Enduring Understandings: Touring Washington DC by Metro

John and Jackie's home in Georgetown, while he was Senator

Our time in Washington DC provided for profound understandings of our country.

Georgetown provided for a walk through the architecture of the city but at the same time captured key moments. I.e. one of the early homes of John and Jackie Kennedy when he was a Senator. In this house, he wrote "Profiles of Courage". I realized that I so admired him as a President, yet acknowledged his shortcomings as a man. 

The same is true for Thomas Jefferson. He is probably my favorite Statesman. That is with full realization that he had a whole second (slave) family. In his case, his contributions to this country, for me, were stronger than my misgivings about his personal failings as a man. I certainly am not condoning his being a slave owner, having a black mistress that happened to be his first wife's sister with whom he had a whole second family.  Yet, I think about how much he loved his first wife who died due to the rigors of childbirth. Did he love her sister and would he have married her if the times had allowed? We don't know, we will never know. He struggled with this, yet still...

What I do know is that he believed in the power of education. He said that a democracy needs an educated citizenry. He believed in the power of books! Reading! He contributed 6,800 books to the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress left us speechless. Truly speechless. The building was dedicated in 1897, it is truly a work of art that I can not even begin to describe here. Thomas Jefferson's library is housed here. There are several original writings/maps/books that make up who we are as a nation. ORIGINAL WORKS THAT ANY ONE OF US COULD HOLD IN OUR OWN TWO HANDS! Any citizen can get a library card to this library, make an appointment and then reserve a desk to peruse any of the great works in this library. I can not even imagine what it would be like to hold a book of Jefferson's with his own writings in the margins. OR the Gutenberg Bible, produced in the mid 1450s. The Gutenberg Bible is the first book printed with movable metal type in Europe. AND the ink he used candled black ink, harvested off of glass is still jet black and readable. Beyond belief. 

There are original maps as well. 

Another profound experience was going to U street. This was an African American Neighborhood in answer to segregation laws of the day. Howard University is here. Langston Hughes penned his prose here. Duke Ellington made his music here. There is a monument to the 250,000 African Americans who fought during the civil war for their freedom. It was a place of self-realization and resilience. 

We walked, walked and walked the streets of Washington DC. We walked where our founding fathers walked, where freed men walked, where Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. 

We did the twilight tour, saw the memorials and felt reverent. Not only for the men represented but for a nation who realized the importance of honoring our history. 

We ate where Presidents conferenced with members of congress. 

We had lunch with one of my former students who is now a change agent in her own right. 

We did all of this via Metro by the way. Washington DC is very well organized. We were able to navigate the whole area via Metro. We also used DC by Foot, a great tour service www.freetoursbyfoot.com/washington-dc-tours/

There is no need to pay for expensive commercial tours. You can do the city on your own. 

For those of you traveling by RV. I strongly recommend staying at Cherry Hill RV Park. It is the best. 

Next up? Montecello. 

Booth at Marvin's Tavern where John proposed to Jackie

The Capitol

Cobblestone Streets in Alexandria

Georgetown University

Jefferson speaks directly to the NEED for Government to change as we grow as a nation. 

All around the Memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, they captured his words. Inspiring, 

U Street. Ben's Chili Bowl since the early 1930s (I think) Still owned by the family.

Library of Congress! AMAZING!

Minerva Mosaic, Library of Congress