UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING IN PICTURES

It’s number 137 on my bucket list and I finally got to take a tour of the seat of the United States government , the Capitol Building ,

The tour is free and you don’t have to take it, but I would advise definitely do it because you see so much and learn so much.

Shoutout to the tour guide that I had on my tour, Elizabeth .

She was very knowledgeable and I learned so much, such as the statues that dominate the halls of the buildings are donated by each state, and the only way a presidential statue is at the Capitol Building is because the President is deceased .

So don’t expect to find a statue of George Bush or Barack Obama .

They’re still alive and a little something called separation of the branches of government .

As with the presidents, the only way you get a statue is if you’re deceased.

You also learn that the crypt of George Washington is right underneath the Capitol Building.

A star with a velvet rope marks the spot .

It also marks the spot of where Washington DC was founded .

Most people who take the tour want to see the Capitol rotunda.

You can see it from the outside , but if you take the tour you’ll see what’s underneath the rotunda.

PICTURES FROM MY VISIT TO FEDERAL HALL

Washington DC wasn’t always the capital of the United States .

New York City was and Federal Hall was the place where George Washington was sworn in.

The Federal Hall Memorial is located right across the street from the New York Stock Market right on Wall Street .

You can’t miss this building.

It’s the one with the big statue of George Washington in front of it.

Once you walk into the building , one sees a replica of George Washington’s desk .

Everything you want to see is on the first floor, and it’s not only the story of George Washington’s journey from his home in Virginia to New York City to be sworn in, but it’s basically showing you the history of the American colonies, especially New York .

You learn the story of how this building was the first home of the United States Treasury and Customs House.

If you need some information on New York City , and other National Parks in the country, there is a information room right before you exit.

I would advise going there right after you finish seeing the exhibits .

Yes, you can take pictures here.

Admission is free and it’s open Monday thru Friday .

Enjoy the pictures .

START SPREADING THE NEWS – NEW YORK CITY , NEW YORK – THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART – PART TWO

Now that  you’ve  relaxed  for a little  bit  at one of  the  many  restaurants or even  taking  a  breather at the  Charles  Engelhart  Courtyard  in the  American  Wing  of  the  museum ,  it’s  now  time  to  look  at  the  exhibits  on the  second  and  third  floor .

Or try  to .

Like  the  first  floor  and  mezzanine ,  there’s  so much  to  see.

On these  two floors  not only  are there exhibits   on musical  instruments   and sculptures ,but so much  more . 

There’s  also  European  paintings  from  the  end of  the  12th  Century  to the  19th  century .

They  also  have  an exhibit  on World War  I  posters  from  the  countries  that  were involved  in  the  war .

It was  hard  to  say  which  exhibits  I liked  the  best ,  but I  would  have  to  say the American  Wing .

Seeing  some  of  the  sculptures  and  paintings  brought  American  History  to life  for  me, especially  the  huge painting  of  Washington  crossing  the  Delaware .

Very  inspiring   to see this painting  .

It was larger than life.

I also  liked  the    replica  of  the  museum  when  it first  opened  in the  19th  Century  with  the  exhibit  of  period  rooms  from  Philadelphia ,  Baltimore ,  Massachusetts ,  and Virginia .

For  those  of  you  not  interested  in  all this  ancient  art, the  Met  Fifth  Avenue  also  has  an area  for  Modern  and  Contemporary  art,  but  for  a more  extensive  collection  of  Modern  and  Contemporary  Art ,  go over  to  the  Met  –  Breuer  on  75th  Street  and  Madison  Avenue .

There’s  also  the  Costume  Institute  in the  museum ,  which  is  very  popular  for  those  of  us who  consider  ourselves , “fashionistas”.

In this  area  of the museum ,  works  of current  and  past  fashion  designers  are spotlighted .

This  year, it was  the  fashion  house known  as  Comme Des  Garcons .

You’ve  visited  all or if not ,  most  of  the  exhibits  in the  museum  and you  feel  as though  you’ve  missed  something ,  and like  the  song  goes ,  “You don’t  want  to  miss a thing . ”

Don’t  worry ,  you won’t ,  but if you  do just remember .

If you live in  or are visiting  New York  City  for a while ,  you can always  come back

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CAPITAL JOURNEY – WASHINGTON , DC . A VISIT TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN .

Unlike  the  American  Indian  Museum  in  New  York  City ,  the  National  Museum  of  the  American  Indian  in  Washington ,  DC  isn’t  located  in  a  building  that  was  something  else  at  one  time .

This  building ,  which  is  located  at  4th  Street  and  Independence  Avenue  is  surrounded  by  a  series  of  peaceful  and  tranquil  waterfalls .

On  one  side  in  the  front ,  you  notice  the  figure  of  a  Native  American  warrior  wearing  a  Buffalo  headdress  .

As  someone  who  is  part  Cherokee  Indian  on  my  mother’s  side ,  I  wanted  to  visit  this  museum  while  I  was  in  Washington  DC .

I  didn’t  only  wanted  to  see  the  artifacts  and  relics  from  the  other  tribes ,  but to  especially  see  everything  that  pertained  to  the  Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees  in  North  Carolina .

Since  this  is  a  Smithsonian  museum ,  the  admission  is  free .

The  museum  is  opened  everyday  from  10am  until  5:30pm.

As  you  walk  into  the  lobby ,  you  notice  a  statue  of  George  Washington  standing  with  two  Native  American  chief’s  ,  one  of  whom  is  a  woman .

At  first  I  wondered  why  George  Washington  was  there  and  what  did  he  have  to  do  with  the  Native  Americans ?

But  fast  forward  a  few years  later  to  my  trip  to  the  The  Museum  of  the  American  Revolution  in  Philadelphia  .

Looking  back on my visit   now

, the statue  did  make  sense .

The  two  Native  American  chief’s  were  from  the  Oneida  Band  of  Indians .

The  Oneida  tribe  was  one  of  the  first  Native  American  tribes  that  helped  the  colonists  against  the  British .

As  I  continue  walking ,  I  noticed  the  figure  of  a  horse  adorned  with  the  Native  garb  from  the  Seminole  tribe  in  Florida .

This  museum ,  like  the  one  in  New  York  City ,  just  doesn’t  focus  on  the  tribes  from  North  America ,  but  the  native  people  from  South   America ,and  Central  America ,  but  on a  much  grander  scale .

There’s  even  a  restaurant  inside  the  museum  called  the  Mitsitam  Cafe ,  which  serves  foods  common  to  all  tribes  in  the  Americas .

This  museum  is  not  one  of  the  most  visited  museums  in  town  and  I  really  don’t  see  why  not .

This  is  a  museum  that  every  American  should  visit  while  you’re  in  Washington  DC .

LIBERTY TALES – PHILADELPHIA , PENNSYLVANIA – VISITING THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION .

 

 

 

Philadelphia  is  known  for  just  as  many  museums  as  New  York  City .

Everyone  knows  about  all  the  historical  museums  in  the  city  as  well  as  the  Liberty  Bell  and  Independence  Hall .

I recently  visited  Philadelphia  and  went  into  the  newest  museum  in  the  city .

It’s  called  the  Museum  of  the  American  Revolution  and  it  opened  on  April  19th  of  this  year ,  which  just  happens  to  be  the  day  the  colonists  fired  ”  the  shot  heard  round  the  world  ”   at  Lexington  and  Concord .

The  museum  in Philadelphia  is  located  at  South  Third  Street ,  not  that  far  from  Independence  Hall .

Before  you  enter  the  building ,  you  notice  the  cannons  pointing  towards  you ,  right  above  the  name  of  the  museum .

Also  above  you  on  the  wall ,  is a copy  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence .

When  you  enter  the  lobby ,  which  is  very  impressive ,  including  the  marble  staircase ,  you  pay  your  admission   fee.

Hold  on  to  your  ticket ,  because  if you  come  the  next  day ,  that ticket  is your  admission .

Believe  me ,  you  will  need  two  consecutive  days  to  see  everything  in  this  museum .

Even  then ,  two days  just  isn’t  enough  to  see everything .

As  you  can  gather  by  the  name ,  this  museum  tells  the  story  of  the  American  Revolution .

But  it  doesn’t  start  from  the  events  at  Lexington  and  Concord ,  but  what  LED  up  to  those  events  and  what  happened  to  our  country  after  we  achieved  independence.

This  museum  may  seem  boring  to  you  and  possibly  your  children .

However ,  if your  children  are  old  enough  to  know  about  the  Revolutionary  War ,  they  really  need  to  see this  museum  even  if  you  aren’t  doing  a 30 Plus  Teams  Tour  of  Philadelphia .

You think  that  you  know  all  there  is  to  know  about  the  Revolutionary  War  because  you  learned  it  in  school  all  those  years  ago .

After  you  visit  this  museum ,  you  realize  that  you  really  didn’t  know  ANYTHING  about  the  Revolutionary  War .

In  school ,  the war  was  only  talked  about  from  the  Colonists  and  British  side .

There  was  actually  two  other  groups  of  people  whose  point  of  view  we  were  never  told  about .

The Native  Americans  and  the Slaves .

This  museum  makes  you  look  at  the  Revolutionary  War  from  four  different  sides ,  something  a lot  of  American  children  didn’t  learn  in American  History  class .

In every  room  of  the  museum ,  there  are  exhibits .

Children  will  definitely  enjoy  seeing  the  life size  replica  of  John  Paul  Jones’   boat  and  what  it  was  like  to  be  a  sailor  during  the  war .

I  particularly  liked  the  story  of  George  Washington’s  headquarters  at  Valley  Forge .

It was  a  tent ,  just  like  his  men  had .

You  are  allowed  to  take  pictures  at  the  museum ,  but  for  the  exhibit  on George  Washington’s  headquarters ,  no photos  are  allowed  at  all .

Once  you  see  the  exhibit ,  you’ll  understand  why .

I  was  saddened  to  see  the  exhibits  showing  that  while  the  colonists  were  fighting  for  independence  from  England ,  half  the  population  in the 13  colonies  were  slaves .

To  say  that  I  really  enjoyed  myself  at  this  museum  would  be  an  understatement .

As  a  history  major  in  college  oh  so  many  years  ago ,  seeing  the  exhibits  on  Lexington  and  Concord ,  Yorktown  and  all  those  Revolutionary  War  battles  fascinated  me.

I  even  liked  the  exhibit  showing  the  slaves  who  fought  for  the  British  side  because  they  were  promised  freedom .

I  would  strongly  advise  visiting  the  museum  of  the  American  Revolution  while  you’re  in  Philadelphia .

The  museum  gives  you  a  perspective  of  our  history  from  a  different  view .

One  that  is  very  refreshing  to  see .

Spending  two  or  three  hours  in  the  museum  won’t  bore  you ,  nor  will  you  be  disappointed .

CAPITAL JOURNEY – WASHINGTON DC – THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT .

As  you  leave  your  hostel  and  walk  towards  the  Washington  Monument ,  you  notice  something  about  the  city .

Not  only  are  people  walking   , they  jog  and  ride  their  bikes  here .

A  lot .

Now  you  can  see  why  this  city  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  ”  fittest  cities  ”  in  the  country .

People  take  their  exercising  very  seriously .

You  might  even  see your  senator  or  congresswoman  or  congressman  out  running .

Or  maybe  not .

You  have ,  however ,  lost  count  of  how  many  helicopters  you’ve  seen  or heard  since  you’ve  been  here .

It’s  7  am  and  you  are  trying  to  beat  the  crowds  to  the  Washington  Monument .

Hardly  any  other  tourists  are  here  and  it’s  wonderful .

No  crowds  to  deal  with .

It’s  the  first  monument  you  see  as  you  enter  the  National  Mall .

You  can’t  go anywhere  on  the  National  Mall  or  in  the  city  without  seeing  it .

You  would  like  to  go  inside ,  but  it’s  a  long  walk  from  here  to  the  next  destination  on  your  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  of  Washington  DC .

The  National  World  War  2  Memorial .