The Smithsonian

Tuesday, October 23
The Smithsonian is made up of 19 different museums containing 137 million exhibits. At 30 seconds per exhibit and looking at the exhibits 24 hours per day and 7 days a week it would take you over 120 years to see them all! So, no we didn't see it all.......but we did go to one museum to get a good sense for what the United States has gone through in its history. We decided on the American History Museum and it was a good choice.

The American History Museum covers a lot of areas of American life. You will see by the photo tour below just how broad the topics are.

We again used the wonderful Washington Subway system. It is fast, clean, and efficient. What a great way to get into the heart of DC.

Just outside the Metro station we spot our first statue. There are lots of them in DC.

This is the Smithsonian Archives museum. It houses important documents such as the original Constitution.

Some interesting artwork in the Sculpture Garden.

This one made as much sense as any of them. Typewriter eraser.

Uhhhh, no idea!

This one is actually pretty cool. It is a stainless steel tree.

We went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We thought this would give us a good look into the political history, the technological advances, and the lifestyles of Americans.

One of the bells that Paul Revere built in his shop. He built this is in 1802 with his sons for a church in Maine.

This was a 200 year old house that was taken apart and rebuilt inside the museum. In addition to the interesting building techniques the display really told the story of the various families that lived here and their stories.

Mortise and tenon, with wooden pegs that held the main beams in place.

The very tight presidential race in Florida in 2000. One of the magnifying glasses used to ensure an accurate count.

Some of the presidential buttons and advertising over the years.

The right of the people to hold peaceful protest.

Whoops, a bit crooked. This was a very impressive timepiece.

Inside this vault were some examples of currency from around the world.

See the top example of a 100,000 dollar bill.

The transportation section was interesting. From this........

.......to this!

Steam engine on a metal bridge. The railroads started using metal bridges to keep vandals from burning the wooden bridges.

Horse drawn fire water pumper.

They had a very impressive area dedicated to power generation. Everything from water power to electric.

The Interstate system and how it changed the transportation methods of Americans.

School bus.

A travel trailer from the 1930's.

Route 66 and the American dream of traveling the US.

One of the huge engines that traveled the vast railway network.

They needed four wheel drive!

The street car era.

This was Julia Child's kitchen and her various pots and pans.

There was a section on the wars that Americans fought over the years.

This Huey served in Vietnam.

The war on terror. These metal pieces are from the World Trade Center.

A section dedicated to American Presidents from Washington........

.......to Trump.

The First Ladies and their Inauguration gowns. Not just pictures, they had the actual gowns on display.

Judy Garlands Ruby slippers.

After completing the museum tour we jumped on the Circulator Bus. This is a great transportation method for getting around the Mall area of the City. For a dollar you can jump on the bus and get off at whatever stop you choose. The only issue is that to get one stop back from where you are you have to go around the whole circuit. That is a good thing for tourists like us but if you're in a hurry it may not be the best method. That's what cabs and Uber are for I suppose. So we made another circuit around the Mall and got off just two blocks from the subway that would take us back to the truck.

Jefferson Memorial.

The new African-American Museum

The Capitol Building.

The White House.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is chore and laundry day so no travel. Thursday morning after rush hour we head further south.

.....and that was Our View From Here!