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Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
National Mall, DC, June 2026 The first stop, after the Smithsonian Castle, was the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. On the way, we had to pass by the National Mall Carousel and through the Mary Livingston Riley Garden. The carousel is not the original one at the mall. The full history of the carousel can be…
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Smithsonian Castle 250th Anniversary Celebration Exhibit
National Mall, DC, June 2026 The first blog was about the Smithsonian Castle itself. This blog is focused on the 250th Anniversary Celebration Exhibit. What I found very interesting was that most of the exhibit were originals not reproductions. For example, the declaration of independence was not a replica. Because the items were the real…
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Smithsonian Castle
National Mall, DC, June 2026 This was the first time the Smithsonian Castle has been opened when I was in DC. As part of the 250th Anniversary celebration, the castle was opened for this summer only. So, the castle ended up being on both John and my list of things to do. From my understanding,…
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Additional Memorials
National Mall, DC, May 2026 This post is dedicated to the other memorials not already in a blog. The John Paul Jones monument commemorates him as a war hero and founder of the navy. His crypt is in the Chapel at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. You can read more about the memorial on…
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World War II Memorial
National Mall, DC, May 2026 I remember more facts about WWII than WW1. Still, I thought it would good to add a refresher. A major factor in WWII was the unresolved issues from WWI. The treaty of Versailles had harsh penalties on Germany. Penalties included territory losses, military restrictions and reparations. Germans were economically depressed,…
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World War 1 Monument
National Mall, DC, May 2026 I remember more from school about World War II vs. World War I. So I did a little research while writing this post. One of the factors that triggered the start of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife Sophie. Ferdinand was the…
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National Zoo (5/5)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo, DC, June 2026 The last area to visit was the lower left portion of the map. This is the American Trail and Amazonia. The first thing we saw were River Otters. These are the kind that we saw in Yellowstone. They are adorable. The otter got tired of picture time (or too…
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National Zoo (4/5)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo, DC, June 2026 At the north end of the park, they have the Elephant Trail, Africa Trail, Visitor Center, Main Entrance, Asia Trail, and Bird House. The Africa Trail was closed for renovation, and we skipped the Elephant Community Center. Next, we headed for the most important thing in the National Zoo;…
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National Zoo (3/5)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo, DC, June 2026 Across from The Reptile House, they have the frog pond. The house John grew up in had an in-ground pool where the lining had eroded away. We did not have the money to repair it, so it basically became a giant terrarium with turtles and bullfrogs. Some time later,…
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National Zoo (2/5)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo, DC, June 2026 We are still towards the bottom of the map. This and the next post will be slightly out of order. The Reptile house is in the middle of the primate area, but that will be in post 3 of 5. At the south (lower) edge of the primate area,…