Memorial Day Weekend

We hope that everyone had a nice holiday weekend because we sure did. It was a very tiring weekend but we were able to see a lot of things that we previously had not seen yet.

Friday after my class, we went to the Newseum. Coolest museum yet. I personally felt the $20 per person entrance fee was a bit much, but when you see how high tech the museum is it is understandable. There is a lot to see and there is no way to do it all in 1 trip, or at least the 4 hours we spent there. Some of the high lights include: The front page of a newspaper in every state for that day, including some international papers; actual news papers dating as far back as the 15th century; a tribute to 9-11; An amazing unobstructed view of the Capitol building from the roof; an original section of the Berlin Wall; and a tribute to journalists killed in Iraq or other conflicts.

Friday night Kerri's friend from California arrived so the rest of the weekend was spent showing her around. Saturday we took the metro and bus system to Mount Vernon, where George Washington lived. While we were there we took the National Treasure tour where they took us around the estate and showed us where an how some of the movie was filmed. This meant being able to go down into the basement of the house, and learning about the tunnel scene in the movie.

On the way to Mount Vernon we were able to associate with many different types of people who use mass transit in Virginia including the gentleman who reeked of alcohol at 8:30 in the morning, the person sitting at the back of the bus, but whose iPod we could here loud and clear, an a bus driver who stopped at McDonalds, left the bus for 5 minutes while with the keys in the ignition, and passengers on the bus to take a potty break. Don't worry, there was a person riding the bust for the transit authority rating the service, so I am sure they heard about this one.

Saturday night was really cool. We took Mindy to the Mall to see all the memorials at night. In addition to it being night time, a motorcycle rally was taking place, and most of the motorcyclists were veterans. It was really moving to not only see the Vietnam memorial covered in flowers, but to also see big burly motorcycle riders standing together in silence searching for the names of there friends, and trying to do the pencil thing to transfer the name to a piece of paper. In fact, all weekend the war memorials were decorated with flowers and everywhere we went there were veterans.

We also saw the Korea War memorial, which is a lot more moving at night then in the daylight. At night, the way they have lit the memorial you can get a better sense of the emotion in the statues' faces.

Sunday was another moving experience. We went to Arlington National Cemetery. Every grave had a flag on it. We watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, visited JFKs grave, and saw the Iwo Jima memorial. It was an awesome sight to stand on a hill over looking the cemetery and see all the graves, with all the flags, and get some sense of what it has taken to get to where we are.

Sunday night was the Memorial Day concert at the Capitol. It was an amazing concert, and another reminder of what it has taken to get where we are. As we sat at the base of the Capitol, I looked up at it and realized that I am part of something pretty big. Even as an intern, I work in a building that really has come to symbolize America and democracy in general. The building is huge and majestic, the activities inside are life changing, and I have a small part in contributing to building on what other people have fought for. There haven't been too many times that I have really felt proud to be an American, but that night I sure did.

So enough of being sentimental. Monday we packed our day. It began with a trip to the National Archives where we saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and a copy of the Magna Carta. We also saw a political cartoon exhibit. We then watched some of the Memorial day parade, and then went the National Museum of Natural History and saw the Hope Diamond, as well as walked through the butterfly experience, where there were tons of butterflies flying around. After that museum we went to the National Portrait Gallery, saw the outside of Ford's Theatre (which is closed until Feb 2009) and at dinner at the DC Hard Rock Cafe.

So that was our weekend. Work this week should be pretty easy. The Senate is in recess this week, so the office is empty as staffers are taking vacation. It is nice because I don't have to wear a tie or coat this week, but when your boss is gone, so is your work.

So that is the week. We will probably post pictures later. So far the rest of the week is open for fun. The only thing scheduled is a tour of the White House on Saturday.