DC Day 2: Hard Rock, History, and White House Wonders
Day 2 in Washington DC: we attempted to see a few things that one or both of us had on our bucket list. First, Kate collects Hard Rock Café pins, so we stopped to have lunch at HRC in DC on our way to Ford’s Theater.
A bit disappointing, but Ford’s Theater was closed and there was nothing on the NPS app about the closure. While we did not get to see inside the theater (Kate has been there several times), one of the docents was outside telling people the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. She was even great enough to bring out the cancellation stamp for Steve’s passport book!
Next we went to President’s Park and the White House Visitor’s Center
. This is located in the Department of Commerce building, Baldrige Hall. The hall itself is incredible- the detail in the plaster ceiling, the italianate chandeliers - you just feel like you’re in a luxury museum! Learning a bit about the history of the White House and seeing details on some of the special events that have happened at the White House and dignitaries that have visited was really interesting. The desk even had a piece of the building that fell off during renovations in the 1980’s!
We then took in the Eisenhower Memorial
, a portion of the National Botanical Gardens
, Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court building. Lastly, we walked down to Union Station. The cleanup this area has received recently is incredible. Steve had not been to the Supreme Court building or Union Station on prior visits (that he can remember). We made a note to come back during the work day and visit the Archives at the Supreme Court.
Today we walked just slightly more than we did the prior day in town, but we also took the metro between stops!
