Washington DC/New York City trip – 2016

     We decided to repeat last year’s trip and headed for Washington DC on Monday, June 13. We spent the day traveling on United with a layover in Columbus Ohio. When we arrived at Reagan National Airport we were met by our friends, Holly and Bob, who had arrived the day before and rented a car. We had dinner and checked into our hotel in Crystal City, the Renaissance Inn by Marriott.

     We were in DC for the DAR Continental Congress. I have blogged about that in the past, so I will not say much this time. Holly and I spent the day at DAR Headquarters doing family history research in the DAR Library, attending meetings, workshops, and luncheons, and shopping at the DAR store, the DAR museum, and all the venders in Constitution Hall. Holly’s daughter, Samantha, joined us for some activities and also served as a page. Our husbands managed to find tourist spots to visit while we were busy. Samantha and I also sang in the All American DAR Chorus, so we had 3 days of rehearsals plus our performance on Thursday evening. Most days we all joined up in the late afternoon for dinner and attended the exciting DAR evening activities.

Suzanne at DAR Headquarters

     We did spend one day together and drove to Annapolis, which is the capitol of Maryland. I have been collecting state capitals in my “Capital Collection” book and this was one that I did not have. The building has a wooden dome, built entirely without nails. That is over the old part of the building which houses reconstructed House and Senate chambers. This part is basically a museum. The other half of the building, which was added in 1905, houses the current rooms where the Senate and House of Representatives meet. The second floor of the building is not open to the public and is all offices. The building is the oldest state house in America still in continuous legislative use.

Bancroft Hall at Annapolis Naval Academy

     Annapolis was the first capitol of the United States. It also is the site of the United States Naval Academy. We went there next to learn all about the history of this institution founded in 1845. We took a tour and walked all over the campus, enjoying the beautiful weather, listening to the birds, and admiring the beautiful and well preserved stone and brick buildings. There are over 4,000 midshipmen who all live on campus in 8 residence halls with a total of 1800 rooms. We went inside one of the halls, Bancroft Hall, to see a model room and admire the beautiful marble floors, columns, and stairs. This is truly a national historic site.