Weekly Washington: Craziest Weekend Ever!

photo uploaded to flickr by marabuchiThat's right folks. This may be the craziest weekend I can remember here in DC. Halloween is already my favorite time of year in Washington, and then we have the Rally for Fear/Sanity thrown in. It's going to be a busy one.

I thought about writing up a Rally Guide, but what's the point? Nine gagillion already exist and I have little to add. And if the mobs are too much, check out our Fear and Sanity sights throughout the rest of DC. (TBD)

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Booze, Fireworks, What Could Go Wrong?

photo uploaded to flickr by jGregor

Ahh, the Fourth of July. One of the great American holidays, when we celebrate overthrowing our British overlords, who had kept us in a state of perennial submission, what with their onerous tax on tea and refusing to let us riot. My latent sarcasm aside, it's a great holiday and appeals to my sense of rebelliousness and wanton hunger to watch things explode.

Unfortunately, my idea of a great Fourth is to blow a couple hundred bucks in South Carolina for enough fireworks to make the defenders of Ft. McHenry think twice about holding out next time, ideally accompanied with beer and small kids. Naturally, I follow strict safety rules, like "no firing bottle rockets at your sister" and "hold my beer while I light the finale". After all, I'm a responsible parent now.

Now if you find yourself in Washington, DC for the Fourth, and especially if you find yourself in a neighborhood that is, shall we say, less touristy, you'll find yourself enjoying an experience much like I described above, although perhaps with less of a strict regard for safety. Be forewarned, and rest secure that you're still in a country that if King George tries to quarter his troops in our homes, he'll find a warm welcome. However, if re-enacting Beirut circa 1984 isn't your cup of tea let me offer a few suggestions:

1. A Capitol Fourth: The annual concert on the West Front of the Capitol will be hosted this year by Jimmy Smits. It's a great free concert, this year featuring Reba McEntire, Gladys Knight, Darius Rucker, and the National Symphony Orchestra. It kicks off at 8:00 pm, but if you think you're showing up at 7:45 and finding a spot on the lawn you're woefully optimistic. The security gates open at 3:00 pm, and I'd say you might want to be there at around 5 if you're looking for a spot to have a picnic. For a truly local take on this, come the night before and watch the free rehearsal. Most of the headliners won't be there, but they'll be a lot less crowds.

2. Fireworks!: If your taste runs towards the "professional" displays, and away from burnt fingers, the annual DC Fireworks display is pretty impressive. They are set off near the World War II memorial, just to the west of the Washington Monument right around 9:15 pm. Popular vistas often go quickly, but a good rule of thumb is that if you can see the Monument clearly, you'll be able to see the fireworks. Folks will start camping out on the Mall fairly early in the day, and this year, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will run on the Fourth for your viewing pleasure. Also, if you need to kill time, the White House Visitor's Center and the National Archives will be hosting special events that day. Be ready though: getting nearly a million people out of the city at one time can be a bit tricky. Plan on the Metro being packed and a bit of a wait. If you drove AND found a parking space, you're going to be there till dawn.

3. Parades: Everyone loves a good parade, and the National Independence Day Parade fits the bill. It runs along Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th ST NW starting at 11:45. Filled with all the pomp and circumstance the US government can round up, it's a stirring site with marching bands, military honor guards, floats, and all that good stuff. But if you want a less monumental and more authentic experience, swing on down to Barracks Row (8th ST SE, just feet away from the Eastern Market Metro Station) for the Capitol Hill Parade. Kicking off at 10:00 (give or take) by the historic Marine Barracks at 8th and I SE, the parade features and eclectic mix of neighborhood schools, organizations, and just a bunch of people out to have a good time, like the local moms who find a creative use for bridesmaid dresses "you can wear again" as the Fairy Princess Patrol. If you are like so many of my visitors who are lost in a maze of marbled columns and ask "does anyone live in Washington", come here for your answer. And while I've never been to it, I hear good things about the Takoma Park Parade as well.

4. For the Fireworks Haters: If you're looking to branch out in a new direction for your Fourth celebration, consider swinging by the National Cathedral. They will be hosting a recital of their incomparable 10,000 pipe organ at 2 pm this Sunday. Sure, it's a bit non-traditional, but you won't have to jockey for position in the sun, either. And if you stick around, the Cathedral grounds aren't a bad place to catch the fireworks (I recommend finding a spot near the Peace Cross on the grounds of St. Alban's school).

Whatever your plans for the Fourth of July in DC are, be sure to approach them with good humor and patience. Crowds and hot weather are part of the game here, so come ready to cope with both, but DC is one of the best places in the country to experience the Fourth. Enjoy, I'm off to South Carolina.

Hope You Got That Declaration Shot in Already!

Word is filtering down today that the National Archives will be banning photography come February 24th (we saw it on the Post via WeLoveDC). According to their notice in the Federal Register, the Archives "seeks to ensure the necessary protection for the documents from the cumulative effects of photographic flash and to enhance the overall visitor experience."

Now we aren't going to quibble with the first part of their explanation. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc. are priceless national treasures (I don't care if Nic Cage says so too, they are!) and the American people are going to hold the Archives responsible for their condition. If too many visitors' flashes are going off, so be it. I tell my groups on the bus, most of my teachers re-iterate it, the guards at the door tell visitors, and we're reminded before we go into the Rotunda. And yet, I still have a handful every year that don't get the message. So if this is what has to happen, ok then.

But I don't buy the second part. As quoted in the Register, "NARA does not believe that this rule will create problems for tourists. The agency believes this rule creates a better visitor experience." Now, this rule will, quite frankly, create a better tour guide experience for me. But I fail to see how this is better for visitors. There are three places that every group kills my time-line getting the same shot: here, the White House, and from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking east. I used to rail against this, try to hurry them along, bemused at these silly tourists and frustrated at the havoc they are wrecking with my schedule.

And then it dawned on me, as it has failed to do with the National Archives: this is the experience they are here to get, not my feeble attempts. Its my problem, not theirs; hurrying along trying to cross things off a list. So what if ten thousand people this month have already got the same shot? Or that a simple flickr search can get dozens of the same image? Or, as the Archives so patronizingly says, " the National Archives Shop has facsimiles of various sizes and price ranges available for purchase". None of these get it. The point is, that these cheesy pictures have served to make the visit real and theirs to hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. It's a connection they both communally and individually achieve. Now we'll all just file by, respectful and silent. Like at a tomb.

And also, speaking as someone reasonably familiar with the ways of Washington, it is supremely cheesy to slip this out in the Federal Register. A sixty day comment period only announced in the Register? Come on, that's weak. Like I said, if it has to happen for preservation reasons, most of us can support that. Why not announce it then? Did you think we wouldn't notice? There's a reason only three people commented; no one saw it! We expect better, Archives. I can't help but notice that your website still does not reflect this change.

The National Archives is an incredible institution, one of my favorite places to visit. This was poorly handled.

BIG! at the National Archives

When I take my groups to Arlington, I often go through the same skit. I tell them there are two Presidents buried here, and ask them to guess which ones. Just about everyone knows about the eternal flame and JFK, of course, but then they're normally stumped. There will be a short period of quiet, followed by a series of random outbursts:"Washington!" "Lincoln!" "Very Small Rocks!". Eventually I give them all the clue: he was our "greatest" President ever. With this, some kid in the back will usually get the right answer, William Howard Taft.

Thanks to the National Archives BIG! exhibit, visitors to DC now have an opportunity to contemplate the "greatness" of President and Chief Justice Taft using visual aids. This year, the National Archives celebrates it's 75th anniversary and has put together the BIG! exhibit to help commemorate it. It's filled with very large items, recognizing the big ideas and big events that went into making us who we are. Visitors can see the 13 foot long scroll of the Articles of Confederation, our nation's first constitution, in which I'm reasonably certain that new states are required to compete in feats of strength before they are admitted. The original tally sheet of our Declaration of War upon Japan is there, where you can witness the piling on of Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin, lone holdout against the war. Basketball fans can see Shaq's shoe, in all it's gargantuan glory. And yes, a full size replica of President Taft's specially made White House bathtub is included as well. Presumably his second one.

Sadly, you do have to wait in the general admission security line to see BIG!, even if you have no plans to see the Declaration, Constitution, etc. I've discussed best practices to avoid the lines earlier, but the good news is that although DC can be quite crowded with tourists in the summer, the lines are nowhere near what they are in the spring. It takes a lot of families to equal even one bus load of schoolkids.

BIG! will be here until January 3rd, 2010.

What is "On Time"?

A good dozen of us in the DC area have been watching the latest pseudo-controversy about White House access regarding the cancellation of a tour is elementary school kids attempting to visit the White House, supposedly for a photo op with the Steelers. On the surface, it appears as the story of a callous government bureaucracy not bending a bit to help out with kindergartners.

But, once you dig through the shoddy reporting of the local news, it turns out the kids were over an hour late to the appointment. To the White House. I'm not sure what they thought was going to happen, but let me assure you, on the near impossible chance you get White House tickets, they will be unbending on rescheduling. I'm no fan of the White House's visitor policy, but on this one, I'll cut them some slack.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Not to prolong a ridiculous non-story, but to explore what an appointment time "means" when you have one. So let me run down the list of likely ticket venues and my experiences with being late. Obviously, I should lead in with the usual caveats that this is simply my experience, your's may be different, and I don't speak for any of these organizations. That aside, let's assume you have 12:30 pm tickets to all of these places:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing: I don't know why they even have tickets for this one anymore. Personally, I think their schtick has gotten stale, but if you have tickets, be on time. They're pretty good working with you if you are five to ten minutes late, but no guarantees.

Capitol Visitors Center: 12:30 is the time you line up to enter the movie theater, inside the Visitor's Center. This means you have already passed through security, which you should allow 20 minutes for, although it's routinely less (and occasionally more). Also, you will want to give yourself a few minutes to orient yourself to the new Visitors Center. So, I would plan on being in line to enter the CVC thirty minutes prior to your ticket time and use the spare time, if any, to take a break in the cafeteria and/or explore its excellent museum. The good news; although I don't recommend it, the folks at the Visitor's Center have proven to be very helpful with me in the last few months with late/delayed visitors. It's worth asking them if you miss your ticket time.

Ford's Theater: The ticket time is when the presentation starts. You want to be in line 10 minutes or so before it. You might be able to squeeze in a minute or two after, but don't plan on it. Fortunatly, you can still use the ticket to visit the Peterson House across the street, even if you miss the ranger presentation. Once the museum opens, I'll be posting on ticketing procedures for that.

Holocaust Memorial Museum: Great news here! Ticket times are good for any time after their stated time. So, you could use the 12:30 ticket at 4 pm with no problem. Also, the ticket is only for the Permanent Exhibit. If you arrive early, take the time to check out Danial's Story (if you have kids) on the first floor, or the temporary exhibits in the basement. I strongly recommend one of the current ones, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda.

National Archives: Officially, you have to be on time, but I've had luck with just handing the security guard the appointment sheet and bluffing your way in. Not that I recommend it, but it can be done.

Tours: If you have a tour scheduled at a museum, Library of Congress, Cathedral, bike/segway etc. you're going to want to be on time. The tour will start on time and they may or may not allow you to catch up.

Washington Monument: You have about a thirty minute window to use this ticket. If you're ticket is 12:30, I'd be there right about then, but if you are a few minutes late, you'd just get in the 12:30 line and no one would be the wiser. You might be pushing it if you arrived at 12:59 and they were already taking the 1:00's in. Throw yourself on the mercy of the Park Ranger, and you might get lucky.

White House: Yeah, right. Don't be late.

I hope this highly subjective look helps. Not that I ever advocate being late, but.....