, the street where all the embassy’s are based. Australia’s is one of the larger ones and distinctive by the statue of our emblem out front. We get to Arlington Cemetery 10 minutes later and are to head onto a trolley that tours the cemetery. The cemetery is situated in a beautiful area and very well kept. It is considered a sacred site due to the important people buried there, and of course, all the soldiers killed in action. Our tour guide tells us the gravestones are all perfectly lined up to represent the perfect lines they stood when in service before their death. It’s quite a haunting site to see. There are graves as far as the eye can see. We stop at the Kennedy grave site where JFK and his wife Jacqueline are buried. The eternal flame is lit there and it’s interesting to note that JFK’s grave aligns perfectly with the Washington monument over the river. Robert Kennedy is buried near by and is the only grave in Arlington that is a simple white cross, as per his wishes. After seeing the Kennedy grave site we head to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. To get there we pass an area of graves where high profile judges such as Thurgood Marshall are buried, as well as those killed in the Pentagon on September 11. What I notice that’s interesting about Arlington is that many buried there died from tragedy. This includes September 11, the PAN AM disaster that occurred in Scotland, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and so on.

We get to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and watch the changing of the guard. It’s a slightly odd tradition how it plays out, but symbolic and important. After the 15 minute ceremony we head off on the trolley and our guide continues to point out the graves of prominent people. We get back to the Visitors Centre (finally a visitors centre where you can’t buy gifts!) and meet up with our initial tour guide to get going.

We are on the bus and heading to our last destination, and what I can only call, monument city. We stop at the Lincoln Monument which I am sure many are familiar with. It’s a great monument, but freaking huge. It’s also there that I look at the Korean War monument, and the Washington monument from a distance. We had driven past the Jefferson monument but didn’t stop. I’m telling ya, monument city. After a few photos and trying to get out of the heat, as it’s another dam hot day, we are off again back to Union Station. On the way we check out the Capitol building, which I do actually like and several more monuments.

Once at Union Station I head to the food court and grab some pasta for dinner. I have to get a moving at this point as I am in desperate need to do laundry and the laundry is only open for another couple of hours. If I don’t do it, I have no clothing for the next day. So I get to my hotel and spend an hour and a half washing and drying clothes to hopefully get me to the end of my time over here.

What I learnt in Washington DC today:

At least one person is buried in Arlington Cemetery everyday, so you can imagine how big it is.
Washington DC is a city of monuments. I find it somewhat over the top to have so many monuments and think they go too far when they even have a monument for a guy who ran for Presidency 3 times and DIDN’T get it.
Grayline tours in DC suck.