Ed Tant

Summer Fun in Washington

Union Station is a hub for Amtrak trains entering and leaving the capital city. The historic old structure was featured in the legendary Jimmy Stewart film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”  Joy’s father, Franklin Shumake, snapped this photo of the happy couple arriving back in Georgia at sunrise.

Washington remains a great summer vacation destination.  Joy and I traveled by train to the nation’s capital this summer.  Here  is a view looking up at the  555-foot tall Washington Monument and a view from the top looking toward the Jefferson Memorial in the center of the photo. The other two shots show  views of the ornate Capitol dome and  the Peace Memorial  on the Capitol grounds.

Here we are at Mount Vernon, home of George Washington, in the photo above left,  taken by our old pal, “The Unknown Tourist.”  The photo on the right is a zoom-lens view of Mount Vernon’s weathervane. America’s first president enjoyed this river view from his front porch. Potomac River cruises to Mount Vernon are a wonderful way to see the historic site.

The Newseum is Washington’s museum of news media and journalism. The balcony of the new addition to DC’s museum roster provides visitors with commanding views up and down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol Building  in the left photo to the National Archives, Washington Monument and Old Post Office in the distance in the photo on the right. Exhibitions at the Newseum include protest movement memorabilia,  FBI G-Men toys and games, a section of the Berlin Wall, the electric chair used to execute Bruno Hauptmann after the sensational Lindbergh baby murder in the 1930s and  a collection of front pages from the 9/11 tragedy. Other artifacts on display at the Newseum include Mark Twain’s corncob pipe and inkwell, Edward R. Murrow’s war correspondent’s uniform, Thomas Paine’s quill pen,  and John F. Kennedy’s notes for his first televised debate with Richard Nixon in 1960. Hundreds of original newspaper front pages on view at the media museum chronicle history  as it happened through the centuries and a journalists memorial at the Newseum commemorates news-gatherers who have died while covering stories around the world.

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum is a fun place where Washington visitors can get up close and personal with lifelike figures of politicians, celebrities and sports heroes.  Here I am having some fun with  a dead ringer for my old buddy, George W. Bush.  The other photos include the likenesses of Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman,  and civil rights icons Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

Museums and memorials are the heart of Washington. The Air & Space Museum houses the history of flight including  such planes and space vehicles as the Spirit of St. Louis,  Spaceship One, and the Bell X-1.  The American Indian Museum occupies the striking structure in the photo on the above right.  On the left and above are two views of the World War II Memorial. The plaque pictured depicts a wartime B-17 bomber crew like the one my father served with as a ball turret gunner  flying out of England during World War II.

Here’s the ornate Old Post Office, the ivy-covered Moroccan Embassy and the Hotel Harrington, our home-away-from-home in Washington.

The Phillips Collection is a stunning gallery of artistic masterpieces including Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” and van Gogh’s “The Road Menders.”  Located in the Du Pont Circle section of Washington, the Phillips Collection is a gem in the nation’s capital. Joy took the photos below of beautiful St. Patrick’s Church and its statue of St. Brendan the Navigator. The church’s stained-glass windows are inspiring.