WASHINGTON DC – in search of Gibbs
Monday – Ever watch NCIS? I love it – just love it. Visiting DC and not going on the Gibbs trail was just not a thought so today we are off to The Pentagon to maybe track him down. Now before you all jump up and down – I do realise that NCIS headquarters are not situated at The Pentagon, but you never know, he could be there on a visit.
We have done our homework – made a request online where we have to submit all our information for our tour and last night we received a message to say that everything was OK and we could attend. Yep, you don’t hear until the day before – glad to hear that our records are squeaky clean and we have been accepted instead of being locked up!
I have donned my NCIS t-shirt which was recently procured from a street vendor. She had loads of wonderful t-shirts and jackets so needless to say, I left a few more of my hard earned dollars with her.
As we have to be at The Pentagon about an hour before our scheduled time we catch a cab and above is the only view we seem to get whether it was Kylie driving or the cab driver, speaking of which he doesn’t seem to know where he is going as there are two addresses where he could take us and first up he takes us to the wrong one so he has to get out the street directory to find out how to get to the other one.
Finally arriving where we should be, it is a short walk to the Metro entrance for our Pentagon Tour. Through our first lot of security, documents and passports are checked along with our bags and we are allowed to progress.
We have to wait in a large area for about 30 minutes or so but that doesn’t matter as there is something to do – take photos and visit the souvenir shop. This is the only place where you are allowed to take photos – and yes I did double check to make sure I could snap away.
This is definitely set up for the tourists – but that is what we are so that is great. Of course everyone in the room has to have their photo taken standing behind the podium – and of course I am no different.
There is one guy who has his camera set on a tripod and time release and he is a source of enjoyment for all as he runs from camera to podium to camera to podium. He also has a full range of facial expressions and gestures that goes with each photo – God bless his little cotton socks!
When he is finished it is our turn so in best podium speaker attitude I step up while Kylie takes the photo on her phone. It is then Tyler’s turn but Kylie gracefully declines – party pooper.
It is now time to venture forth to the souvenir shop where the usual fridge magnets are bought. Still with time on our hands time to snap another photo or two. Finally our timed group is called and we are given a special ID badge that we must wear for the duration of the tour. We are also instructed to put our cameras in our bags.
There are two guides for us – one at the front is Army and the one bringing up the rear so that no-one gets left behind is from the Navy. They are in full uniform, very smart, and off we go and it is amazing to see that the Army leader walks backwards through the whole tour. We pass a tribute to Medal of Honour recipients and I ask if the medals are made from any material that is a poignant past of their history. Maybe Washington’s cannons from Valley Forge? Getting a rather strange look I then lurch into the Victoria Cross allegedly being made from cannon from past conflicts. I get more strange looks, a few ums and ahs and then ‘no’. I sigh and move on. I like to think they went home and looked it up.
The Pentagon is an amazing place – just like a big city – of course loads of offices but a whole supermarket and shop area. Unfortunately we cannot go and browse as we are moved past at double quick time. The only disappointing thing about this tour is that there is so much memorabilia to see – but there is no time to see it. We are kept moving up and down escalators and it is on one of these escalators that I am apprehended!
There I am pleasantly minding my own business looking around as we descend, when, at the bottom of the escalator a guy grabs my arm and leads me aside. It is a rather stern looking fellow who says ‘I like your shirt’ and then smiles. No, it wasn’t Gibbs, bugger, but I thought I was going to be carted off to Guantanamo Bay.
I see the funny side and say to him ‘thanks I just love the show’ to which he continues to smile and flashes me his NCIS badge which is inside his jacket. You could have knocked me down with a feather. The only thing I can think of to say is – have you met Gibbs? We laugh and continue to have a chat until Mr Navy comes and moves me on – bugger. I should have asked the guy with the badge to give me a private tour – but the moment is lost.
One of the most poignant moments on the tour is a visit to the 9/11 Memorial Chapel. This is not my photo – remember NO PHOTOS ALLOWED. This chapel is located at the crash site of the 9/11 terrorist attack on The Pentagon. It is a time for quiet solitude and reflection back to that dreadful day when so many innocent lives were taken in the name of terrorism.
Opened in September 2002 after Pentagon repairs were completed, the America’s Heroes Memorial and chapel are located where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building.
The memorial includes a book of photographs and biographies of the victims. It also includes five large black acrylic panels: one displays the Purple Heart medal awarded to military members killed in the attacks, another shows the medal given to civilians, two back wall panels are etched with the victims’ names, and a centre panel shows tribute statements. The small chapel, located in an adjacent room, has stained glass windows with patriotic-themed designs.
Moving on, there are loads of interesting paintings, pictures etc on the walls but we are moving at a great rate (or so it seems) and we barely get a glance then all of a sudden our tour is over. We hand our temporary badges to our guides (no, you cannot keep them) and then it is back to the ‘real’ world.
This was a great experience even if we did run the four minute mile on the odd occasion.
Pentagon City Mall is not far – there is a food court and lots of shops so we decide time for lunch. I decide on Chinese from the Panda Express. It all looks good – but what to have? A little bit of everything sounds good to me and for $9.00 I get honey sesame chicken, sweet and sour pork, broccoli beef, mini spring rolls, noodles, fried rice and a bottle of water. It was delicious – not the same tastes as back home but scrumptious nonetheless. The cool water hits the spot and now that we are all stuffed again it is time to join our Big Bus Hop on – Hop Off.
Take a tip – this is a great idea to do at least one of these tours no matter which city/country you are in. Do the full tour loop and not only can you sit back and not have to worry about tired tootsies and traffic etc, it gives you a great way to see the city and plan what you really want to see. We have purchased our 48 hour all loops tickets online – and with that we get a free River Cruise on the Potomac, but back to the day.
We start on the ‘Blue Loop’ and head off deciding we will take our own advice and go around once and then decide when we want to get off. It is a wonderful sunny day so we sit upstairs in the fresh air. We pass the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House, WWII Memorial over the Arlington Bridge, past the Seabees Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Air Force Memorial.
This is a great way to relax and enjoy the views. It takes about an hour to do the loop and we decide to alight at the Washington Monument to board the Red Loop and head for the Jefferson Memorial.
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is similar in appearance to the Pantheon in Rome. Thomas Jefferson is one of the greatest figures in the history of the nation. The author of the Declaration of Independence, he was one of the founding fathers of the United States.
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 new nation still searching for its identity. Besides being a politician, Jefferson was also an architect, a writer, musician, scientist and inventor.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt felt that a person of such magnitude deserved a memorial and John Russel Pope was chosen to design. Since Jefferson was a supporter of classical architecture this seemed to be a fitting tribute.
Entering the rotunda, there is a large bronze statue of Jefferson which looks out towards The White House. It was intended to represent the Age of Enlightenment and Jefferson as a philosopher and statesman. The statue is 19 feet tall and weighs five tons so it is a most impressive sight.
There are seats located around the inside and it is good to sit and look and read some of Jefferson’s words. Time to move on and it is back to the Big Bus – our next stop being the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
This is a most impressive Memorial dedicated to the USA’s war time President. Roosevelt was an incredible man who was elected to the Presidency for four terms from 1933 – 1945. This memorial is different to those I have seen so far. It is not one building so to speak, it is spread over a large, uncovered area and along with memorable quotes, there are several status and waterfalls.
It is a lovely Memorial in which to walk and think about the life and times of this man who led the nation through some pretty tough times. From the Great Depression, highlighted with statues of men in a bread line through to Pearl Harbour and WWII.
Even though some of the times of FDR were turbulent the water features are incredibly calming. That is until we come to one where some dippy mother has her child posing in an assortment of gymnastic moves leaping from one stone block to the next. Really, some people have no idea on what a memorial means.
Time to take a deep breath and move on. It is only a short walking distance to the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.
Dedicated to a man who dreamed of a world with equality for all, his dream lives on in this Memorial. Opened 48 years after his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech (my goodness, was it that long ago?) which was presented on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, it is on a four acre site along the Tidal Basin.
HISTORY LESSON : the centre piece of the memorial is a 30-foot statue of Dr. King. His likeness is carved into the Stone of Hope, which emerges powerfully from two large boulders. The two boulders, which started as one, represent the Mountain of Despair. The boulders are split in half to give way to the Stone of Hope which appears to have been thrust forward toward the horizon in a great struggle. The solitary Stone of Hope stands proudly where the civil rights leader gazes over the Tidal Basin toward the horizon, forever encouraging all citizens to strive for justice and equality.
Across the Tidal Basin there are some good views of the Jefferson Memorial. There is a lovely, quiet area where you can sit and watch the water and in Spring when all the cherry blossom trees are in bloom it would be a wonderful sight but unfortunately there are no blossoms for us.
There are quite a few but not a lot of tourists. Maybe they have postponed their holidays because of the government shutdown? I am so glad that the government decided to go back to work as we would have missed all these wonderful monuments. As we sit and just enjoy everything there is a loud buzzing above us and a US helicopter flies over us. I like to think that The Pres was in it and was returning from a morning outing. Ever ready with the camera I start snapping away – thinking afterwards that maybe that was not a good move but hey, too late.
Back on the Red Line we head for Union Station which is way across the other side of town. If you click on this photo it opens in a better format than what is pictured here.
Union Station is a hub of what seems to be organised chaos. After our schmozzle of returning the car 3 days ago, it is nice to sit in a chauffeured bus and just experience the good sights. From where this photo was taken there is a huge set of traffic lights where our bus has stopped at just the right time and we have a few minutes to admire its architecture. Definitely a must visit when you are in DC – even if you are not using the station for travelling – just go and enjoy.
HISTORY LESSON : In 1903, Daniel H. Burnham, Director of Works, principal architect of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, was chosen to design Union Station. He modelled the Station in the monumental Beaux-Arts style and after the Baths of Caraculla and Diocletian and the triumphal Arch of Rome.
The lights turn green and we continue on – time to get a better close-up view of the Capitol Building. The details you can see are wonderful – unfortunately when we are close there are loads of trees and you cannot get a really clean view but that doesn’t matter as the trees add character, especially trees in the Autumn.
You would have already checked out this building on my previous posts so there is no need for me to add anything.
The Memorial to Ulysses S. Grant stands at the edge of a large pool at the front the Capitol Building. It is on our itinerary as one of our things to see in detail but alas, time has beaten us once again. A quick glimpse is all we can manage but we still see enough to know that it is a fitting tribute to the 18th President of the USA.
We arrive at the Big Bus stop at the Air & Space Museum that we visited yesterday and it is time to get off and walk the short distance to our hotel. We have had another big day and I am glad that I did not have to walk the entire distance! It is nearly 6pm so we decide to grab something to eat from the Golden Arches down the street and take it back to our room. Tomorrow is the day we have our Free Cruise so another bit of relaxation – hope the weather continues to be fine for our time on the Potomac.
Highlight of the Day : being nicely apprehended by the NCIS man!