Category Archives: Articles

These are articles written and or published by Jonathan Hilton on this website www.jonathanhilton.com. Most are of an inspirational or spiritual side.

Visit Washington D.C

Washington DC Monuments by Moonlight Night Tour by Trolley

Lincoln Memorial
One of Washington's great monuments

You haven’t seen Washington DC until you’ve seen it at night! On this narrated evening tour, you’ll enjoy the sights and sounds of Washington DC, and see first-hand how Washington turns into a different city when the sun goes down!

Highlights

  • Ticket for Washington DC Monuments by Moonlight Night Tour by Trolley
  • Experience Washington DC by night
  • Narrated evening tour provides entertaining anecdotes and historical information
  • Pass by Washington DC’s most popular monuments and points of interest
  • See the FDR Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial and more

Gettysburg Day Trip from Washington DC

GettysburgJourney into the picturesque countryside of Maryland and Pennsylvania on a day trip from Washington DC devoted to the historic battlefield of Gettysburg. You’ll gain rich insights into an important part of America’s heritage, and learn the story of the largest battle ever fought on US soil.

Highlights

  • Devote your day to a tour of Gettysburg and the historic battlefield
  • Visit the Gettysburg Diorama, one of the largest Miniature Military Dioramas in the United States
  • Visit Cemetery Ridge, where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address
As you travel to Pennsylvania, relax and listen to as your guide identifies local points of interest.When you arrive at Gettysburg you’ll have time to explore the sights on your own. You’ll see the Gettysburg Diorama, one of the largest miniature military dioramas in the country, for a narrated history of the Battle of Gettysburg, accompanied by sound and light effects.While you tour the site, expert guides can provide essential background to the history of the famous battle.

Washington DC in a Day Tour

 

You’ll see so much of Washington DC on this DC in a Day Tour! Pay your respects to fallen heroes at the World War II Memorial and see some of DC’s famous landmarks. From history to science, this Washington DC tour has it all!

Highlights

  • Enjoy the beautiful Capitol Building and stop for a picture at the White House
  • Spend some time at the world famous Smithsonian Museums and visit the Air and Space Museum
  • Visit the White House Visitor Center and learn all about the past and present US Presidents

Explore all of DC on this one day guided tour! Visit the newly renovated Ford’s Theatre and experience a remarkable collection of historic artifacts with background on the Civil War and 1860’s Washington.

Visit the Capitol Building, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Don’t forget your camera for a photo stop at the White House (south lawn) – you might even see the President! Also, you’ll visit the White House Visitor Center, which houses the same decor and information about past and present Presidents.

Head to the new World War II Memorial to see the tribute to this country. See this beautiful structure and the wonderful water works that make this memorial one to remember. Spend time visiting the world famous Smithsonian Museums. You won’t want to miss the Air and Space Museum or the newly renovated American History Museum.

Also, you’ll see the FBI Building, Federal Triangle, Ellipse, Tidal Basin, National Archives, Washington Monument, House and Senate Office Building, U.S. Botanical Gardens, National Gallery of Art, U.S. Navy Memorial and Grant Memorial.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

If not one of the most powerful in the world, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial is certainly one of the most powerful in Washington D.C. The iconic memorial is comprised of two walls of polished black granite, on which the names of the 58,209 soldiers killed in the Vietnam War are inscribed. It’s an eloquent inversion of the Mall’s other monuments: rather than a pale, ornate structure reaching skyward, it’s dark, austere and burrows into the earth, symbolizing the war’s wound to the national psyche.

Paper indices at both ends help you locate individual names. The most moving remembrances are notes, medals, and mementos left by survivors, family and friends; some of these are collected by park rangers and displayed at the National Museum of American History.

Nearby is the tree-ringed Women in Vietnam Memorial depicting female soldiers aiding a fallen man. Veterans dedicated to finding lost POWs have set up permanent camps around the monument, passing out pamphlets and Congressional petitions to search for soldiers still missing three decades after the war’s end.

Arlington National Cemetery

More than four million people visit Arlington National Cemetery, which contain the graves of soldiers of every war the United States has fought since the American Revolution. The cemetery is also a resting place for such American leaders as John F. Kennedy, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Medgar Evers.

At the end of Memorial Drive is the Women In Military Service for America Memorial, honoring women who have served in the armed forces since the Revolution. On the slopes above are the Kennedy gravesites; an eternal flame marks John F. Kennedy’s grave. The Tomb of the Unknowns holds unidentified bodies from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Soldiers march before it 24 hours a day, performing an impressive ceremonial changing of the guard every half hour.

Other memorials include the Confederate Monument, the mast of the battleship USS Maine, the Challenger memorial, and the Nurses’ Memorial. The Iwo Jima Memorial, displaying the famous raising of the flag over Mount Suribachi, is on the cemetery’s northern fringes.

Washington DC by Night: WWII Memorial

 

 

The Smithsonian

Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities.

The Smithsonian Institution was established with funds from James Smithson (1765-1829), a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for theincrease and diffusion of knowledge.”

Smithson, the illegitimate child of a wealthy Englishman, had traveled much during his life, but had never once set foot on American soil. Why, then, would he decide to give the entirety of his sizable estate—which totaled half a million dollars, or 1/66 of the United States’ entire federal budget at the time—to a country that was foreign to him?

 

Some speculate it was because he was denied his father’s legacy. Others argue that he was inspired by the United States’ experiment with democracy. Some attribute his philanthropy to ideals inspired by such organizations as the Royal Institution, which was dedicated to using scientific knowledge to improve human conditions. Smithson never wrote about or discussed his bequest with friends or colleagues, so we are left to speculate on the ideals and motivations of a gift that has had such significant impact on the arts, humanities, and sciences in the United States.

Visitors can pay homage to Smithson with a visit to his crypt, located on the first floor of the Smithsonian Castle.

Smithson died in 1829, and six years later, President Andrew Jackson announced the bequest to Congress. On July 1, 1836, Congress accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust. In September 1838, Smithson’s legacy, which amounted to more than 100,000 gold sovereigns, was delivered to the mint at Philadelphia. Recoined in U.S. currency, the gift amounted to more than $500,000.

National Zoological Park

National Zoological Park
Let's go to the Zoo

One of the world’s best zoos and home to approximately 2,000 animals representing nearly 400 species, of which about a quarter are endangered; provides leadership in animal care, science, education, and sustainability.

After eight years of sometimes heated debate, an Act of Congress signed by President James K. Polk on Aug. 10, 1846, established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian. Since its founding .more than 164 years ago, the Smithsonian has become the world’s largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums, the National Zoo and nine research facilities.

The Museums and Zoo

American History Museum in Washington D.C.
American History

The Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum and research complex—includes 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park.

Most Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are free and open every day of the year except December 25. For a complete list of hours see the information on planning your visit or select a museum from the list.

Note: Additional Smithsonian exhibitions and events can be found in the S. Dillon Ripley Center on the National Mall.

A list of all of the Museums located at The Smithsonian

National Air and Space Museum

Each year, eight million people visit the cavernous halls of the National Air and Space Museum, for this popular Smithsonian museum is one of the best for kids of all ages, full of interactivity and things that go fast, boom, and swoosh!

The museum’s 23 galleries trace the history of aviation and space exploration through interactive displays and historic artifacts. Walk through the DC-7 cockpit, check out the WWII permanent exhibit, and take the controls on the flight stimulator ride. Alighted airplanes and soaring spacecraft abound, including the Wright Brothers’ Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis and the Apollo 11 command module. The Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater offers a rotating list of films shown throughout the day. Alternative shows at the Albert Einstein Planetarium send viewers hurtling through space on tours of the universe.

The museum has a second exhibition facility, the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. Visitors can wander across suspended walkways and airborne bridges to get a close-up view of hundreds of fighter planes, space ships and other flying machines suspended from the 10-story ceiling. Together the two sites comprise the world’s largest collection of aviation and space artifacts.