WEBVTT - The District Dudes Explore DC's National Mall 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:03.480 First season two park Landia. There are a lot of 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.720 first we're excited about, from the first guest interviews to 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:08.440 the first time we called nine one one from a 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.639 national park, of course, and today is another first. It's 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:15.040 our first time covering in urban park and of course 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.720 there's no better place to mark our first urban park 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.759 than Washington, d C. It's a city filled with more 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:24.400 National Park sites than most dates have. Yeah. Plus the 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:26.840 city itself is just so rich with history and culture, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.840 and the omnipresence of memorials and historic sites is inescapable. 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.120 So if you're looking to come to d C and 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.320 just have a chill, history free day, you'll probably lose 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:39.520 your mind now. But really, why would you come here 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.760 and not at least do a little bit of history. Yeah, 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:46.280 it's so much fun. It's not the like boring school 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:49.000 trip typee stuff that a lot of people remember. Yeah, 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:51.520 and that's definitely how I remembered it, mainly at first, 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.800 from when I first came here in middle school or 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.760 like whatever great that was. But my distance with DC 0:00:57.840 --> 0:00:59.320 at the time may have also been due to the 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.880 fact that I had no friends during that phase of 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.440 my life. So it's just me like this lonely sad 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.679 child wandering around memorials. Fortunately we were able to go 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.960 together this time, and I'm happy to be your friend. Thanks, 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.560 and we're able to take lots of cute selfies together too. 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.760 That looks like you and I were part of some 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:20.160 sort of awesome twin type directed DVD movie or something 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.360 like Probably had we would have like these cute names 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.920 like the Day in d C or District Dudes or 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:31.640 something like that, d C Dudes for another podcast stop 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:35.560 this today we need to really focus on this incredible 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:39.080 legacy of national park sites in Washington, d C. From 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:46.240 the National Wall to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and beyond. Hi, 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.880 I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia, a 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.360 production of I Heart Radio. We sold our loft in Chicago, 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:54.760 moving to an RV, and now we're choving in the 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:58.240 country full time with our dog Finn, exploring America's national parks. 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.760 And today we're talking all about Washington, d C, the 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:09.280 National Mall and Memorial Parks. So our trip to d 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.640 C was another stop along the event trail that I 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.320 was working on earlier um with Burns Maplewood Farms. So 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:18.840 like every week or two there would be a different 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:22.040 craft market along the mid Atlantic coast. So we spent 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:27.320 a couple of months visiting places like Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:30.520 and one of those events UM was in Virginia in 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.400 the suburbs of d C. So it was the perfect 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:35.920 excuse to get here early and spend some time in 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.359 the capital city. Perfect excuse, and I was seriously very 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.640 excited d C. It's just one of those cities that 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.160 has really interested me for a while and I've been 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.440 wanting to go. So the timing and location of your 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:54.240 work schedule just really worked out. And I've always had 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.320 an inkling that I would like d C, I think, 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.400 which is also somewhat tortuous because it's one of those 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:03.720 cities that could never reford to live in. It's really 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:06.000 a great city of all the big cities we've been 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.440 to since living on the road, It's definitely one of 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.040 our favorites. UM and I try not to use favorites 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:15.960 anymore because there's so many wonderful places in this country, 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.400 but I'll make this reception because it literally is one 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.960 of our favorites. It's the perfect mix of a big 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.560 city with culture, and neighborhoods with help feeling is busy 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:29.440 and overwhelming these places like New York or San Francisco. Yeah, 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:31.840 I think a big part of the reason why I 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:33.680 like it so much is, do you see kind of 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.440 reminds me of Chicago in that way, Like Chicago is 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.720 a huge city, but it still feels relatively calm and 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.080 accessible at least when you compare it to those other 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.200 places like New York or San Francisco, And it's not 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.480 like as dizzy as those types of cities. That's probably 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:49.200 why we lived in Chicago for so long because we 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.600 felt that way and why I'm constantly drawn back there. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:57.560 That and Chicago's incredible coffee scene and it's burgers and 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:03.000 it's rooftop bars and two people short. Yeah, Chicago, we 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.240 really do um and we crave cities like this. So 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:10.240 d C was um a way to satisfy that craving. 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:16.280 It was so it was an emotional time because going 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.960 to see the history of that city, but also just 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:23.120 going into the city for this trip. We didn't drive 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.000 over v R V and of course because it's DC 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.600 um and there's a ton of traffic, I mean, it's crazy, 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.800 and parking at twenty six RV would have been a 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:39.280 nightmare expensive and if at all even possible, Yeah, I 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.400 don't know that it would have been. And the traffic 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.560 here is really no joke. I feel like I could 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.400 totally speedwalk faster than most of the cars and traffic 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.200 trying to get into the city. Especially granted I do 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.960 speedwalk faster than like Sonic the Hedgehog, but you get 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.560 the gist. Like it's tedious, tedious traffic here, it really is. 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.000 And that's why we took an advantage of DC's public 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.440 transit to get in and out of the city, which 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.880 was awesome. Um. It's another reason why we really love 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:08.360 cities because when you're on the transit like this, um, 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.200 it's much easier to get around. But also like there's 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.400 this beautiful mix of culture. When you're on the transit 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:18.520 in big cities. You get to see who's living there, 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:24.600 who's cohabitating, who's like the different personalities of that city. 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:27.640 And I feel like their transit was just very diverse 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.880 and it was a beautiful thing to see. Yeah, much 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.359 more so than just like suit and high politicians and 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.240 stuff like that. There are a lot of people going 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:38.159 in and out of DC when we were, and so 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.040 not only is it a great option and economical option 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.960 for traveling, but it's nice to be around them and 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.159 see that, especially since we've been removed from Chicago for 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.280 self all months at this point, and it was a 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.279 nice reminder of being like, oh, this is a great 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:56.760 asset of urban living and visiting urban places as well. 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.120 Because at the time when we were visiting DC, we 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:03.200 were initially staying at some huge and kind of fancy 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.960 RV park and campground on the Maryland side of the city, 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:10.160 and conveniently, there was a bus stop literally right at 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.720 the entrance of our r V park. So what we 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.560 were able to do is just get up early in 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.560 the morning, catch the bus, take that to the nearest 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.320 train stop, which only took like ten or fifteen minutes, 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.160 and then just hop on the train and go into town. 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:25.960 It was super easy. It was just a few stops 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.440 um on the train to get to d C and 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.000 it was super smooth and quick. And that's one thing 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.320 like us being from Chicago, we understand how to use transit, 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.279 So for a lot of people this might be confusing, 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.760 sure for your first time, so you know, it's just 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:43.080 about like like, oh, my gosh, I have to take 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.760 a bus to a train to then like walk around 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.120 or take an opera lip. It's really not that. Make 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.240 it a journey. Make it about the journey while you're 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:54.560 doing this, because it really is easy and it's fun, 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.040 and again you get to see the diversity and that culture. 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.240 It is really fun and you don't have to stress 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:01.800 about parking stuff like that dreamy nuts. I can't do that. 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.400 And it's like super smooth and it's really clean and cheap. Yeah, 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:07.200 I know all of it, and I feel like DC's 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:10.480 public transit has that that part over Chicago in a 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.480 little bit, like I love the transit options when we're 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.200 at home, but the al in Chicago is nowhere near 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:20.720 as smooth and clean as DC's trains. Food. Yeah, for 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.320 a first stomp in DC, we needed to feel for 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:25.360 the day of exploring and touring, so we made a 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:28.760 way to the d C location of milk Bar, because 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:32.600 of course, God, we love milk Bar and we're truly 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.120 obsessed with it. So milk Bar is in New York 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.720 City based mini chain of like dessert shops from this 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:43.320 famous pastry shaff Kristina Tosi and she developed this reputation 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:47.320 for these beautiful, whimsical, kind of quirky desserts. So she's 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.200 known for things like cereal milk soft serve ice cream 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:54.120 and corn flake cookies and like cake truffles stuff like that. 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:58.200 So cookies are literally the best. And that Cerea monk 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:00.880 so soft serve in Las Vega is she does like 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:06.760 a serium milk boozy cocktail thing. Yeah. Sorry, they had 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:10.040 to jump over there, but but we really got into 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:11.840 them when we were in Las Vegas last year and 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:16.239 we went into the location of the Cosmopolitan Um probably 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.600 half dozen times for cookies and those boozy lattapes. We 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:21.560 went a lot, Yeah, the boozy lattes. And it's great 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.120 too because it's like you have this cereal milk flavor 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.600 which is like so nostalgic and it's like childhood. But 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.320 then you can also get a boozy so it's like 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:34.000 pouring like vodka all of our childhood memories. It's really 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.600 really nice, kind of fun. And I yeah, just talking 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.880 about now, like I missed them dearly, those milkball cookies especially, 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.360 I wish we had them do too immediately. So they 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:46.280 have a few locations in d C though, which is 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.160 beautiful but I went to the one in the city 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:54.720 center location since it's like so central and right next 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.480 to all the main historic sites and attractions where we'll 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.480 be wanting to see, so you know, it's just like 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.840 three blocks from the train stop. I mean it literally 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.240 perfection of where it was located. Yeah, it would have 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.080 been silly not to go, honestly, like we needed to. 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.120 It was preordained. I think I had one of my 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.520 beloved Cereal milk Lauts there's no booze Jack, you got that. 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.960 And then I probably had a corn cookie, which is 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:21.120 my favorite cookie from Milk Bar and Jack Jack. I 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.880 just love having cookies like this for breakfast or cookies 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:29.520 in general. It's it's a great breakfast food museum, you know. 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.600 I think we first tried to go to the National 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.120 Portrait Gallery because we wanted to see the new President 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.760 Obama Michelle Obama portraits, but the gallery wasn't open until 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.120 later in the day, so we just kept walking and exploring, 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.599 which was kind of a bummer. Yeah, that was a 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.360 bit of a bummer, and you know, we weren't able 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.360 to see that one this time, but it was the 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:53.240 perfect day for walking and exploring. It was probably like 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:55.440 mid toill late March at this point, so it was 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.440 still chilly and we had light coats on, but it 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.720 was sunny and comfortable for walking especially, and things warmed 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.600 up into the afternoon. So at this point we decided 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:07.640 to make our way to the U. S. Capitol building, 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.760 since neither of us have ever been in. My main 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:12.680 memory of this building is seeing it blown up an 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.199 Independence Day. So I figured it was time to make 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.440 new memories, ones that aren't so destructive. That's a good idea. 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.800 It wasn't. On the way there, didn't we pass where 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.040 Lincoln was assassinating Oh yeah, the fourth not skipped the 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.560 Ford's Theater that we kind of did, Yeah, I know, um, 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:32.240 but yes we did again, Like gosh, we skipped a 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.880 lot of there's a lot, there's ton We saw a lot, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:39.880 but we also skipped a lot. It's absolutely packed, um, 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:42.920 all the way right through it. Yeah. But back with 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:44.760 the U. S. Capital, you know, that's right up there 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.080 with the White House and the Washington Monument. Is one 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.480 of the most iconic buildings in d C. And it 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.520 really was the only one we were able to book 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:54.600 a tour at, right, Yeah, because that stuff is not 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.360 the easiest, like you didn't you try to like book 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.720 at tour for the White House initially, but it was 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.720 like probably too last minute and they didn't have availability 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.760 or something. Yeah, you need to email your state senator 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.160 to set it up for both of these, but you 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:10.240 can do this one is a walk in as well, 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:13.440 the Capitol Building, but the White House you have to 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:16.640 do like way, And I'm not surprised at all that 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:20.000 one's difficult to do, but like the state senator thing 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:27.040 seems so like and unnecessarily difficult. Yeah, inofficial, Like isn't 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.320 that kind of shouldn't they be doing other things? Like 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.520 I'm sure they're busy. What I think it is is 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:33.920 they're trying to educate people on who their senators are 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.320 because a lot of people still don't vote, they still 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.480 don't like, so they're kind of forcing contact or senator 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:42.000 and they don't realize like you're supposed to have this 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.520 trek window to them. So it's like this education thing. 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:48.400 I can respect that. So you did that, you emailed 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:52.800 are like Illinois Senator. Absolutely, um, but I'm really just 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:54.880 glad we got to get into the Capitol Building and 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.520 it all worked out because it was an epic experience 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.000 in case you need to refresh her. It's a huge 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:03.040 dome topped building at the eastern end of the National 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.400 mall right, it's impossible to miss. It's a huge building 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:11.680 looming over the whole park, the entire city, and it's 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.280 super important building obviously. It's basically like if you think 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:18.440 of DC as kind of the circulatory system, this would 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:21.640 be the aorta of d C is. It's home to 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:24.120 the U. S. Congress, plus the seat of the legislative 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.520 branch of government, and it's the center of the city's 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.040 for geographic quadrants in numbered streets, so it's really central 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.720 in more more ways than one here every way. So 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:36.800 for some background here, the Capitol Building was built way 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.800 back in the eighteen hundreds and it was expanded in 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:43.120 later years with that iconic dome and extra chambers. But 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.800 an important fact is it was made mostly by Savory 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:49.319 m hmm. Yeah, we learned that in the tour. We 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.200 definitely did. The architectural style is neo classical, which makes 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:55.680 sense because it totally looks like something from ancient Europe. 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.440 It's very distinct among any U. S building in general, 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.760 especially since it's like all pristine white, so it's almost 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.600 just like glowing from the end of the National Mall here. 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.600 It's magnificent looking. Yeah, it was actually like Alexander, like Hamilton, 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:12.600 who helped establish DC as the nation's capital. It's to 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.560 create more of a neutral location so that no single 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:20.080 state would have more influence or power over the federal government. 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.960 That's why d C is the district of how we 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.520 that's how we got here and cool to a broadway 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:32.080 start helps solidify our country's capital. Pop quiz, Okay, is 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:37.040 Washington d d C estate? No, exactly. I know that 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.160 this sounds silly, but a lot of people still don't 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.839 know that Washington, DC is not a state or within 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.160 a state. They think it's owned by a state, but 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.559 it is its own district, right, Like I could I 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.120 could see people thinking it's part of like Virginia or Maryland. Right. 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.360 It's it's so easy. You're like, oh, that's just a 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:56.480 district of it, but it's not. Yeah, So this part 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:58.679 I love, and I probably knew this at some point, 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:02.280 but my memory is foggy. But Philadelphia was actually our 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.200 temporary capital while the city while d C was being 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.720 planned and built along the Potomac River. So it's been 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:13.160 quite a saga for the city in our country in general. Yeah, 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.120 I mean, the really cool part about building this new 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:17.920 city from scratch was how city planners were able to 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.880 lay it out with the specific vision in mind. The 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:25.880 President's House was intentionally like connected west to the Potomac 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:28.520 by a public space that would come to be known 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:32.280 as the National Yeah, and eventually that public space would 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.280 grow and expand to including connect the Capitol Building, the 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:40.440 Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Museums, and slew 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:44.440 of other important sites, National Park and otherwise. Also, the 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.840 Capitol Building was initially called Congress House, but Thomas Jefferson 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.080 wanted to change the name, inspired by the Latin origins 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:57.240 of the word and its connection to Capitoline Hill in Rome. Yeah. Right, 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.880 So the tour we did here was excellent. It was 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:02.680 pretty sizable group, i would say, and we were all 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.400 led around the interior of the building into numerous chambers, 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.080 learning about the construction of the building, how it was 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:11.880 partly burned and damaged during the War of eighteen twelve, 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:14.680 and how the building was expanded in the mid eighteen 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.640 hundreds to accommodate the House of Representatives in the Senate. 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.280 Since the country was growing and adding more states, they 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.880 were running out of room for all the new legislators, 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.560 so it was literally a full house. This was also 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.600 when the new dome was added. Like a cherry on 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.880 the top of a Sunday Yeah, and I'm still starting 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.400 for a milk bar chat. So these food references are 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.280 kind of tortuous for me to handle, but I do 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:39.960 like it. So if the dome is the cherry, then 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.280 the Statue of Freedom on the top of the dome 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.400 would be the chocolate drizzle or the whip cream, or 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:51.680 the sprinkles or the like Jimmy's Chocolate Jimmy's Yeah, but 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.280 yes to all of it. It's the statue is actually 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.800 in ornate bronze statue of a woman with a military 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.440 helmet holding a sword and shield, so he's basically like 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.760 a badass statue of liberty. Now, after years and years 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.360 of restorations and add ons, the Capitol Building was named 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.120 a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:14.360 nineteen sixty and rightfully so, yeah, rightfully so. So. My 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.680 favorite thing about our tour here was seeing all the 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:20.200 different states that were so well represented. I felt such 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.080 a sense of unity and especially important during a time 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.640 when our country really needs that feeling that unity. The 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.320 tour started in a small round room with statues and 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:33.080 important pioneering figures from the original thirteen colonies, including my 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.920 home student of Hampshire. Nice to see that. Yes, this 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.320 area was called the crypt enough um. It was filled 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.960 with columns and had statues of people like Samuel Adams 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:47.720 from Massachusetts, Charles Carroll from Maryland, and Roger Sherman from Connecticut. Yes, 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.160 and New Hampshire was wrapped by John's Stark. Actually, each 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:54.120 state has its own statue somewhere in the buildings. Some 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.640 of them have more than one, so it's not just 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.000 the crypt and it's not just the Thirteen Colonies. Statue 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.120 can be found in the visitor center, at the National 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:06.280 Statuary Hall, connecting corridors and the Hall of Columns. Also 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:09.320 at Statues. Yeah, I think the Statuary Hall is my favorite. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:11.359 It's a huge room with a tall ceiling, filled with 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:14.760 these beautiful statues from across the country, and the tour 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.520 guide was really on it with his like information. He 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:19.800 would ask people in the crowd to say where they're from, 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:21.560 and he would immediately point to the statue in the 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:26.080 room and talk about that person in their role in history. Um. Yeah, 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.560 this guide was on it. You know. The really cool 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:30.760 thing about like statue really hall is that like that 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:35.120 is where like Congress collected for a long time until 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.960 they outgrew it. But it wasn't like the modern day 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.480 like basically the game. It was a full house. But 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:44.520 I think every state can have up to two statues, um, 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:48.320 and they're donated by your state and the beautiful Yeah 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.360 good team. So states can change who their important characters 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.640 are if they want to in the future. So it's 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:56.560 just such a it's really there's a really crappie's like 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.560 to unpack there. If you want to honor some someone 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.920 new or you know, swap things out, or someone being 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:06.040 honored turns out to be you know, awful if they 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:10.240 haven't aged well in history, then swap that out. Um. 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.960 On another note, on our way into this hall, we 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:16.000 also passed by Nancy Pelosi's office, which was a total 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:19.000 surprise to me. I didn't know her office was here, Um, 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:20.960 so I wasn't expecting to see it. We didn't see her, 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.679 but we saw her office, and it reminded me of 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:25.639 a dream I recently had with Nancy and it did 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:28.160 I tell you about the stream? No, I don't think so. 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:31.119 So I dreamed that she invited me to her office 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:35.680 for some sort of meeting. I guess I just envisioned 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:37.119 this is what her office would look like. It kind 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.920 of felt like a elementary school principal's office or something. 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:41.920 I don't know if that's how it actually is. But 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.359 she invited me into her office for a meeting. And 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.160 then we didn't really talk about business, but she did 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:49.520 pour me some red wine and like a paper cup, 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:55.080 and I was like, Nancy, she's cool. I like her. 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:57.639 And then I don't know what we talked about or 0:18:57.680 --> 0:18:59.840 if anything, but the meeting was pretty much over, like right, 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.160 I she did hug me goodbye. That so I woke 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:07.960 up feeling great. Mm hmm. That is amazing. I love it. No, 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:11.040 I'm a dream of some weird dreams. Um, but that's 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:13.040 one that doesn't seem too far off to maybe what 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:15.159 would happen. I just think that Nancy is maybe she 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.600 would do more classy than a paper cup like I 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.240 think she would give you. That's the unbelievable part. That's 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.159 really the only unbelievable part of that dream. It's like 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:25.840 paper cup. She probably is like stemmar. Absolutely, And when 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:28.000 we come back from the short break, we'll get back 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.639 to reality with more from our trip to Washington, DC's 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:50.400 national park sites. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.760 is park Landia, and today we're talking about Washington. Do 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:56.560 you see the National Mall and all the memorial parks 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:01.239 that we visited in the city mon event So, like 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.040 we mentioned, d C has a ton of National park sites, 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:06.399 many of which are well known and popular, along with 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.679 others that are less visited. In addition to the Capital 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:12.000 Building and the National Mall itself, which serves as the 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.560 grand public connector to all of it, the other national 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.600 parks we visited were the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.680 President's Park, AK, the White House, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.960 and Pennsylvania Avenue, which is considered a National park site 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:28.640 in and of itself. Like we said, there's a lot here. 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:32.160 And we also stopped at the Washington Monument, but we 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:34.840 weren't able to go into it or to the top 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.639 of it because it was closed for renovations. Um it 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.439 is since reopened, so it's bummer. We missed it, but 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.160 you do not have to write yeah, it was a bummer. 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:45.840 We did go into the little Visitor Center story though, 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:47.679 and preads that for a little bit. But we'll just 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.119 have to go back, which I'm totally fine with because 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:53.280 that means more milk Bark cookies and more American history, 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.640 So sign me up. The great thing about how DC 0:20:56.840 --> 0:20:58.960 is laid out is that the National Mall makes it 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:02.920 super easy to get from one site to the next. Yeah, 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:04.800 do you remember when you mixed up the National Mall 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:07.679 with the Mall of America? I don't really want to. 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:11.320 You're how you dare you through the end of the 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:13.480 bus here We're wandering from one side to it and 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.040 your milk bar cookies for you? You were like, where's 0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:20.080