2008 - Washington DC
2010 - Cuba
2011 - DR, Bermuda, & Cruise
2012 - DR & Costa Rica
2013 - Cruise, CR, & USA
2014 - SE Asia
The Year Off 2015 - 2016
- Preamble
- Thailand & Malaysia
- Italy
- Germany, Belgium, & Lux
- Czech, Poland, & Germany
- Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary
- Slovenia, Croatia, Austria & Germany
- England & Scotland
- Turkey
- Colombia
- Peru: Lima & Amazon
- Peru: Cusco & Inca Trail
- Peru: Cusco to Lima
- Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize
- New Zealand
- Australia & Thailand
2017 - The Balkans
2017 - Hungary, Romania, & Switzerland
2018 - New York
2018 - Amsterdam, Poland, & The Baltics
2019 - Costa Rica
2019 - France
2020 - Thailand
2023 - Mexico
2023 - Iceland & Cruise
2024 - Philippines
2025 - Japan
2025 - Iceland
Short Trips
Lists
Links
| Jul 13, 2008 - Sunday | Washington DC | USA |
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My parents had just gotten back from a trip to Washington and really enjoyed
it. They told me that I should go and offered to pay for the hotel. I paid
for the airfare and all other expenses. I stayed at the J.W. Marriott hotel,
which was in a great location, just a block away from the White House. My
camera wasn’t very good for this trip, so my pictures are not the best.
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| Jul 14, 2008 - Monday | Washington DC | USA |
There is so much to see and do in Washington so I was up bright and early
the first morning. I started at the National Archives and saw the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important
documents. Then I went to the National Air and Space Museum. This is a great
place. They had the Spirit of St. Louis, a bunch of stuff from the space
program (I touched a moon rock!), fighter jets, and a bunch of other stuff.
As a bit of a military/space fan I had a great time here. Unfortunately my
time in the city was limited so I had to move on, so off to the Museum of
Natural History. This was another really cool museum. Lots of dinosaur
bones, gems (the Hope Diamond) and various animal displays. They also had a
butterfly exhibit which was interesting. That night I walked over to the
Washington Monument to see it light up at night.
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| Jul 15, 2008 - Tuesday | Washington DC | USA |
Today in Washington was spent outside, and it was a beautiful day for it.
This was to be a day of history and war memorials. I started on a hop on hop
off bus tour of the city. My first stop was the Jefferson Monument, and then
I went to the Arlington Cemetery where I spent quite a lot of time. This is
both an amazing place and somewhat sobering one as well. There are so many
little white headstones it's hard to believe. I did see most of the main
things here, including JFK's grave, monuments to the space shuttle
disasters, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb and the changing of
the guard is a must see for any visitor. My last stop here was the Iwo Jima
Memorial. I had to ask directions to find it as it is a ways away from the
"main" area. 
 After leaving the cemetery I went to see the war and Lincoln memorials. These are all in the same general area. First up was the Korean War. This is a bunch of sculptures of soldiers walking in ponchos. Very well done. The Lincoln Memorial was next. I didn't realize how big the statue of Lincoln was until I was standing before it. It is huge. With your back to the memorial you stare down the reflecting pond to the Washington Monument and past that Capital Hill. Next was the Vietnam Memorial, a massive black wall with the names of everyone who was killed in the war. The World War Two memorial was last. The day ended with a visit to the fence at the White House - the closest that tourists can visit. However you can still get a good look at it. 
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| Jul 16, 2008 - Wednesday | Washington DC | USA |
I took a cab to the National Air and Space Museum Annex in Virginia. This is
where the Smithsonian keeps all the large aircraft (and small ones too) that
they cannot fit in the main museum. I really liked this place. There is an
SR-71 Blackbird, lots of fighter jets and helicopters, the Enola Gay (plane
that nuked Japan), a Concord, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise (not from
Star Trek, the actual shuttle that NASA used - this was later moved to New
York where I would see it again). 
 After spending the morning here I returned to Washington and went to the Spy Museum. I was slightly disappointed with this museum for two reasons. First, they had a lot of it geared towards kids. I get this, but it meant that a portion of it was not interesting to me. Second thing was that prior to coming here I had been readying spy novels and histories for years, and much of what I saw here was not new to me. After leaving the Spy Museum I had enough time for a quick visit to the National Gallery of Art. I enjoyed this but was rushed because it was so close to closing time. I will have to return here to enjoy it fully. |
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| Jul 17, 2008 - Thursday | Washington DC | USA |
| Fly home. And that was my trip to Washington. It was very busy, and I did not get to see everything I wanted, including the Museum of American History because it was closed for renovations while I was there. I will have to return here someday and see that and several other things I did not have time for. | ||