Episode Five—Discovering D.C.

It was a gloomy day, no sun at all. We decided to try the Air and Space Museum. We’ve been going by the horrendous lines a block from our hotel, not knowing what they were.

The museum has been undergoing remodeling and was completely closed for a time. Only about a third of it is open now. We arrived early only to find there were no tickets available. We didn’t even know we needed tickets. All the Smithsonian museums are free.

We changed course and walked to the Bible museum, a calmer, quieter experience. The interior is beautiful and spacious. A display of the history of the building indicated it was constructed before refrigerated train cars. Back in the day, an entire train would roll into the refrigerated building and load produce to keep it out of the heat. Later, the building became a showcase for home furnishings. Every other floor has been removed for the museum.

We had already seen the history of the Bible exhibit at our local Hobby Lobby before it opened so we focused on other floors. The most fascinating exhibit had artifacts from ancient Hebrew towns—4^th floor. I never really thought about this, but many Hebrew possessions reflected Egyptian culture. Later in time, they reflected Greek and Roman cultures. Carl was so interested, he actually read the signs and took as long to admire the exhibit as I did.

I was surprised by the array of glass artifacts.

Here’s a Roman Die from AD 100-300. Looks just like one you’d find today.

This stunning 1905 stained glass window is by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Eric Metaxas is a wonderful historian. At the gift shop, I found his book on Martin Luther so I picked it up.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to the American History Museum. I managed to get over my quilt disappointment of yesterday and wanted to see Julia Child’s kitchen in the food exhibit.

We strolled through a few other enjoyable exhibits. Those are my flowered dishes on the table of this vintage travel trailer.

This was the first car to travel across the country in 1903, two years before the setting of my book, Catching Nettie Gordon.

I was disappointed that an exhibit about motors featured Thomas Edison, while Nicolas Tesla got barely a mention.

The caption reads: “Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) Born of Serb parents in Croatia, Tesla was educated in Europe. He came to New York in 1884 and worked briefly for Edison. He patented a practical AC motor in 1888. Other AC patents were used in the Westinghouse generators at Niagara Falls. He is also known for high-frequency experiments and inventions in the field of radio.” Seriously, that was it. In the Edison v. Tesla debate, I am definitely on team Tesla.

We also dropped by the Natural History Museum next door and took a look at mummies, a really tiny exhibit. We stayed until they kicked us out. According to Google, the only nearby restaurant was the famous Capitol Grill. When the price for a dinner turned out to be $100, the hotel restaurant seemed suddenly inviting.

“The Castle” is the historic original Smithsonian building, completed in 1855. It’s a visitor center now and is closed for remodeling. We were eager to get a good picture because we have a watercolor we purchased at a Smithsonian exhibition in Los Angeles years ago. It’s hard to get a picture of the print without any glare, but you get the idea.

It hangs in our bedroom.

On our walk back, we stopped at the Air and Space Museum to find out how to get tickets. Since our phone won’t scan QR codes, I had to use my laptop. We’re all set.