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Women’s March on Washington Trip (Day 7)
This was our last day to do any sightseeing on this trip. Sharon and I planned to visit the monuments, especially the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson and MLK Memorials. The weather forecast for the day was pretty crummy–rain and 49 degrees for a high, with 22 MPH winds gusting to 45. But we were holding out hope.
Cathryn and Sharon had gone online at 6:30 AM to try to get time slots in the new African American museum but had had no luck. Cathryn had heard that we might be able to get walk-up or overflow tickets by just showing up, so that was going to be our first stop and we’d plan the rest of the day around what happened there.
We navigated the Metro to get close (yay, we’re getting pretty good at this!). As soon as we got off the metro, we decided to go to a cafe we passed for a morning snack (and my breakfast…a banana and a hot chocolate 🙂 .) Then we braved the elements to walk the couple of blocks to the museum. And it really was braving the elements. It was cold, windy, and rainy, and I think the walk convinced Sharon and me that though we could visit the monuments, it wouldn’t be enjoyable, and I probably wouldn’t get many good pictures.
Anyway, the sign at the AA museum said that walk-up ticket distribution would be starting at 1:00 or 1:30, space permitting. It was now close to 11:00, but we decided to go to the entrance anyway. Turns out we only had to wait about 10 minutes, along with some other folks, and then the guard let us in. I think she might have taken pity on us standing in the cold, or it’s possible some people who had tickets didn’t show up. No matter, we were thrilled to be getting in!
After passing security, we went to the front desk where we got a map and a quick intro. At the American Indian museum yesterday it worked well for us to agree to meet at a certain time, so we agreed to meet at 1:30 at the cafe for lunch.
I won’t try to give a blow-by-blow description of what I saw, but here are a few impressions. The place is really large and really well laid out inside. Getting around by escalator is simple, and rest rooms are easily found on all the floors. There are four levels above ground and three below. The overall layout seems to be, from the bottom up, a progressive story of black life in America, with the top level showcasing the diversity of the AA contribution in all aspects of American life.
The exhibits themselves are diverse and so well laid out that you can focus on just a few things at a time without getting overwhelmed, even though there’s just a huge amount of stuff on display.
The multi-media aspect of the exhibits is just wonderful. Static displays, interactive displays, music, video, sound. It could easily be sensory overload, and yet somehow it isn’t. Just a great job.
After meeting and eating a great lunch (the food is all various AA-themed meals), we decided that indeed, we’d just spend our remaining time for the day at this museum. We met up at 3:45 to then make our way back to the station where Lynn’s house was so we could pick up our luggage (from a friend of hers, since she wouldn’t be back from work in time to see us off), then make our way to the bus that would take us to the airport (BWI). From here, we got a shuttle to the hotel where we’re staying this last night.
Bright and early tomorrow (catching the airport shuttle at 6 AM), Cathryn and I are going to the airport and flying home (me at 8 AM, Cathryn at 8:10). Sharon gets to sleep a bit longer as her flight isn’t until 2 PM).
It’s hard to believe this trip is almost over. It’s been a great experience, both before and after the March. I’ve really, really enjoyed traveling with Cathryn and Sharon and hope we can enjoy some other trips together. And I’m so happy to have participated in the March itself! Truly a historic occasion.
It will be nice to be back in warmer Texas, though. The weather forecast there is for 71 degrees. So here’s expecting an uneventful trip and a successful conclusion to this current adventure!
Notes on the photos. The escalator one is looking down on the gift shop, and you can see how it’s easy to see through the patterned outer skin of the building. There are a couple of shots (one of the monuments area and one out onto the street) that show how bad the weather was. No sunshine to brighten up the building’s skin. Oh well. On the fourth floor, where I spent most of my time, is a great “band” (for lack of a better term) running around the room that shows projections of ever moving video with accompanying audio. The red car is Chuck Berry’s Cadillac El Dorado. There are a couple of pictures of a unique video of various musicians. It’s actually four views, but I only caught one side. Do you recognize the young B.B. King? There’s a photo piece of art that has a great saying on a female figure. If you look closely, you might be able to see–in the area where she’s crossing her arms–my reflection as I’m taking the picture. I thought the “cut out” designed to show the Washington Monument was really cool. And the last picture is the Black Power salute by two AA athletes at the Olympics in Mexico. I remember when that happened–very controversial at the time!
