Our next stop after Music City would soon see us waving the Star Spangled Banner and doing our best impressions of the American Patriot.
While only a short stopover in Washington DC, we had arranged our travels to be in the nation’s capital during the enormous Fourth of July (American Independence Day) celebrations.
Arriving two days before the big Yankee party, we spent the first day exploring the National Mall – the famous three kilometre stretch of park that starts with the Capitol Building and ends with the imposing Lincoln Memorial.
In between, there are various memorials and monuments to key events in American and indeed world history, including memorials to allied soldiers killed during WW2, Vietnam and Korean conflicts.
And boy do the yanks love their presidents. In addition to Lincoln, further tributes are paid to Franklin D Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence.
Rising above them all however, is arguably DC’s most famous landmark, the Egyptian-inspired Washington Monument, which for a short time stood as the World’s tallest structure.
These landmarks and the significant they hold was further explored and explained during a guided walking tour of the park the following morning. After, we took a peak inside one of DC’s many museums, made free of charge by the historic ‘Smithsonian Institute’.
We started the Fourth of July celebrations by getting a good spot on Constitution Ave to watch the annual parade. Including everything from high school marching bands and defence force personnel to multiple community organisations and ethnic groups, the parade was full of floats, costumes, music and seemed to go on for hours!
After wandering around historic Georgetown and enjoying a nice pub lunch, we headed back to the Mall for the nationally televised “Capitol 4th” concert on the grassy hill of the Capitol building, featuring John Stamos as host and music from the Beach Boys, Blues Brothers and more.
We finished our July 4th experience the way thousands of Americans do – witnessing the spectacular fireworks display over the Washington Monument. It was the perfect way to end a short but rewarding visit to Washington D.C.
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