T HE G REEN W AVE G AZETTE
P AGE 8
A Tour of Our Nation’s Capital
Washington has much to offer
Henry Johnson
Contributor
The World War II Memorial
(Henry Johnson)
“E ACH
MUSEUM
OFFERED MORE
INTERESTING
FACTS THAN
THE LAST , AND
I AM HAPPY I
SAW ALL OF
THEM .”
H ENRY
J OHNSON
Recently (March 19 to 23), I took a
trip to Washington D.C. to visit family. At first, this trip was meant to be
more of a social gathering, but I honestly wanted to visit some of the sights
that Washington has to offer. I was
well aware that Washington holds
some of the most influential and historic monuments and artifacts in the
entire world, but I didn’t know the
scale of them. At first, I thought the
Smithsonian Museum would be a quick
visit, in and out within an hour to
learn a bit about past occurrences. The
monuments would be a few glorified
plaques larger than normal to commemorate the fallen, and show the real
American pride. Let me tell you, my
assumptions were terribly wrong.
Upon arriving. I was surprised at the
condition of the “downtown” areas.
They looked like any other motel and
apartment filled neighborhood, full of
small time entrepreneurs and college
students. But, conditions would
change as we made our way into the
city. Transportation mainly consisted
of either walking, using the metro
(which is very nice compared to Boston’s), or hailing a taxi; all of the
normal city rules applied.
But, the real fun began as we got into
the business district. The buildings
were bigger and more impressive than
anything I had ever seen. The average
building must have been about 12
stories, and it began to look like a true
capital to me. One building particularly stood out. The Eisenhower building,
which I didn’t know existed before,
was the most breathtaking building I
have ever seen. It was massive up
close, with architecture reminiscent of
Victorian England. It stretches for
almost an entire street.
The Vietnam Memorial (Henry Johnson)
When I got to the White House, I
thought, “that’s it?” It wasn’t nearly as
impressive as the Eisenhower Building.
But, despite that first impression, I
found that Washington is everything
one would expect from the nation’s
capital. My expectations were not
disappointed after seeing all it had to
offer.
Like I said, the trip was more of a
casual family visit, but we did end up
seeing many museums and monu-
ments. The first thing we saw was the
Washington Monument, and it was
enormous. You can literally see it
from anywhere in the city, because it
towers over everything. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like climbing its 897
steps, so I didn’t see the view from the
top. But, the monument itself was
stunning.
Next, we went to the Smithsonian
National Museum of American History. It was here that I had a sort of
epiphany. We have all learned about
the Colonies, the Revolutionary War,
the Civil War and everything that led
up to America being as united and free
as it is today. Well, as I was browsing
through the exhibits, I realized something that I knew in the back of my
head, but never really made a connection until now. Almost every single
exhibit included something about
Boston. I thought how lucky I was to
live right near some of the most important American history ever.
To everyone reading this from Abington and nearby: be thankful for where
you live. Your history class could not
be any closer. I knew something about
almost every exhibit. That’s not to say
students in California don’t learn
about the same things, but when we
learn something about Plymouth
Rock, we can say “I know exactly
where that is!” If there is anything to
take away from this article, it is to be
thankful that we can relate so well to
our hist ory lessons.
The Natural History and Air and Space
Museums, were exactly what I expected. I would have appreciated them
more if I was a science person, but
unfortunately I am not. They weren’t
any less amazing, featuring interactive
experiments that allowed you to see
how things work firsthand. Each museum offered more interesting facts than
the last, and I am happy I saw all of
them. I suggest you do the same.
Next, we went to see the classic Lincoln Memorial, which wasn’t that
memorable since the Reflecting Pool
was drained for the winter. After we
went to the World War II Memorial,
which at first I thought would be a wall
with names like the Vietnam Memorial, but once again I was wrong. The
World War II Memorial has to be one
of the most beautiful places I have ever
been in my life; I will never forget the
sight of it. Each American state and
territory had its own pillar surrounding the center, and each pillar had its
own wreath to honor those who were
lost from those places. On either end
were two main obelisks, to signify the
Pacific and Atlantic ends of America,
and in the center was a large pool with
two fountains on either end. It was
easily my favorite memorial and made
me thankful to live in our country.
We finally wrapped up our trip with
the Vietnam memorial, which actually
is a wall with names. It sounds bland
on paper, but this is definitely a “you
have to be there to feel it” memorial.
Walking down the path that seemed
like it took years to complete, each
name I read made my legs feel heavier
and heavier, while I filled to the brim
in sadness and pity. The wall is truly
menacing up close, and the sheer
amount of names tore away at me.
Once again I was extremely thankful
to live in our country.
This trip was one of the most interesting things I have ever done; I will
never forgot anything that I experienced during those days. The museums held more than I had ever
thought. The buildings and monuments to honor the fallen were honestly the most amazing I have ever seen,
and I will never look at war the same
again after seeing the casualties from
it. I would recommend making this
trip to anyone in the United States,
because it is so worth it to learn about
the country, and see to what ends we
will go to give recognition to those
who deserve it, those who fought for
our freedom. So please, for my sake, if
you have not visited Washington D.C.
yet, plan on it, because my description
definitely did not cover everything;
you need to see it yourself to believe
it.
Jr. Prom/Grand March
A night in Paris was the theme for this year’s
Grand March (Kim Phan Photo)