Botanical Gardens, etc.

My roommate Matt, his girlfriend Catie and I went out into the city today. We started out at the National Botanical Gardens. They were pretty impressive, though having never been to any other botanical gardens it is hard to compare. They were beautiful none the less.

After spending a little bit of time in the gardens we wandered down the mall to the Air and Space Museum. It's massive and they have exhibits on everything from the Wright brothers (including Wilbur's report card) to an exhibit exploring all the technology we gained from space exploration.

The best artifacts in the museum, in my opinion, are when you walk into the museum — space capsules from NASA space program.

After that we decided we still weren't done. So we decided to go to the National Aquarium. On the way we passed the National Archives. We decided to take a detour there, but since the line was out the door, reconsidered. I'll probably go one day after work. It doesn't take that long. 

We then proceeded to the Aquarium to again be disappointed. They stop selling tickets at 4:30, but they feed their carnivorous sea-life (sharks, pirañas and the like) at 2 p.m. on different alternating days. So that might be something worth going for even if the tickets are $5. 

After that Catie and Matt decided to head back but I have been here for two weeks and still hadn't seen the White House and we were only two blocks away. So I took off on my own for a little bit to join the pack of tourists crowded in front (well, as in front as you can get with security the way it is) of Presidential Palace. There seemed to some kind of a party going on. I couldn't tell who was there, but a crowd of people were gathered on the White House steps.

That pretty much did it for the day so I walked to the Metro station. When I got there I realized I was only about two blocks from Ford's Theatre so I figured, "While I'm here..." The museum is closed for renovations, but I saw the house Lincoln died in and the theatre from the outside.