May 13, 2008
Apologies for the terribly fuzzy picture – it was a six second exposure – but this gives you a (blurry) glimpse of the Concert Hall, the largest theater in the Kennedy Center. The hall seats 2,442 and the organ has 4,144 pipes.
You can see a better picture on the Kennedy Center’s virtual tour.
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Architecture, DC | 
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Posted by rk
April 26, 2008
A slightly further-away shot of the USS Barry at Navy Yard. Some history, all taken from the nice pamphlet they gave out:
The USS Barry is a destroyer in the Forrest Sherman class, commissioned in September 1956 in Boston. The Barry originally had an overall length of 418 feet, but was later extended for sonar. She can accommodate 22 officers and 315 enlisted sailors. The Barry participated in the Cuban Quarantine during the Missile Crisis in October 1962, and later served in Vietnam and Korea. She was credited with destroying over 1000 “enemy structures.” The Barry was decommissioned in 1982 and designated as a permanent “visit ship” at the Washington Navy Yard.
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DC, Statue | 
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Posted by rk
April 25, 2008
Today we went to Navy Yard! After quite a walk – you have to wander all the way around before you find the visitors’ entrance – we finally found the Navy Museum. They have a great display ship and quite a big museum, with all kinds of cool stuff covering the whole history of the Navy.
This is the ship outside (or a section of it) – the Destroyer USS Barry, commissioned in 1956. Another pic tomorrow!
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DC, Statue | 
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Posted by rk
April 19, 2008
What is a mule doing in downtown DC, you might ask? I was sure surprised … we stumbled across this fellow just off a Potomac canal in Georgetown.
Turns out, this is just part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, an important waterway back in the day. Built between 1825 and 1850, it stretches 185 miles and connects the Potomac with the Ohio River! (I’m from Ohio, so I appreciate this heroic effort to connect Ohio to the outside world.) The entire Canal, from what I understand, now belongs to the Park Service and is a National Historic Park. The mules used to help pull the boats through the locks, but now mostly seem to pose for pictures. The locks on the canal still work, and you can take a boat ride up the canal for just five dollars! Otherwise you can stay on shore and take pictures for free.
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Posted by rk
