Washington, DC (USA)

Every day that I've been going to work in the City, I always wished things were the way they used to be: that when I was in Washington I was only a tourist! Now that I'm busy there almost every day, I often forget how many things there are to see and do. I promised myself this morning that I was going to drive in to see something new! The traffic was non-existent on I-395, and I was able to make it into town quickly. As I was looking for a place to park near the Tidal Basin, I saw a sign for the Holocaust Museum - something I've always wanted to visit but never had the time. After I parked, I walked back up the hill and found that there were no lines (1000) and that I could go right inside. Security was a little tight, but once inside I figured out it was self-guided and that there were several permanent and changing displays. I spent the first hour in the Nazi Propaganda presentation, learning about how Hitler and his allies convinced the public that certain members of the society were undesirable. After that, I toured a section that focused on the experiences of children during the Holocaust (the story was told from the point of view of "David" and showed all the scary things that kids had to endure - up to, and including, losing his mother and sister to the gas chamber. It was an excellent display - and I wouldn't be afraid to take my nine year old through it. I then took an elevator up to the top floor of the Museum, where I walked through a sobering history of the "Final Solution" (spiraling down several floors), including all the villains, heroes and martyrs who were involved. The lay-out of the place actually reminded me of the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas (see FEB 2009), but this was much more serious. I never felt like the experience was too disturbing for children, but there were things you could spend too much time viewing (specifically, video) that might overwhelm someone. At the bottom of the exhibit, we could choose to enter (or not) a Hall of Remembrance. An eternal flame burned there, on top of soil collected from several concentration camps and US military cemeteries. Biblical phrases (prophetic?) were on the walls around the airy space (including one that appeared to have been removed - no one could/would tell me what it used to say)... I was thoroughly impressed with the whole place - I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about the terrible events of the 1930s and 1940s. Made my way back to the car (1400) and dropped off my jacket (it was nice out by then). I had actually planned to visit the new Martin Luther King Memorial today, so that was where I headed next - a walk of only a few hundred yards along the Tidal Basin. I'd been reading about the memorial since last summer and I wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. I can tell you that it doesn't. Don't get me wrong: a giant stone statue of a man who had such an impact on the events of history and a hero to many people is inspiring. But I have several problems with the entire concept of how they chose to honor MLK. First, the statue makes him look angry (crossed arms, scowl) and doesn't, I think, represent the image that most people would have of the man. Second, the statue was carved from a "mountain of despair" and was then pushed forward - away from the mountain. My first thought (from a distance) was that it lined up with the Jefferson Memorial (appropriate, since that man wrote a document about "all men are created equal"). But if you look closely at the angles involved, it appears that someone actually decided to turn MLK away from Jefferson - he seems to be facing something else entirely (although I can't tell what). The worst part of this, I believe, is that he is the only prominent statue in the city that faces away from the rest of the monuments (Lincoln and Jefferson look towards the Washington Monument). I wonder who actually thought this memorial would bring people together or honor the ideals that the man believed in (after seeing this, I can now understand the angst of Dwight Eisenhower's family, who were recently told that their great hero's only accomplishment that was deemed worthy of representation - by an artist - was that he was once a farm boy)? The last nail in the coffin for me was that there was no visitor center and the book store actually appeared to be a memorial to President Obama, not Martin Luther King. What a bummer way to end the day! I'm glad the Museum was good - and I'm looking forward to getting back to the Tidal Basin for some cherry blossoms next month. Drove out of the city around 1500 and later met up with Bob at the grocery store.