DC: Roosevelt Memorial

Our favorite memorial of this trip was definitely the Roosevelt Memorial. It was under construction during our last visit, so this was our first opportunity to see it.

And it did not disappoint. Laid out as a stroll through a sculpture garden, it punctuates his long presidency through its Great Depression and WW II phases with quotes, statues and waterfalls. Somehow the combination of text, scenery, and anthropomorphic sculpture is quite effective.

It was sobering and provided insight into the trials and triumphs our parents and grandparents lived and worked through.

I found it a better memorial to the Second World War than the WW II memorial. I understand what was attempted with the new WW II  memorial, and I did not find the controversy over the potential disruption of its location between the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial a problem. For me, though, its traditionalist design was somehow banal.

I hope it has the desired effect for those who served and those who remember, but I'll do my contemplation at Arlington Cemetery or the Vietnam memorial, thank you.

DC: Montpeilier Mansion in Laurel, MD

 One afternoon I took the Metro (a wonderful device) up to the end of the line in Maryland to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Laurel and College Park. They drove down to the commuter station to pick me up.

I've seen them a number of times over the years, but hadn't been to their house since I was a teen, so it was as treat to see them on their turf, reconnect, and visit with my cousin's young kids, whom I'd never met.

A highlight of the visit was a trip to Montpelier Mansion, a county-owned art center where my aunt keeps a ceramic studio and has been an art educator and exhibitor for many years. The house dates from the late 1700's and was a nice contrast to the much larger mansions of the Lee/Custis  and Washington/Custis families. More human in scale while retaining some of the grandeur of wealth. Beautiful grounds surrounded it as the lawn rolled down to a nearby creek where goods raised on the plantation were shipped down to the Potomac.

It was also fun to see my aunt's studio in the reconstructed art barn, and the room where my other cousin, now living in England, was married. Memory lane and new adventures on the same trip.

DC: Capital Crescent and Rock Creek Trails

The Capital Crescent Trail is an abandoned rail grade turned bike trail that swings from the Georgetown waterfront near the C&O docks up the ridge to Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Though by no means steep, it has a noticeable grade compared to the C&O towpath. As always, the tunnels and bridges add excitement and distant views.

Actually, I started this ride intending to follow the C&O. And as I left Georgetown, I did. But I kept seeing this nicely paved path along the Potomac River just below me. My fascination continued (it's easier to be fascinated when you don't do any research before hand and have no idea what's going on) as the paved path slowly rose to meet me. Which lead me to jump ship when the reached the same level, and I soon found myself on a trestle crossing over the canal and climbing inland. Cool enough. But when I hit downtown Bethesda, I thought I really should figure out where I was headed, besides generally northeast.

Luckily, there was a handy bike shop along the path soon after I worked my way through downtown along the well marked bike route. Nice map, guys! All the bike paths in the DC area, with great detail downtown. Now I could see that I was soon to enter Chevy Chase and cross over the Rock Creek park.

Rock Creek National Park was my ticket back, and had it's own bike path to boot. Actually it had a combination bike path and bike route on the road along - you guessed it - Rock Creek. I later discovered that Beech Drive through the heart of the park is closed to motorized traffic Saturday and Sunday for bikers, walkers, and skaters. Being a week day, there was some traffic once I had to leave the path and join the road, but it with a 25 mph speed limit, heading downhill, and full lane access for bikes, it was never an issue. The drivers certainly seemed to expect bikes.

Unexpected was the sudden thunderstorm that drenched me. But it was short lived, and ended by the time I reached the National Zoo. I didn't know the National Zoo was in Rock Creek park! I remember visiting as a child, but I didn't enter to see if I recognized anything.

Rock Creek Park also has numerous single tracks that would be awesome for mountain biking, but unfortunately are closed to bikes. Shoot.

The ride returns to bike path as you approach Georgetown and traffic picks up, then dumps you right back on the C&O a short distance from the bridge back to Arlington and the Mount Vernon Trail to our hotel in Crystal City. This is a great urban ride. I'd love to do it on a nice weekend when the road is closed. But even weekdays it was great. About 40 miles round trip from Regan of urban and park scenery. Recommended.

DC: Mount Vernon Trail

 My favorite bike path in DC was the Mount Vernon Trail. Not only was it the only one that wasn't a converted rail bed or tow path, it followed the Potomac for 17 miles along the George Washington Parkway National Park from Arlington, through the historic streets of Alexandria, to George Washington's Mount Vernon home.

Not being a converted rail bed, it had plenty of pleasing turns, narrow clearing, and moderate climbs. It often rode like paved single track for road bikes, giving it an aesthetic and kinesthetic advantage over the other trails.

Downtown historic Alexandria has done a remarkable job of preserving their waterfront and historic buildings. The Torpedo Factory art center, the old town square, the cobbled residential streets lined with blooming dogwoods and crabs were all highlights. Not only that, the Mount Vernon trail connects to several other trails heading into Virginia, including the W&OD rail trail that heads 45 miles west past Dulles airport and on to Leesburg. It in turn intersects the Custis trail to Arlington, making a nice loop back. But I was headed the full distance to Mount Vernon - 18 miles out and back.

You could see repeated evidence of the risks of waterfront trails and the recent flooding of the Potomac. There was still water on the lower streets of Alexandria when I rode through in the morning, though it was receding by afternoon. There were short flooded sections of the trail itself, and regular piles of debris and the occasional downed tree too.

The investment in infrastructure here was remarkable. I lost count of the bridges across wetlands and streams, many hundreds of feet wide and 12 feet wide. As you approach Mount Vernon, the trail changes character from generally flat to rolling to a moderate extended climb (hence the mount in Mount Vernon) and commences to twist an turn. I knew this could be a blast going back, but afternoon traffic on the trail is pretty regular (including the young woman cursing her husband as they climbed that last hill - she did not appreciate the grade or his earlier misrepresentation of it), and I didn't feel confident that time of day that I wouldn't encounter a dog leash or skater, so I decided to use some brake on the descent.

I finally reached Mount Vernon. I'd contemplated going in, but was surprised to find that it is not part of the national park, but has been privately run by Mount Vernon's Ladie's Association since 1853 as  a non-profit. The $15 dollar admission is quite reasonable, and the grounds and home are spectacular, but I'd been there only 6 years ago with Ann and Ben. So I decided to forgo the tour this time out, and count our tour of Lee's Arlington House at Arlington Cemetery as our historic residential visit for the year. So a quick photo of the gate to the house and grounds, and I was on my way back.

Another cool feature of the Mount Vernon Trail is the approach path to National airport. Jets fly down the Potomac, make a sharp turn over a city park and roar in right over the bike path just beyond the end of the runway. It's awesome having a multi-ton flying machine roar a few hundred feet overhead  at 200 mph. Folks bring picnics and the kids just to watch.

 Rock Creek park is a close second, but in the end, this ride was tops.

DC: Georgetown and the C&O Canal Path to Great Falls of the Potomac

Washington has several major bike paths, and many, many minor ones. I chose one each day to explore while Ann was at her conference. All are either paved with asphalt or packed stone dust.  The C&O canal was an early venture begun in 1828 to move goods from the newly opened Appalachians to Washington and the rest of the east.  It follows the Potomac river through a series of locks to Cumberland, Maryland over 184 miles. It boomed into the 1850's then began a long decline due to competition from the railroads and regular flooding. It became a national park through the efforts of Chief Justice William Douglas in 1954, and its towpath is now a popular bike route.

Better yet, from Cumberland you can continue biking along the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail path to Pittsburgh, another 135 miles west. I was sticking to a 20 mile ride from the Georgetown waterfront in DC (mile 0) to the great falls of the Potomac, where the river tumbles down a series of large rapids into a gorge before becoming the broad, flat river you see in Washington. I'd ridden the last 7 miles of the C&O towpath in Cumberland last fall as part of my Great Allegheny Passage adventure, and was curious to explore the lower end.

Here the locks and lock keeper's houses were in very good repair, and traditional boats offered rides along the canal during the summer season. It was fun to see the canal transiting the industrial section of the Georgetown waterfront and passing the beautiful downtown historic district. Georgetown, along with Alexandria, were my favorite regional historic cities, both sporting cobbled, narrow streets, restored row houses, and interesting shops and eateries.

Ironically, there was significant flooding along the Potomac during our visit, highlighting the troubles of the canal builders and operators attempting to harness such a variable river faced. The water was high into the trees and almost across the towpath in places, and there was debris above my head from higher water yet when I stood on the rocks along the falls.

Like any rail trail or canal path, the ride was nearly flat, the climb almost imperceptible. Over the first few miles it parallels the Crescent rail trail - first above then below with a park at the crossover point.

As the C&O proceeds upstream, the hills above the Potomac climb steadily until you realize you're in a gorge filled with the swollen river. At this point a number of parks line the east bank of the river and the number of trail users increases. When you start to see dramatic rock outcrops and a series of locks climbing to a turning basin, you know you're almost there. That, the roar of the cataracts, and the signs warning against swimming with 7 drownings in the last 16 months if you speak English (8 if you speak Spanish, apparently). The pedestrian bridge to the island in the center of the falls was unfortunately closed, but it was thrilling sitting by that volume of water coursing through the bedrock. In the distance I could see kayakers playing in the haystacks, and jet boats high-pointing in the terrific flow, spinning out, and regrouping lower in the river.

A great ride. I'm repeatedly impressed with the quantity and quality of parkland in DC, the beautiful scenery, and the ease of access.

DC: Crystal City and Riding the Metro to the National Botanic Gardens

One of the beauties of DC is its subway. The Metro is the most scenic transit system I've ridden. The stations are nicely designed, clean, and graffiti free, the trains fast and quiet. It was a great way to get around a very walkable city if we didn't want bike (and DC is a very also bikeable town). The conference was at the Mariott in Crystal City, right by Regan National Airport - a perfect hub of air, train, and bicycle transportation. Crystal City itself has the somewhat sterile feeling of purpose-built resort town, but there are some good restaurants there if you choose carefully. But its most compelling feature for me is public transit. Driving there - not so nice. But park the car and you can get anywhere in the world or nearly anywhere in DC without much fuss.

So we hopped the train to the National Botanical Gardens near the end of our visit to see more flowers. Already wowed by the dogwoods in full bloom everywhere outdoors, we entered and were instantly immersed in the exotic plants of the conservatory - the largest I've ever seen, with commensurately sized collections: from the blooming tropicals, to the towering Royal Palms, to the epiphytes hanging above the second story skyway. A touch of the tropical world a few stops away, a taste of the desert for a $2.80 fare.

DC: Arlington Cemetery

We also had never visited Arlington National Cemetery before. The conference was in Crystal City, near Arlington, connected to the cemetery by the Mount Vernon bicycle path. That was an easy decision - never been there, easy bike path, cool sunny day - let's go biking!

We didn't have great hopes here either, but it turned out to be a profound moving experience. To see the large memorials of the famous surrounded by endless, neat rows of headstones, memorials to so many who had served their country as they best understood it, we felt the history and the sacrifice of the group enterprise our country is.

The earliest headstones were from the Civil War, pointing to the origins of the cemetery as Robert E. Lee's home. We were fascinated to discover that this was the plantation his wife, of the wealthy Virginia Custis family, had inherited, and they had lost as a result of his anguished decision to join Virginia in succession.

It was subsequently occupied by federal troops, and soon became a cemetery for both Union and Confederacy dead. The Lees were compensated for the loss of their home after the war, but never returned. The views from the front porch across the Potomac River are spectacular and the grounds beautiful and peaceful.

DC: Museum of American Indian, National Building Museum, and Hirshorn

We also spent part of a day each at the Museum of the American Indian and the National Building Museum.

The Museum of the American Indian is a fascinating piece of architecture. Its exterior evokes cliff dwellings carved into tan sandstone, while the interior hints at native dwellings on a massive scale. The exhibits are designed by historians from specific traditions across the Americas - from the Chile to the Arctic - and rotate between traditions on a regular basis. It's interesting and useful to hear from participants about their own traditions, but I did wish for a unifying narrative that put each of these traditions in a larger historical, environmental, and cultural context. How were ideas shared between regions and traditions? How did the languages develop? What are the prehistoric roots of the Native American tradition?

Actually, one cultural high point for us was the cafeteria, which offers a sampling of foods from six different native regions, well prepared and often verging on the exotic. Expect lines, it's very popular and it takes time to navigate all the choices. We ended up returning at a later date just for lunch at 11:00 am to avoid the crowds, and the lines were long by 11:30.

Another fascinating building was the National Building Museum. Formerly the Civil War veteran's pension office, its space is now devoted to architecture and building. There were extensive educational studios in support of school field trips, an exhibit of huge scale models of great world architecture built of Legos, and an exhibit covering a famous Art Deco muralist and mosaicist Hildreth Meiere. But the greatest pleasure was simple experiencing the towering interior space, the massive faux-marble columns, and the high galleries surrounding the atrium while families congregated below and children tumbled on the carpet in the exuberance of the exotic space. The building itself was the best exhibit. Very cool.

Finally we spent part of a day at the Hirshhorn museum of modern art. This is also an interesting building, formed as hollow cylinder, the outside virtually windowless, the inside extensively windowed above an open courtyard. Modern architecture I generally like, modern are is more a 50/50 proposition for me, but I truly enjoyed most of the exhibits here, especially the sculpture. Of special interest was the Calder exhibit. I have seen many Calder mobiles throughout my life in many public spaces, and they had begun to look the same, but his smaller works seemed to display a greater range of creativity, and having them hung in  featureless rooms lit with spots to accentuate their shadows and motion was a revelation. The biggest surprise was his caricatures in wire. How he was able to fashion recognizable faces in three dimensions with simple single pieces of bent wire is a tribute to his artistic genius. I can still hardly imagine seeing so clearly and simply in 3D and then being able to suggest such sold three dimensional space with a one dimensional material such as wire.

DC: National Gallery of Art

One of our favorite museums anywhere is the National Gallery of Art. Both the 1941 west wing and the 1978 east wing by I. M. Pei are both beautiful examples of the architectures of their times, and the collections are breathtaking.

We didn't get to spend a lot of time there this visit, but had the chance to walk through the buildings and remember previous visits, enjoy the spaces, and spend a little time at the small French paintings exhibit, the Canaletto in Venice exhibit, and the cafe below the plaza under the pyramidal skylights evoking Pei's later work at the Louve.

I guess we have to plan a trip dedicated strictly to this museum next time. It would take days to fully appreciate it and we only had hours this time. More than likely though, next trip we'll head to our second favorite, the Chicago Institute of Art. Way closer to our home, and we missed the opening of the new Modern wing by weeks our last visit.

The National Gallery will still be there for us when we finally do get back to DC

DC: National Portrait Gallery

Since we are only 4 hours away in State College, this year I accompanied Ann to her annual Internet2 conference in Washington DC. We headed down early and spent the weekend hitting the museums - some we'd missed before like the National Portrait Gallery, and some old favorites like the National Gallery of Art.

The National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art are in the recently remodeled old patent office. It is an amazing space. The building consumes an entire block, and the courtyard has been glazed, becoming a spectacular indoor space. Live jazz the day we visited. The interiors offer the measured beauty of columns and vaults transformed into a modern display space by neutral colors and lighting. Yet in what were once the public spaces of the patent office, an immaculate restoration of the complex detail and color brings the original building to life.

The portrait gallery is especially known for its presidential portraits. We were prepared to be underwhelmed, but the interpretive work accompanying each painting provided a wonderful window into not only the accomplishments of each president, but also the politics, culture, and art of their time. It was fascinating watching the style of painting, expectations of portraiture, and views of the presidency transform over 200+ years. By the time you receach recent decades, Bill Clinton is choosing a pop-art portrayal and George W. Bush a casual pose in a tieless unbuttoned shirt.

 We also were surprised by an exhibit by Alexis Rockman, whose monumental environmental paintings explored through almost cartoonish detail the natural world and his vision of a future transformed by human influence and adaption. I didn't always like the aesthetic, but it was invariably interesting and often challenging.

A great example of American architecture, and a trove of American art. Well worth a visit.