Going to the Mall…

24 and 26 April 2014 Washington DC

Usually it takes  a threat or a promise to get me to a mall. The National Mall in Washington DC is a different story. 

Protestor tents in the Mall. Very earnest. Beer coolers are tastefully hidden.

No roof, hardly any stores and lots of elbow room. Stretching West – East from the Washington Memorial to the Capitol Building the National Mall is a big open park with gorgeous surroundings including the Smithsonian. You can keep coming back for weeks to fully absorb just the National Mall and its treasures – and if you add the adjacent memorial parks (Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt) and the White House there is a lot of territory to cover. Unless you have been hiding in the woods all your life there are many landmarks here that are familiar parts of the North American psyche (yes even the psyches from the frozen north). It’s a strange blend of commonplace and surreal.

 

So we walked it. All points of the compass over 2 days (about 10 miles a day is our estimate) in the wonderful warm spring weather. Skimmed. Took a few pictures. Click here for photos if you haven’t drifted off yet. Click here for photos if you haven’t drifted off yet. Click here for photos if you haven’t drifted off yet. Wake up!

Welcome back.

View of Smithsonian Castle from the side. Unusual and crappy perspective.

The Smithsonian is a collection of 19 museums, some research facilities and a zoo. Most of the museums are free. I know you can Google so I’ll spare you the lecture. We flitted through several. National pride at its best. Bucket list material. To be allowed as close as we were to the White House is privilege not to be missed. Are you tearing up?

No stock photos. Mediocre and genuine.

The Metro system was perfect for us – we stayed at a campground north of the city and it was a short drive down to the station followed by a ½ hour trip to the National Mall. After a couple of days rubbernecking we started heading north since our US stay clock was running out (182 days max).