A weekend visit to the US capital city.
1) Library of Congress, and take a tour of the US Capital.
2) Went to the White House visitor's center, located a few blocks from the White House itself. This is the best way to get information about the White House. To actually get in the White House, you need to either have an appointment or write to your local Senator to get tickets, which can take several months. Otherwise, the closest any visitor will get to the White House is on Pennsylvania Avenue.
3) Museums I visited:
a) U.S. Botanic Garden
b) American History
c) Air and Space
4) Walked by some of the memorials.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Baltimore
Baltimore has historical significance as it is the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, the U.S. national anthem.
Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a great to place to be near the ocean and enjoy great crabs. Baltimore residents really love their crabs. The harbor has street performers, seafood restaurants, many boat tours and cruises, and shops. There is also the World Trade Center of Baltimore, which is the world's tallest pentagonal building. There is an observation deck which offers great views of the city.
To understand Baltimore's place in US history, visit Fort McHenry. The fort can be reached from Inner Harbor by a water taxi, which is a boat making stops along the Baltimore coast. It operates like a shuttle bus in the water. Waits for the boat can be long (about 20 minutes) especially if you have to transfer so the water taxi is not the fastest way to get around but it is the most fun way. I recommend the water taxi if you're not pressed for time.
Fort McHenry was built to protect the city of Baltimore from attack. Soldiers would live there and plan ways to defend Baltimore from the fort. The fort also has places (called magazines) to store supplies such as gun powder, canons, and canon balls. During the War of 1812, the British attempted to capture Baltimore and sent several ships to Chesapeake Bay to attack Fort McHenry. This became known as the Battle of Baltimore. The British soldiers shot bomb shells and rockets from the ships and the American soldiers in the fort fired canons. Most of the British shots missed the fort. The attacks went on for 25 hours. In the early morning of a September day in 1814, the British gave up and turned away. On the Chesapeake Bay about 2 miles from Ft McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw the whole thing from the attack to the British surrender. He also saw a giant flag (which Mary Pickersgill had sewn) being flown, still intact after the attacks - it was this moment when he wrote a poem titled "Defence of Fort McHenry". This poem was then renamed to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and became the U.S. National Anthem.
More Pictures
Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a great to place to be near the ocean and enjoy great crabs. Baltimore residents really love their crabs. The harbor has street performers, seafood restaurants, many boat tours and cruises, and shops. There is also the World Trade Center of Baltimore, which is the world's tallest pentagonal building. There is an observation deck which offers great views of the city.
To understand Baltimore's place in US history, visit Fort McHenry. The fort can be reached from Inner Harbor by a water taxi, which is a boat making stops along the Baltimore coast. It operates like a shuttle bus in the water. Waits for the boat can be long (about 20 minutes) especially if you have to transfer so the water taxi is not the fastest way to get around but it is the most fun way. I recommend the water taxi if you're not pressed for time.
Fort McHenry was built to protect the city of Baltimore from attack. Soldiers would live there and plan ways to defend Baltimore from the fort. The fort also has places (called magazines) to store supplies such as gun powder, canons, and canon balls. During the War of 1812, the British attempted to capture Baltimore and sent several ships to Chesapeake Bay to attack Fort McHenry. This became known as the Battle of Baltimore. The British soldiers shot bomb shells and rockets from the ships and the American soldiers in the fort fired canons. Most of the British shots missed the fort. The attacks went on for 25 hours. In the early morning of a September day in 1814, the British gave up and turned away. On the Chesapeake Bay about 2 miles from Ft McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw the whole thing from the attack to the British surrender. He also saw a giant flag (which Mary Pickersgill had sewn) being flown, still intact after the attacks - it was this moment when he wrote a poem titled "Defence of Fort McHenry". This poem was then renamed to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and became the U.S. National Anthem.
More Pictures
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