Tourist and Tour Guide

Our friend, Ursi, stopped by to visit on her way back to Arizona from St. Louis. Okay, so it wasn't the most direct route, but we appreciate her willingness to be inconvenienced just to see us. We loved seeing her for a few days and showing her some of "the sights."

The Inner Harbor In Baltimore

After picking Ursi up at the airport, we headed to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Baltimore Harbor, which includes the Inner Harbor, has been welcoming ships carrying goods since the 1600's and became one of the major seaports of the United States by the 1700's. Renovations to revitalize the area began in the mid-1960's and now the Inner Harbor is a major tourist attraction with restaurants, shops, paddle boats, US Navy ships to tour, the National Aquarium and lots more. We think it's a fun place to walk around and just watch people.

At the National Museum of American History

Sunday afternoon we took the Metro into Washington, D.C. to do a little sightseeing. It was a warm day and we decided to check out the National Museum of American History (one of the Smithsonian museums) for a few hours until it "cooled" off a bit. Recognizing that you could spend days in that museum alone, we decided to pick a couple of exhibits to see and leave the rest for another day. Richard wanted to see National Treasures of Popular Culture where a car from the Dumbo ride at Disneyland was on display as well as the ruby slippers Dorothy (Judy Garland) wore in the Wizard of Oz. It was interesting to see the items chosen to represent our culture through the years and we wondered what would be chosen to represent our present culture. Then we meandered over to the Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life exhibit (his stovepipe hat is on display!), then The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibit (an interesting walk through our country's history) and the First Ladies at the Smithsonian exhibit to see the gowns worn by First Ladies. I loved seeing how styles came and went and came back again; Ursi, a gifted seamstress, loved seeing the design of the gowns and the fabrics. We ended with a look at Julia Child's Kitchen- she definitely had every pot and pan known to man!

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."  Edmund Burke

Now that it was "cooler" we strolled toward the Washington Monument (beautiful in its simplicity), the Korean War Memorial (the most moving and dramatic memorial, in my opinion) and the World War II Memorial (a wonderful tribute to all who served at home or abroad). It is inspiring to see so many visitors  at the memorials- some showing their respect and gratitude by their reverence or their grief by placing objects (framed photographs, cards, notes, etc.) at the memorial.

D.C. Wildlife

As we walked along we spied several playful squirrels who showed no fear of us. We stopped to watch them as well as the ducks splashing in the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial. Everyone- people, squirrels and even ducks- needs friends. After a long walk back to the Metro stop we headed to Chinatown for dinner.