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I was hoping that the Airbus A380 that I'd bagged on the way from Dulles to Arlington was a sign that I'd be able to put my foot down and fly down the road to the Outer Banks via Norfolk to get the kids and Mistletoe for a three-hour run home to Raleigh. After all, it's a Sunday morning and there shouldn't be a whole of traffic out there until the afternoon, right? Ah, yes.…

It's time to head out and make the grand circle tour from Dulles to the Outer Banks and then finally on the way to Raleigh. But first, it was finally time to tank some petrol for the short run to Arlington National Cemetery to visit Dad before heading off to get the kids and Mistletoe. At the petrol station, I'm sure I scared the hell out of the guy at the pump next to me…

After a lovely kielbasa and some pop (yeah, I know...haute cuisine in our nation's capital!), I've made it down the mall to the National Museum of American History and sit down on the bench to get a feel for what's on display. I was really interested in visiting this museum for one artifact in particular...a 1948 Tucker Sedan. The Tucker is a special car amongst petrolheads as only 51 of them were ever built thanks…

After making it round the Capitol Building, I arrived at the National Gallery of Art. The Gallery is actually split into two buildings so I started with the smaller East building which is connected to the West building via an underground tunnel with a fascinating light display. The architecture of the buildings is stunning but the treasures of artwork on display even more so. I've always liked Henri Matisse and Auguste Renoir but I'll confess…

We're now into the "bonus" day which is going to find me wandering round the north side of the Mall starting at the Supreme Court and Capitol Hill and then working my way down the Mall toward the White House. I will say that finding Weihle-Reston East station via the surface streets does still tend to be a bit more of a miss than hit...today I missed a turn and ended up overshooting Weihle-Reston East…

After a whole heap of walking through the galleries and now having an extra day to play with, I decided it was going to be a early trip back to the hotel and some more quality time with the Jacuzzi tub in the room. Between me and the blissfully warm water and the jets was a hour-long trip on the Silver line back to the Weihle-Reston East terminus. One thing that struck me as I…

After finishing the wandering round Hirshhorn, it was time to tackle the final museum of the day...the Freer Gallery on the other side of the castle. The first impression one gets looking at the entrance to the Freer Gallery is that it seems pretty small compared to the other museum facilities along the National Mall and indeed it is. But that appearance is very deceptive indeed because the Arthur M Sackler Gallery is physically connected…

I've made it to the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art and I must say that it was well worth the effort even with the building undergoing a fairly impressive amount of renovations. It appears that a lot of the Smithsonian facilities along the Mall (including my favourite National Air and Space Museum which was unfortunately closed during this visit) were taking advantage of the pandemic to push forward these big renovation projects to prepare the…

After wandering round the back of the Smithsonian HQ Castle, I realised that I hadn't brought something to drink and I was starting to feel it so I found a convenient little cafe on the Mall to fix that problem. As I was closer to Hirshhorn having come from the east-facing side of the Castle, I figured I'd visit there next and then make my way back to Freer which is not too far from…

After working out the extra night in Washington DC so that Katie and the kids can have an extra day at the beach (and they've really needed it because the weather has not been all terribly kind to them so far...some years at the coast are like that!), I'm finally off to the Mall for a decidedly easier day of museum hopping than the five museums I was planning for today! Today's goal is to…

When we started this journey to the north, Julia and the kids were already at the coast in Nags Head and the original idea was that I'd come round sometime in the afternoon on Saturday (13 Aug 2022) to collect the kids, Mistletoe and whatever cargo is being offloaded and return to Raleigh so that Julia could have a week at the coast in peace. What that plan didn't exactly count on was a blue-eyed…

After wandering round most of the National Archives building, I managed to find the entrance which was kind of tucked away out of easy view. Normally finding the queue to get in is pretty easy but as it turned out, there really was no queue to be found and I was able to walk right to the security screening checkpoint. Given the immense value of the main exhibits at the Archives, I understand the need…

As I was leaving the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, I was confronted with a decision as to where to head next. My original thought was to head toward the Smithsonian's Freer Museum of Art as it was relatively close by and after three of hours of being a witness to some of the worst atrocities ever committed against human beings, I figured seeing something beautiful was just what I would need. Well, that was the…

Years ago, I remember my brother Ben describing the US Holocaust Memorial Museum as a place so haunting that you cannot possibly visit it and come away from the experience unchanged and unmoved. It turns out that Ben was apparently into grand understatement that day. The outside of the building is deliberately functional and eschews any pretense of the fancy styles common on the buildings lining the Mall. It honestly looks like something that would…

After a bit of sleep best described as blissful oblivion after the previous day's travels and adventures, it was time to get off my duff and get moving to catch the train into the heart of Washington DC. First thing was to actually find the Weihle-Reston East station which is the current terminus of the Metro's Silver Line. The plans are for Metro to finally make it all the way to Dulles and a couple…

It's time for Walkabout 2022 to go visit Dad and do a fair bit of museum hopping on the National Mall whilst the kids are off on holiday at Nags Head in the Outer Banks. This morning, I'm heading north to just south and east of Washington Dulles International airport to visit the Stephen F. Udvar-Házy National Air and Space Museum annex. Steven Ferencz Udvar–Házy was one of the founders of the International Lease Finance…