{"id":1875,"date":"2016-07-30T22:59:40","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T14:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2016-12-28T01:28:27","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T17:28:27","slug":"20160730dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/30\/20160730dc\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Trip to Washington DC, Day 1 on July 30th, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second weekend in US at my discretion, as I was planning somewhere different than New York to spend the weekend.
\nI was basically choosing between Boston and DC, as I lived in Ithaca and needed to travel to New York first to visit places. The result is that, prices of Greyhound helped me decide on DC.
\n
\nThe images in this post are hosted on Imgur. Email me should there be any display problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I departed Ithaca on Friday afternoon at 6 pm. The Shortline bus seemed to experience some delays at CC Lot, so my friend and I waited at Baker\u2019s Flagpole for an extra 20 minutes while listening to the bells chiming 6 o\u2019clock, followed by, quite to my surprise, Music of the Night. There must be a dedicated musician up there in Cornell\u2019s Bell Tower.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands on the way to Binghamton<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br>Crossing Binghamton Train Yard<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br>Binghamton Bus Station<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Maybe people don\u2019t prefer to arrive at midnight (except doing connection like us), as the 6pm bus to New York was much less crowded as the 1am bus last week.<\/p>\n

We arrived at Port Authority Bus Terminal at 2345, and found our Greyhound gate at underground level. To say a few things about Greyhound at Port Authority, it seemed that they leased the entire B1 floor from Port Authority, which meant Greyhound would employ their own cleaners, which meant there would not be one. Also absent were chairs for people to sit in, as I recalled about seeing 20 or so seats in the whole B1 floor, with 200+ people stand waiting. That\u2019s the prefect receipt for turning a bus terminal into a ghetto, as I found myself descending from the ground floor of Manhattan transportation hub to the B1 floor of Bronx slum. <\/p>\n

And Greyhound certainly has their way of turning their customer experience to a visit to the refugee camp. It\u2019s the year of 2016, but Greyhound seemed to have no idea of how many tickets they have sold for one trip. To be fair, neither did Shortline on their Ithaca-New York service, however Shortline made sure there were always an abundance of seats left.<\/span> It was a Friday night as there were lots of people traveling, and it wasn\u2019t until boarding time that the ground crew of Greyhound found there were too many people for one bus, as they subsequently scrambled to find a bus and a driver, hopefully before people got mad and yelled at them. Actually, this happened to our 0130 bus to Washington, and the 0100 bus before us also heading to Washington, and presumably many buses before us, as we were stranded in line and kept uninformed till 0200, when the Greyhound agent made a robotic apology saying they were trying to find a bus for us. Oh did I mention how dirty the Greyhound cleaners managed to keep the terminal floors? So my friend and I stood on our feet till 0300, where a supplement bus (not Greyhound) arrived for the 0100 service and we jumped on board. <\/p>\n

For a moment, I thought this would be my first and last time with Greyhound. I killed that thought realizing that I had bought return tickets. <\/p>\n

We arrived at Washington Union Station at 0700, which was an hour late. To be honest, for me, 0600 and 0700 didn\u2019t make that much difference, as both times were pretty \u201cearly\u201d given how the attractions and museums in DC operates. But given how Greyhound managed their New York bus station, how disorganized their service schedules were, I\u2019m not sure whether I would choose them again.<\/p>\n

So, that\u2019s enough for the miserable Greyhound experience, as we finally arrived at Washington Union Station.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Union Station Bus Terminal Sign<\/p><\/div>\n

The Union Station Bus Terminal was actually part of the parking lot, right above rail lines. We walked past the train station part, and began our two-day roam of Washington DC.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Union Station Front<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Wedge Barriers that are everywhere in DC<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Russell Senate Building<\/br>It houses offices for senators.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\nSince it\u2019s a Saturday morning, where the senators and congressmen were all at home, we could walk among their office buildings unhindered. I didn\u2019t think we could do the same on workdays.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Supreme Court<\/p><\/div>
\nMaybe 7am was really too early for DC (not the same for New York), as there were more police officers than tourists before Supreme Court (3 to the 2 of us).
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Library of Congress<\/br>Sadly, it\u2019s closed for the weekend that we were visiting.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> US Capitol<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Squirrel at US Capitol<\/br>There were squirrels everywhere in US, and they didn\u2019t seem very afraid of people.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"United<\/a>

<\/br>United States House of Representatives<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Washington<\/a>

<\/br>Washington Monument from Capitol Hill<\/br>This photo was out of focus.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"US<\/a>

<\/br>US Capitol<\/p><\/div>
\nAlso, the situation was the same before US Capitol, as we were the only two tourists at the time. There were some early-rise construction workers though, guess Congress really wanted the renovation at Capitol to be finished promptly.
\n

\"US<\/a>

<\/br>US Capitol<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Peace Circle (Navy Memorial) and US Capitol<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Ducks at Capitol Reflecting Pool<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Washington Monument and Capitol Reflecting Pool<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> James A. Garfield Monument and US Capitol<\/p><\/div>
\nThen we started walking towards Washington Monument, where the day\u2019s tickets would be distributed starting at 0830.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br>United States Botanic Garden<\/br>It\u2019s long before opening time, so we skipped it.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"National<\/a>

<\/br>National Mall and 4th Street, with DC Appeals Court in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Star<\/a>

<\/br>Star Statue outside Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum<\/br> It\u2019s long before opening time, so we walked on.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

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<\/br> Smithsonian Institution<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Freer and Sackler Galleries<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> US Department of Agriculture, Jamie L. Whitten Building<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
\nWe arrived at Washington Monument at exactly 0830, however, there was already a line waiting for the tickets. We waited for about half an hour, and got tickets for 1130. The thing that saddened me a little bit was that, I found the line dwindled as we waited. They say the whole point of waiting in line is to watch the line grow behind you, well, that\u2019s not the case that day.<\/del>
\nSo to kill the time, we decided to have a look at the White House, and finished our lunch<\/del> breakfast in a nearby McDonald\u2019s.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> 15th Street<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Ronald Reagan Building Entrance<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Herbert C. Hoover Building<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> SunTrust Bank<\/br>This reddish brick building stands out among its stone neighbors.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> US Department of Treasure<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> White House North Lawn<\/p><\/div>
\nThere was a crowd of visitors gathering outside the White House taking photos, both its north lawn and its south, but it was never too many people to find a good clean shot. Another reminder how glad I left China behind.
\n

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<\/br> General Rochambeau Statue<\/br> With his steady hand pointing forward.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Manhole<\/a>

<\/br>Manhole Steam in Washington DC<\/p><\/div>
\nI thought last time I saw steam coming out of manholes was in Watchdogs, where I took it no more serious than another hackable object. Having seen it in real life and after five minutes of Googling, I took that as a sign of an aging infrastructure, as heat was leaked from the steam pipes.
\nThis was near the McDonald\u2019s where we had our lunch<\/del> breakfast. I had to say the McDonald\u2019s in DC offer fabulous McPicks, that is, only after 11am when the breakfast hours end.
\nYes, I always equate breakfast hours with \u201cclosed\u201d for McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n

After our lunch<\/del> breakfast, we headed back to Washington Monument, stopping by White House South Lawn and WWII Memorial so that we wouldn\u2019t arrive too early.
\n

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<\/br> First Division Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> White House South Lawn<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> White House South Lawn Plantations<\/br>I guess the First Lady planted them to encourage the nation with a healthier diet. Ironically, I also guess these fruits were never actually consumed by the First Family, probably for security concerns.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> National Christmas Tree<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Herbert C. Hoover Building and The Ellipse<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Second Division Memorial<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> National WW2 Memorial<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> National WW2 Memorial<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> National WW2 Memorial and Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> National WW2 Memorial<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Sculpture in National WW2 Memorial<\/br>With four eagles holding up an olive branch of peace<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> US Flags around Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Lincoln Memorial from Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
\nThe tours at Washington Monument was running with a bit delay, as we entered the monument at 1145 among the first of 1130 ticket holders (presumably due to visitors lingering longer than expected).
\nWashington Monument\u2019s hollow structure allows elevator access. The tour guide told us that in the early days the elevator was steam-powered, as it took 12 minutes to haul a carful of people to the top.
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<\/br> Statue of George Washington inside Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington Monument Interior<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

I set a flag here, the panoramas from Washington Monument were processed differently than conventional photos, and not uploaded for the time being.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> 500 Feet Marker of Washington Monument<\/br>the first thing out of the elevator ride<\/p><\/div>
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\"The<\/a>

<\/br> The White House from Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>
\nThen there was the journey down. It caught my surprise that the elevator slowed down twice during descent, as we could see through the tribute stones on the interior of Washington Monument.
\nPiece of advice, pick the west side door of the elevator (the door that you entered through), as the tribute stones there were better-looking.<\/span>
\n

\"Tribute<\/a>

<\/br>Tribute Stones of Washington Monument<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Then, given the weather forecast of imminent showers, we decided to spend our afternoon in museums. We each picked one museums, that\u2019s National Air and Space Museum of me and National Gallery of Art of my friend.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> National Air and Space Museum Inscription<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Lunar Craft Model<\/br>This should be identical as Apollo 11\u2019s landing module, but was built only for testing purposes.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Space Shuttle\u2019s Main Thruster<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Lunar Landing Module\u2019s Landing and Takeoff Thruster<\/br>Surprised me that the smaller one was for takeoff, if I remembered correctly.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Radioactive Thermoelectric Generator Left on the Moon<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Fuel Cell on Apollo<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Apollo Command Module Console<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Instrument to Calculate Longitude Based on Time<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Primitive Seaplane Design<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Computers Used to Calculate Trajectory<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Models of GPS Receiver<\/br>They really should put an iPhone among these displays, that\u2019s what most people associate GPS with.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
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\"Model<\/a>

<\/br>Model of Hobble Telescope<\/br>I\u2019m more than surprised to find it with such a small aperture.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Imaginations<\/a>

<\/br>Imaginations of Space Shuttle<\/p><\/div>
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\"Space<\/a>

<\/br>Space Shuttle Propaganda<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Medieval-Inspired NASA Space Suit Design<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Then we decided to take a break for something different, walked across the street and visited National Gallery of Art. <\/p>\n

The collections there were marvelous, perhaps less pleasing was the Gallery\u2019s rule that backpacks shall be on only one shoulder. I know this was introduced so that backpacks don\u2019t unattendedly slam on displays. It wasn\u2019t a very nice experience trying to balance the souring feel of my two shoulders carrying a not-so-light backpack.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> River Scene with Windmill and Boats, Evening<\/br>I quite liked the way how lighting was handled here, providing an overall darkish scene without compromising the details.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Washington before Yorktown by Rembrandt Peale<\/br>That figure on the horseback was very recognizable.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Frog on the back of Frog<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Sculpture of David\u2019s Triumph over the Goliath<\/br>David must have been carrying a quite sizeable horn.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Sculpture of Poseidon Taming Beast<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Sculpture of David\u2019s Triumph over the Goliath<\/br>Now the teenage-looking David is carrying a harp.<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Sculpture of Immigrants<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> Nathan Hale by Frederick William MacMonnies<\/br>Where he loftily composed himself above the chains that bond but his feet.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> The Puritan<\/br>As it\u2019s not hard for one to notice the wasteland he\u2019s walking through, as well as the determination that he posed himself with.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Pan of Rohallion by Frederick William MacMonnies<\/br> As the lighting cast beautiful shadows on the background<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Given the time we had our breakfast<\/del> lunch<\/del> first meal of the day, we were starving by that time. We found a good restaurant called Grand Truck that serves fast food, that\u2019s located not far from National Gallery of Art, that\u2019s well decorated and above all, reasonably priced. Although, I\u2019m not totally sure what I ordered.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> My 4pm Lunch<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grand<\/a>

<\/br>Grand Army of the Republic Memorial<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pennsylvania<\/a>

<\/br>Pennsylvania Avenue<\/br>Surprise that DC has its bicycle line in the middle of the road.<\/p><\/div>
\nThen we reentered National Gallery of Art.
\n

\"National<\/a>

<\/br>National Gallery of Art Dome<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Woman<\/a>

<\/br>Woman with a Parasol by Monet<\/p><\/div>
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\"Flowers<\/a>

<\/br>Flowers by Van Gogh<\/p><\/div>
\nHalf an hour and lots of oil paintings later, it was closing time for the National Gallery of Art, as we moved across the street back to National Air and Space Museum.
\n

\"Washington<\/a>

<\/br>Washington Monument under Cloud<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Man\u2019s<\/a>

<\/br>Man\u2019s Primary Dream of Aviation<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Wind Tunnel by the Wrights\u2019 Brothers<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Primitive Air-Cooled Engines<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Bicycle as Test Platform for Engines<\/br>It\u2019s hard to believe this thing goes up to 130mph.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Man\u2019s Primary Dream of Aviation<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> PW JT3 Jet Engine
It has moveable internal parts, which made great exhibition.<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> CFM56 Engine<\/p><\/div>
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<\/br> CFM56 Engine Fan<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> PW123 Engine<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Aircraft Carrier Model<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Primitive Aircraft Carrier Model<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Trophy for Air Race<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Air Service USA (precursor of the United States Air Force) Circumnavigation Plane<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Trophy for Air Race<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Skylab Orbital Workshop<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Skylab Orbital Workshop Control Room<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Skylab Orbital Workshop Shower<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Skylab Orbital Dining Room<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Bell X-1 Aircraft as the First Manned Supersonic Aircraft<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Primitive Computer for Bomb Trajectory<\/br>I think nowadays freshman physics majors would be able to design such a \u201ccomputer\u201d.<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Spitfire Aircraft<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Mitsubishi Zero Aircraft<\/p><\/div>
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\"<\/a>

<\/br> Airman Costumes, USA and USSR<\/p><\/div>
\nI guess the museum deliberately staged the terrorist-looking combat uniform of USSR next to the Suit and Tie of USA, while the equally-ugly combat suit of USA was displayed on a different floor.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Mustang P-51D Aircraft<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Boeing 747 Restroom<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Boeing 747 Cockpit<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Wrights\u2019 Kite as Precursor of their Aircraft<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Wrights\u2019 Aircraft as the First Manned Flying Machine<\/p><\/div>
\nHaving visited all the pavilions of National Air and Space Museum, we decided to call it a day. It then started to rain, as we walked back to our Airbnb host near Union Station, calling at a McDonald’s for dinner. We tried to race cumulonimbus, and failed, as we watched a drizzle turned into a downpour. Since it rained for quite long, no night activities.
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"<\/a>

<\/br> Airbnb Home for the Night<\/p><\/div>
\nEND<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The second weekend in US at my discretion, as I was planning somewhere different than New York to spend the weekend. I was basically choosing between Boston and DC, as I lived in Ithaca and needed to travel… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[166,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2259,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875\/revisions\/2259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}