Utah's Chris Tunis goes to Washington

By Chris Tunis

These are some observations on our family’s trip to Washington D.C. running from August 4 to August 11, 2007. My main impression is that one could spend a month in Washington and not see all the sights you wanted to see. There is just so much history and culture that it’s impossible to get around to observe everything in a week. Yet, I think we did fairly well, as you will see. Going back to D.C. convinced me that people are really working hard in government, and that those government employees do have their constituents in mind. One doesn’t always get that impression at home. Another impression is that every American should feel at home in Washington. It is each American’s city. As a result of us paying taxes, most of the exhibits and tourist locations are free, so Washington is really an inexpensive place to visit. A final general observation is the District is kept incredibly clean. The sanitation workers do a good job making sure of that.

Our first full day was Sun. Aug. 5. We parked our rental car in Union Station, which at one time was a hub for east coast train travel. Union Station fell into disrepair in the seventies, but was renovated in the 80s and now is not only a destination point for Amtrak and the local Metro trains, but includes three levels of mostly upscale shops and restaurants that could satisfy anyone’s taste. What must be the world’s largest food court is on the bottom level. A nine-screen movie theatre is also on that level. The architecture of Union Station, like much of Washington, is ornate and impressive. One of the world largest clocks hangs in the Main Hall.

We took a bus tour on Sunday which stopped at, among other places, Arlington National Cemetery. We saw the eternal flame flickering at the grave of President Kennedy along with the gravesites of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and former Senator and Cabinet Member Robert Kennedy. We also stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and viewed the changing of the guard. How any of those Marines can pull guard duty for a half-hour in full uniform on a hot and humid afternoon is something to admire. Experiencing Arlington made me imagine the stories behind the lives of the 310,000 military men and women buried there...Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

Also on Sunday, we toured the Lincoln Memorial. I could just imagine Martin Luther King looking out at the masses and delivering his “I had a dream” speech. We also spent time at the Korean War Memorial and the World War II Memorial, which honors those who contributed from every state and U.S. territory. I was more impressed with the World War II Memorial with its vast space and the waterfalls in the middle. We concluded our Sunday in D.C. driving in a light rain around the tony Georgetown area and through the campus of Georgetown University.

We started Mon. Aug. 6 at 8:30 a.m. with a tour of the Library of Congress. I had no idea it was two buildings, the Jefferson and the Hamilton buildings. Our tour took us through the Jefferson Building, with the highlight being the American Treasures display. That included artifacts such as the items in Abraham Lincoln’s pockets the night he was shot, newspapers announcing the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor and several rooms dedicated to entertainer Bob Hope’s memorabilia. The Hope videos made me recall what a comedic sense of timing Bob had. We even saw the film clip from the movie where Hope’s theme song “Thanks for the Memory” debuted. After the Library of Congress, we walked a short distance to the Supreme Court. That building was lined with impressive sculptures and paintings of past associate and chief justices. Monday afternoon, thanks to Amaia Kirtland of Congressman Matheson’s office, we secured a tour of the U.S. Capitol. While the House and Senate had just wrapped up their latest session the previous Friday, there still seemed to be plenty of activity on the Hill. Intern Seth Ensign, a BYU student, served as an excellent tour guide for our small group of five(myself, my wife, our 17-year-old daughter, my mother-in-law and her brother). I didn’t realize we could take underground passageways from the House Office Buildings to the Capitol. The view inside the Capitol Rotunda was amazing. I have never been to the Sistine Chapel, but these painted walls and backdrops must rival the best work done there. We viewed the sculptures of Brigham Young and Philo Farnsworth, representing Utah. Each state has two individuals depicted in full-length sculptures. We then went into the House Chamber. From the second level gallery, it seemed much smaller than television makes it look. Seth pointed to the U.S. flag draped behind the Speaker’s chair, noting it looked rumpled, but appeared fine when captured by TV cameras. All hats and baseball caps must be removed from in the House Chamber out of respect for the body. That reminds me of one other impression of Washington in general that is probably obvious. It’s that security screenings are a way of life in D.C., and sometimes they occur more than once in the same building.

Tuesday, Aug. 7 began with a tour of the Washington Monument, which was the first attraction we lined up when we booked our trip. It was a stifling hot, humid morning, but we didn’t have to wait too long before taking the elevator up for the 10:00 a.m. run to the observation deck, which is 500 feet up. The monument itself from base to its apex is 555 feet. I had forgotten two different types of marble had been used to build the Monument. They started with one kind, but Congress ran out of money and suspended the project for over 20 years. With funding in place, they resumed at about one-fourth of the current height, using a different quality of marble. From the observation deck, you can see for 30-40 miles into Virginia and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia. Although it’s not very far, we hopped a cab from the Washington Monument to the White House, since we had to be there by 11:15. The White House was everything I had expected it to be. It was elegant. It was beautiful. It said “America” to me. We were allowed into the East Wing where the walls are lined with photographs and portraits of past Presidents and First Families. I felt very comfortable in the White House and shook my head at why it took me 51 years to visit. We also dropped in at the White House Visitors Center, which was quite informative. Tuesday afternoon, we spent some time at the Smithsonian complex, which I learned were 16 different museums and galleries. We stopped at the midpoint of the National Mall and gathered in the spectacular view with the Washington Monument at the West and the U.S. Capitol on the east. We spent the afternoon at the National Air and Space Museum. Personally, I could’ve spent an entire day there and still would’ve come back for more if I could. We saw detailed exhibits on NASA’s history…from the Mercury program to Gemini and Apollo and to the Space Shuttles of today. Seeing how small the Gemini capsules were makes one wonder how anyone could fit, let alone function in there for any period of time. We saw exhibits on the history of rocket science, on space foods, and on the U.S.-U.S.S.R. space race of the 50s and 60s. With the Museum of American History closed for the second straight year for renovation, about 150 items have been moved to the Air and Space Museum. Those were some true highlights of American culture like Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, Archie Bunker’s chair, Abraham’s Lincoln top hat, Jacqueline Kennedy’s ball gown, Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, and Seinfeld’s puffed shirt.

We stayed out of Washington on Wed. August 8, traveling to Baltimore on what was that city’s hottest day in eight years. The official temperature at the airport was 102, but in the Inner Harbor, where we spent the afternoon, the high was 106. Throw in 60-70% humidity on top of that, and you have an ugly weather day. Our trip to Baltimore led us to Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I hadn’t realized that Fort had been used to hold Confederate prisoners during the Civil War, one of whom was Key’s grandson. It also served as a military hospital in World War I. The rest of the day was spent visiting the Baltimore Basilica, which was the first Catholic Church in the U.S.; shopping; dining and attending the Orioles baseball game against the Seattle Mariners that night. The Mariners won 8-4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a wonderful tribute to baseball.

Thursday, August 9 took us into Virginia to Mount Vernon, where the elegant mansion has been restored to appear as it did in 1799 in the final year of George Washington’s life. The mansion and museum include much of the original furniture. We toured the gardens and twelve of the building surrounding the mansion, each with a different function. The museum there has some state-of-the-art interactive displays, and we viewed some captivating 10-15 minute films summarizing the contributions Washington made to the development of this nation. There were more people than I expected, visiting Mount Vernon. That evening, we ran into thundershowers on our way back to our hotel in Laurel, Maryland. That signaled the end of the oppressive heat for the rest of our trip.

Our family spent three hours the morning of Friday, August 10 going through the Holocaust Museum. I had been warned by several people before I left Salt Lake how powerful it was, and they weren’t kidding. One can only imagine the suffering the Jews went through at the hands of the Nazis and to see it in photographs and films brings it home. I will say, while the exhibits were outstanding, those managing the museum need to organize the flow of foot traffic better. They allowed too many people into the main exhibit at one time, and you couldn’t get close enough to some of the display areas. From there, we walked to the Natural History Museum to see impressive gems like the Hope Diamond and the Tiffany Diamonds. The ladies in our group were quite impressed. That evening, we participated in a nighttime tour which started at the Jefferson Memorial, continued to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial and ended at the World War II Memorial. All were outstanding. I was more impressed with the F.D.R. Memorial than the others in my party. It makes tremendous use of water in its displays. 21 of Roosevelt’s quotations are imbedded into the Granite walls. There is also a statue of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt that serves as a nice tribute. We really didn’t get a good view of the names of the dead enshrined on the Vietnam Memorial since that area is not well lit at night. Conversely, the Lincoln Memorial is beautiful highlighted by lighting in the evening as is the WWII Memorial.

Since we weren’t scheduled to head back to Salt Lake from Dulles Airport until 5:30 in the afternoon, we spent the morning of Saturday, August 11 at the National Archives. It’s amazing that documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta have been maintained for all to see. Presidential Speeches are also available for viewing, and I took advantage of that. Again, I wish I had more time there. On our way to the airport, we stopped at Georgetown for more shopping and lunch, thus concluding our terrific week in the D.C. area.

I cannot wait to get back to Washington to take in more sights. We weren’t able to make it to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or the National Cathedral, Ford’s Theater or the National Museum of Native Americans. Another spot I would like to tour when it opens is the Newseum. One of our tour guides informed us it opens next year as a tribute to the news media who have covered Washington through the years. I come away from D.C. thinking the city is truly an American treasure.

Chris Tunis is a longtime Utah radio sports personality who was seven times Utah Sports Caster of the year. He is currently the publisher of the Wasatch Front Focus for the Enterprise Newspaper Group. Chrisand his family are residents of Cottonwood Heights, Utah.