According to the Talmud, after a large-scale revolt and victory of the Jews over the Hellenistic empire (about 165 BC), the alter at the Temple in the old city of Jerusalem was rededicated. On that day, there was enough holy oil to keep the eternal flame burning for just one day. But the flame burned for eight days and nights, enough to produce a new batch of holy oil.

An eight day festival was declared to commemorate the miracle.

The event on the National Mall includes music by the Three Cantors.  Hot Latkes and doughnuts will also be served.

Nation Menorah Lighting Ceremony
The Ellipse
1600 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC‎  (map it)

Dates and Times – Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.

Admission - FREE, but tickets are required.

Nearest Metro Subway Stations – Metro Center, Federal Triangle and McPherson Square, than a short walk to the Ellipse, or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Limited street parking is available, especially during rush hour.

Image – from personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti  _________________________________________________

Post from: The DC Traveler

Located in front of the Smithsonian’s red brink Arts and Industries Building, the landmark Carousel on The National Mall in Washington, DC gives kids about 4 minutes of riding fun. Plus parents get tons of great photo ops, as the children ride round-and-round to classic carousel music.

The 50+ brightly painted horses, a few zebras, a highly sought after flying blue dragon are ready to take children on a memorable ride. And for the really small ones, parents can ride with them in the safety of sleigh and flower pot seats to avoid getting thrown by a “bucking” horse.

So hang on, it goes faster than you would think.

For some background and history on the carousel, check out my post from last June with more information.

The Carousel on The National Mall
1000 Jefferson Dr., SW – in front of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building and across the Mall from the National Museum of Natural History
Washington, DC 20560

Dates and Times – Daily (weather permitting) 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Sept. to March – 11-5.

Tickets – $2.00

Nearest Metro subway station – Smithsonian – Blue and Orange lines, then a 2-block walk.

Parking – Metered and free parking is available in the area.

 Images – from personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti
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Post from: The DC Traveler

The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial at the base of Capitol Hill sits between the Capitol Building and the Capitol Reflecting pool.  The memorial consists of three major statutes and is the largest equestrian statue in the country.

The first statue depicts General Grant calmly sitting on horseback, which was typical of him demeanor during the excitement of battle. He is surrounded by four oversized lions.   Bronze panels on the statute’s base depict infantry maneuvers.

The other two major statues are teams of mounted Union cavalry and artillery troops in full charge.

The cavalry group, shows seven riders charging into battle as one horse and rider has fallen and is being trampled under foot.

The artillery team depicts a three-horse team pulling a caisson and cannon into battle.

Created by sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady, the multiple pieces took over 20 years to complete and 12 years from the time the first piece was installed to be completed and finally dedicated in 1921.  The pieces were forged at the Roman Bronze Works, in Queens, New York.

The monument’s overall marble platform is over 250 feet (77 m) long and 70 feet (22 m) wide.

The monument does not house Grants tomb, as is commonly thought.  His tomb is located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

This memorial was the first planned to be erected on the Ellipse, next to the White House, but thinking it would block the view of the Potomac River from the White House, President Teddy Roosevelt objected.   The view was eventually blocked by the construction of the Jefferson Memorial.

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
1st Street NW, between Pennsylvania and Maryland Ave.
Washington, DC  (map it)

Dates and Times – Open 24-hours daily.

Admission – Free.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Federal Center – Blue and Orange lines, then a 5-block walk or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – metered parking is available in the area, but often tough during weekday business hours and when Congress is in session.

Images – from personal collection   ©2008, Jon Rochetti 

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Image – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler

This year’s theme is Brushstrokes in the Sky, featuring the history and craftsmanship of Asian kites. 

The first kites were invented by the Chinese around 800 BC. Early kitemakers used them for all types of purposes, including measuring the wind, measuring distances, and communication.  The Chinese military started to effectively use them for communications and signaling soon thereafter.

Kites first appeared in Europe in the 1600s and was mostly limited to a children’s play activity.

In the U.S. colonies in June of 1750, the most famous kite flying experiment involved Ben Franklin and his son, who flew a kite during a thunderstorm, resulted in the discovery of the natural phenomenon of electricity.  Luckily, neither Franklin or his son were electrocuted in the process.

Entries can be individuals or teams and there are several events, including the ever-popular Rokkaku kite battle at the end of the day. There will also be the darting and dancing maneuvers of the Hot Tricks competition.

Awards are given to the top 3 in each of the following categories:

• Children – Under 12 and 12-15, with categories including most artistic, most humorous, and most patriotic, plus ten Wow awards.
• Top Kitemaker.
• Top Master Kitemaker.
• Special Awards include beauty in the air, best patriotic theme, best costume, best ingenuity and most unusual kite.
• Grand prizes include overall top kite, the People’s Choice kite and this year’s best Asian-themed kite.

Don’t miss the Japanese Taiko drummers that will be performing at the Opening Ceremony.

42nd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival
Washington Monument
Constitution Avenue between 15th and 17th Streets, NW
Washington, DC

Date & Time – Saturday, Mar. 29, 2008, 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

• Registration starts at 10:00 a.m.
• Competitions start at 10:30 and run until 2:00.
• A Hot Trick competition and Japanese style kite battle starts at 2:00.
• The awards ceremony is at 4:00.

Admission – Admission and participation is free, just bring your own handmade kite. Click here for the rules.

Nearest Metro subway station – Federal Triangle or Smithsonian – Orange or Blue lines.

Images – Flickr – 70 Kites, Dragon Kite, Girl and her kite

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Post from: The DC Traveler

But if you have your heart set on walking it, walk-down tours are twice offered daily based on the availability of National Park Rangers, at 10:30 a.m. and Noon.

Built in honor of the first U.S. President and for his leadership in American independence, the Washington Monument opened in 1884.  But its history of construction was anything but smooth. The project took two 8-year phases of actual construction over a 36-year period. During the Civil war and periods of no finding, the monument’s construction was halted for 20 years between 1856 and 1876.

Initial plans for a national monument honoring Washington was first proposed while Washington was still alive in 1783.  District of Columbia planner, Pierre Charles L’Enfant recommended a statue of a horse-mounted Washington be erected, although Congress took no action. After Washington’s death in 1799, additional recommendations were made, resulting again in no Congressional action. (Some things never change.)  Thirty-four years later, a society was formed to design, fund and erect a monument.

The initial plans called for a tall obelisk (50 feet taller than the current monument) with a circular colonnade at the base incorporating a statue of chariot-riding Washington along with 30 statues of Revolutionary War heroes.  

The cornerstone was laid in 1848, but society infighting and lack of funding delayed progress. In 1854 the money ran out and in 1858, the Civil War halted all construction. For the next twenty years the monument remained one-third built. 

The project was resumed under the control of the Corps of Engineers; now with a modified design that removed the original base and statutes, partially to lower the total cost.  You can still see where the inability to buy similar white stones after construction restarted, which resulted in a slight but noticeable color change of the exterior marble around the 150-foot mark, indicating where the initial construction stopped and the second phase resumed.

A national campaign for funds and marble blocks needed in construction renewed interest and fund raising, but brought with it additional problems. Civic groups, businesses, individuals and  organizations as well as local and foreign governments all donated blocks of marble.  But some arrived inscribed with messages, many completely unrelated to Washington.  

The monument was finally completed and then opened to the public in October, 1888.  Initially, visitors were required to climb the stairs to the top, limiting attendance. After the elevator used in construction was quickly converted to a passenger elevator, a dramatic (25x) increase in the number of visitors happened instantly. 

It became the tallest man-made structure in the world at 555 feet, but just one year after opening, the Eiffel Tower dramatically surpassed it by over 500 feet to claim the tallest structure title.

In 1982, an anti-nuclear arms protester, attempting to gain national attention by threatening to blow up the monument, started a hostage drama when he drove his van, which he claimed was packed with explosives, on to the base of the monument. After trapping 8 visitors in the monument and ten hours later, the standoff ended when he raced off and was then shot and killed by police.

The monument offers arguably the best views of DC, the National Mall and a 20+ mile view of the surrounding area on a clear day.

Washington Monument
15th St. and Jefferson Dr., NW, between Independence and Constitution Ave.
Washington, DC (map it)
More Information

Dates and Times – Daily tours are offered 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and the monument closes at 5:00.  Walk down tours – daily at 10:30 a.m. and Noon.

Tickets – Free, but a ticket (limit 6 per person) is required and are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the same day at the Washington Monument kiosk. Lines can form early before the kiosk opens, especially on weekends. Advance free timed tickets are your best bet, and are available online or by calling 1-800-967-2283 (a $1.50 per ticket surcharge applies).  Online reservations require registration. 

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Smithsonian, Blue and Orange lines, then a 4-block walk.

Parking – Limited metered street parking is available.

Images – views from the top – Flickr, all others personal collection
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Post from: The DC Traveler

Using battery-powered motors, dual computers, tilt sensors and five gyroscopes, the Segway automatically (and seemingly magically) maintains its upright position, even while standing motionless. The top of the line Segway (about $5,500) can cruise at speeds of up to 12½ mph and cover up to 25 miles on a full battery charge.But without investing $5 grand in your own “Seg”, you can experience the fun of a Segway on a guided tour of DC. Plus, if you’re looking for a really unique tour or a way to really impress that out of town guest that feels they’ve seen and done “everything” DC has to offer, City Segway Tours has the answer. They offer several three-hour guided Segway tours around the Mall.  These tours are also ideal for the first time visitor that wants a fast orientation tour of some of the important monuments and sites and to get a feel for the layout of the Mall.  It’s also great for people with only one day to play tourist and want the Reader’s Digest tour. Another advantage, it significantly reduces walking in DC’s sweltering summer heat. I had a chance to join in a City Segway Tour on Sunday and what FUN!!!John, a DC-informed and entertaining college student from Boston who’s studying International Relations at George Washington University, was our instructor and guide. To get us acclimated to the Segway, John started with a quick description of the Segway’s operation, then one-by-one, we stepped up on our Segway (mine was named “Big George”) under his watchful eye and started to practice. First by rolling forward and back just a few feet and then turning in place.  We then quickly graduated to rolling up and down the “training facility”, the alley next to the City Segway office, being careful to avoid crashing into the garbage dumpsters or scrapping the walls. At one point, one of the giant blue dumpsters did in fact jump in front of me, but I was able to dodge it, barely. 

To me and others in the group, it seemed as if the most challenging thing to learn was the all important, how to stop.  By simply leaning back, the Segway slowed to a stop. If you kept your weight centered, it remained (magically) motionless. 

There were a few close calls during our training, other than my jumping dumptser incident, but we all seemed to quickly get the hang of steering the Segway without any tumbles, crashes, scrapped knuckles or cracked fenders.  There were also many big smiles and laughter as we got more comfortable controlling our personal transporters and as our speeds increased.

So with a few minutes of red-knuckled practice, I was ready to hit the streets.  Like a line of ants heading single file to a picnic, we followed our trusted guide out of the alley and down the sidewalk to our first stop several few blocks away, Ford’s Theater.

By the time we stopped at the Hoover FBI building our second stop several minutes later, it seemed that we were all comfortable cruising, sans the initial sweaty palms and apprehensiveness.  I believe it psychologically helped that we were on the first tour of the morning, as pedestrian traffic was light.  

John gave us a running commentary along our tour, providing mini history lessons combined with some humorous stories thrown in along the way.    The tour took us to The U.S. Navy Memorial, the Archives, the under-construction Newseum, and then past several of the Smithsonian museums.  Rolling over to the Capitol, we stopped to take a few photos and headed up The Hill. 

The Segway climbed The Hill effortlessly, as tourists jealously watched and snapped our photos.  After stopping briefly at at the Supreme Court and Library of Congress, it was a fast roll down Independence Avenue.  During a quick stop to shift our Segways into the higher speed mode, it was surprisingly the first time we had actually stepped off the units since our city safari began more than an hour earlier.  We were off again, past more museums, and after a quick beverage stop later, we cut through the Mall while more people gawked and snapped our pics. A fast buzz up Constitution Avenue confidently dodging barricades and inquisitive tourists took us to the White House. 

By this point, I felt like a rock star as I must have had my photo taken a few dozen times by now.  We zipped up Pennsylvania Ave. to Freedom Plaza for a brief lesson about the city’s primary planner, Pierre Charles L’Enfant,  and John’s final corny joke.  A few more stops and we headed back to the City office and looking at the clock; it was hard to believe that we had been riding for a full three hours. I’d rate this experience a solid 10 out of 10. And the next time I have family or friends to entertain in DC, a Segway tour will be at the top of my list.City Segway Tours provide everything you need – the Segway, complete with a saddle bag, a helmet and the all important orientation and training, plus a informed guide/leader.  Just wear comfortable shoes, sunglasses and don’t forget your camera. There are plenty of stops for site seeing and taking photos but the tour does not offer the ability to enter any of the museums. Besides, it’s all about riding your own personal Segway transporter.  City Segway Tours
624 9th street, NW – between F and G Streets
Washington, DC 20001
202-626-0017Dates & Times – Daytime tours at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and their more laid back evening tour starts at 6:00 p.m.  On it you get some great sunset views around the Mall, as well as a great date activity.

Cost - $70.00 per person.  Reservations are required and can be placed online, or by phone at 1-877-SEG-TOUR.  Tours start and end at their 9th Street office.

Note: Riders must be 16+ years old. You’ll need to complete a liability waiver (kids 16-17 need an adult’s signature).  A refundable damage deposit is required via credit card.  Tours run rain or shine.  The Segway can hold a small purse, camera, bottle of water, etc. but not a backpack or larger items.Nearest Metro subway stations – Gallery Place / Chinatown – Red, Green and Yellow lines, Judiciary Square - Red Line, Archives – Yellow/Green Lines, and Smithsonian – Blue/Orange Lines.

Photo credits: personal collection
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Post from: The DC Traveler