Tuesday, October 8, 2019


September 16-23, 2019

Louise Cosca Regional Park

Clinton, MD

We parked at the Branch Avenue Metro Station and took the train into the city on the day we went to the Capitol Galleries. 
After going through the general security screening we made our way to the Senate security area where we had to check in our electronics and go through a second security screening before being shown to seats in the gallery.  We didn’t stay long because there wasn’t much going on. 

After going through the same screening procedure as mentioned above for the House gallery we were informed that they were in recess.  GEEZ.  (No photos are allowed in the gallery.)
After finding out that we would have hours until the House would be in session at 5Pm, we decided to walk the few blocks to Ford’s Theatre.
Just five days after General Lee’s surrender, President and Mrs. Lincoln attended a performance at Ford’s Theatre. 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy shot Lincoln, then jumped down to the stage and escaped through a rear door.

The museum in the basement of the theatre contains exhibits on Lincoln’s presidency, Civil War milestones and the assassination plot.
Once in the theatre we were able to sneak a peek into the Presidential Box. 
On the day of our visit stagehands were busy building the set for the upcoming production of the play, Fences.

 
 
Included in Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site is the Petersen House, located directly across the street from the theatre.

After Lincoln was shot, he was carried to the Petersen House and placed into the first-floor bedroom where he died the next morning.

The Center features three rooms in the house furnished in 1865 period pieces and two floors of exhibits addressing the immediate aftermath of Lincoln’s death and the evolution of Lincoln’s legacy. 

One of the best features of the museum space is the winding staircase and 34-foot tower of books about Abraham Lincoln. 

The “books” in the tower are made from aluminum

After walking back to the Capitol Building we went through the double security screening again before entering the House Gallery.  It was interesting to watch the voting procedure but the best part of the experience was to witness a new congressman being sworn in due to a special election that had been held in North Carolina.

In addition to the National Historic Sites within Washington D.C. there are several NHS near where we were camping in Maryland.  
 
The Thomas Stone National Historic Site was the property of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Stone purchased the property and constructed a new home in 1771 for his wife Margaret and their two daughters. 
 
 The original plan was to build a small, modest home but that changed when his father died and five of his younger brothers and sisters came to live with him.

 
 
From the time of Stone’s death in 1787 until 1936 when the land was sold the descendants of Thomas Stone continued to live in the home.

We also visited Port Tobacco Village, a short drive away from the Stone house.

Settled by the English in the 17th century, the town became the second largest in Maryland.  It was a seaport with access to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.  After river traffic was cut off by silting and the town was bypassed by the railroad, it fell into decline. 

Our final excursion, while staying at Louise Cosca Regional Park, was to Fort Washington Park that was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington D.C.

We began our tour at the Visitor Center where I stamped my passport and then walked the path down to the entrance to the fort.

During our tour I “volunteered” to participate in a dance demonstration by the Arlington House Victorian Dance Society.
 

It was extremely hot during most of our stay at Louise Cosca Regional Park but we did have a couple of nights that were cool enough to enjoy a campfire. 


September 10-15, 2019

Louise Cosca Regional Park

Clinton, MD

The campground at Louise Cosca Regional Park is a little hidden gem that we stumbled across in 2014 and then stayed at a second time in 2017.  The sites are on a first come first served basis.  All three times we stayed at the campground we were lucky to get what we consider the best site in the loop.
We chose this campground because of its close proximity to Washington D.C. and the low fee.  At $26 per night it would be a bargain but as an added bonus they give a 50% senior discount.

There are two negatives about the campground-the bathrooms are very dated and when we departed we discovered the dump station was full so we had to travel with full waste tanks.
During our past excursions into Washington D.C. we parked at a lot along the Basin that offered free parking and rode our bikes around the city.  We were very disappointed this time around when we arrived at the parking lot and discovered it was no longer free parking.  There are meters with a 3 hour maximum.  I was told this is to encourage visitors to use the Metro system.
A few weeks prior to our visit to the area I had emailed my Congressman’s office to request tickets to the FBI, Congress and the White House.  Unfortunately, I was informed that tours to the White House and FBI have to be made at least six months in advance.
We did manage to secure timed tickets for a tour at the Capitol and for the House and Senate Galleries. 
 Tickets are free but required. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Capitol tour tickets were emailed to us but we had to pick up the galleries tickets at the Congressman’s office in person.


On the day of our visit to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park we saved the $25 parking fee they charge by parking at Rock Creek Park and riding our bikes along the short trail to the Zoo. 


 There is no admission fee to the Zoo. 

We especially enjoyed visiting the Panda Exhibit.  While at a dinner in Beijing in 1972, First Lady Patricia Nixon mentioned her fondness for giant pandas to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.  
Wanting better relations with the U.S., China sent a male and female panda to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. 

That same evening we visited the Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Memorial.
Even though we have visited these memorials several times in the past I am still filled with the same tremendous patriotic feeling as I did the very first time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
One day we drove over to the parking lot at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove, located off the Washington Memorial Parkway and rode our bikes along part of the Mount Vernon Trail.
 
 
 
The trail is an 18-mile paved multi-use trail that stretches from George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
We ended the day at the Jefferson Memorial that is currently undergoing a major renovation.