Hi all. So excited to join the Hive Community for another Wednesday Walk. This is the continuation of the day where I visited the Museum of the Bible. It was blazing hot, but after leaving the nice air conditioned museum, I decided to head to the National Mall.
The National Parks Passport
Earlier this summer, I visited Glacier National Park - arriving and leaving via Amtrak. While I was at Glacier, I finally bought my very own National Parks Passport.
I was so excited to get it, knowing I'd be going to Washington D.C. which has so many national historic sites, monuments and parks. And then...of course...I left it at home.
That said, I packed some index cards in my backpack so that I could get passport stamps at the National Park Ranger Stations. Unfortunately, they were all closed by the time I got up to the mall. (Whomp, whomp) I was planning to return to this area again another day of my trip so hopefully I'd still be able to get my free stamps then.
Department of Education Building
As I was walking up to the Mall from the Museum of the Bible - I passed the U.S. Department of Education. Most people wouldn't care about this but I have worked in higher education for 25 years so this building represents a part of my career.
National Museum of the American Indian
I arrived at the Mall right next to the National Museum of the American Indian. This museum was going to be closing in just 15 minutes and so they weren't allowing anyone else in but it is a beautiful facade. I will definitely add this to my list to visit on a future trip.
Setting a Goal - Get To The World War II Memorial
I decided my goal was to walk from where I arrived at the Mall up to the World War II Memorial. This would take me directly past the Washington Monument. Since I was there so late, I was only going to get photos of the outsides of things so here we go.
First, I turned to grab a couple of photos of the U.S. Capitol. This was the best of the photos I took.
Now, it was off to the Washington Monument. It doesn't seem that far away in this photo - but I was still very far from it. Ever since 9/11 it's so disarming for me to see planes in the air anywhere around really tall buildings or national monuments.
Since it was so hot, I paused right here because I'd finished the bottle of water I had with me - I needed another refreshment. I got a smoothie from a food truck. Thankfully, that was enough to get to the other side of the monument so let's finish that journey.
I don't know what these folks were specifically walking for - but it was fun to see them.
I also passed the National Air and Space Museum which was/is closed right now. So you really only get to see a covered building.
I look forward to getting there again after it reopens.
Next up as I walked was the "Castle" - the original Smithsonian Museum.
I loved this image. I probably should crop it enough to get that car out of the right-hand side but this is another benefit of visiting when nothing is open - photos without any people or cars.
I had planned to visit the museum below - the National Museum of African American History - on this trip. I even had tickets. Unfortunately because of flight delays, I couldn't make my ticket time. I realized after talking to folks in the airport I likely could have still gotten in - lesson learned for next time.
I was now very close to the Washington Monument. Right after I took this photo, I met a lovely family from the UK who were wrapping up a multi-week holiday in the US. I took a photo of their whole family (mom, dad, and five littles) here in the one shady spot in front of the Washington Monument. We all commiserated on how much we were melting in the heat.
But, my goal wasn't the monument. It was to get to the next monument past it - the World War II Memorial. So I continued on past the Washington Monument - grabbing a couple of additional photos on the way.
My very first visit to D.C. was in 7th grade. Back then you could stand by the Washington Monument and look over towards Pennsylvania Avenue and see the White House. In the height of summer now, you barely see the top of it peaking out from the top of the trees. I added a red circle to show you exactly where to aim your eyes.
I also stopped here and grabbed another bottle of water from a street vendor. I was really dragging by this point - but I kept trudging along.
And I did finally make it to the World War II Memorial but I was so far past exhausted and hot.
So, I grabbed a Lyft and headed back to my hotel. I hope you enjoyed visiting these parts of the National Mall with me. Next week, we're heading to the zoo.
All photos in this post are original photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra phone.
