CarieVinne-
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Washington DC is one of the best places in the United States that you can travel to on your next family vacation. When you look at all the museums, memorials, parks, sporting events, and other tourist attractions available in Washington, you"ll quickly realize that one vacation there simply won"t allow you to see it all.
Many of the museums and memorials are funded by taxpayer dollars, so they do not charge admission or entrance fees. For this reason, the cost for a Washington DC vacation can actually be lower than what you"d pay to travel to other places, like New York City for example. This is even more true when you factor in the superior metro rail system in Washington. With DC"s subway system, you almost never need to pay for taxi rides - and with the terrible parking problems in this city, you really don"t want to try and drive there. Making a road trip to Washington DC is fine, as long as you park your car and ride the Metro once you arrive.
This lens will focus on Washington DC as one of America"s great vacation destinations. I"ll provide descriptions of various places around Federal City, links to websites, suggestions on reference materials (books, CDs, DVDs) to help you prepare for your family vacation, even reviews of restaurants and hotels. You will find some photographs on this lens; you"ll find hundreds more photos from Washington DC and other United States travel destinations at my website Family Travel P****.com, along with even more information about vacationing in this great destination.
We set aside one day to hike around the National Mall and memorial parks areas between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. We walked a full circuit from the Washington Monument over to the World War II and Declaration of Independence Signers Memorials, up to the Viet Nam and Lincoln Memorials. Then back along the other side of the reflecting pool to the Korean War, World War I memorials and back to the Washington Monument. It was worth the several miles walked and the time we gave to visit these places. I think a full day is about right to walk this route. Here"s where we went.
Washington Monument definitely worth the time to go to the top. This is one of those places you want to get reservations for in advance. I guess you can show up in the morning and get tickets, but we found it much easier to do our reservations in advance. The day we were there, all tickets for the day had been given out well before noon. If you do make online reservations, make sure you go to the ticket area and exchange your receipt for actual tickets before getting in line. The park rangers get really fussy with you if you try to enter with the receipt. All types of photography are permitted, but pay attention to the limits on the size of the bags you can take in.
The US Capitol Tour is an activity you almost have to book in advance. When you get to the Capitol, you go through security, then present the vouchers to the information desk and get your tickets. Everyone in your time slot (and there are probably a couple hundred) queues up to start the tour.
Perhaps I was expecting too much, but this tour was a bit of a let down for me. The tour started with a 20-minute movie (which was pretty good), then everyone broke into groups of 20-30. Our group was led up to the Capitol Rotunda, where we got a long explanation on every statue and painting there, including the artwork inside the dome. There were many, many groups in the Rotunda and the noise in there was overwhelming. If you have trouble hearing, stay close to your guide or he/she will be drowned out for you. Your group stays in one spot while in the Rotunda so unfortunately you don"t get a chance for a close-up look at all the artwork. After that we moved to the Old Senate Chamber and saw a bunch more statues in there. Again, lots of groups and lots of noise. We returned to the Rotunda and then went downstairs to another room and saw a few more statues. After that, our tour was done.
Don"t get me wrong. It was neat to see the Capitol, and the Rotunda is absolutely beautiful. I love sculptures and I enjoyed seeing many of them, particularly statues of Lincoln, Washington, Reagan, Jefferson, Robert E. Lee and Texans Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, personable and enthusiastic - he REALLY knew his stuff. It wasn"t a long tour so it didn"t wear you out. We were allowed to take pictures, which is always important to me.
You can enhance your experience by requesting chamber passes from your representative - for 15 minutes you can go into the visitor gallery of the House or the Senate and watch them spend your grandchildren"s money. We decided not to do that - maybe the tour would have been more impactful if we had.
On the down side, the security limitations are somewhat absurd. You can"t bring a shoulder bag in larger than a small notebook computer case, so plan to leave much of your camera equipment at the hotel. To their credit, the security people tried to work with visitors who weren"t complying with the size requirements.
Also, don"t get too far from the tour or a security person will fuss at you. My wife walked across the Old Senate Chamber to get a photo and a guard sniped at her to return to her guide. If we must stay with the guide, that"s fine; in that case, however, the group should at least walk around each room so you can get a closer look at each statue or painting. They"ll tell you in advance but you can"t bring in drinks or food. They have water fountains near the bathrooms in case you get thirsty. Use the bathroom before you do your tour. I don"t think they have facilities once you get started.
Clearly, the Capitol Tour is worth doing - I mean, it"s the Capitol, for crying out loud. Just temper your expectations and do the gallery visit.
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Northern California and the Great Mt Lassen
Northern California is one of the most beautiful places on earth with a rich diversity in landscape, animals and plant life. National parks, State parks, and places for the true explorer to just get out and enjoy nature. From the Redwood forests along the coast to Yosemite National Park Northern California has a little something for every one and a special home for the outdoorsman and adventurer. California attracts tourists for many reasons but one of my favorite tourist locations is Mt Lassen National Park, The "living" mountain. Here I will take you through a short trip through the park as well as out lying areas.
Now I will not get into the science of the mountain or how it was once a great part of an even bigger mountain known as Mt. Tehama but I will say there is a lot to learn about this area and how it has impacted the surrounding areas. Lets just say that when this great mountain blew it re landscaped miles of terrain. clear into the sacramento valley.
The park is clearly marked and paved so finding it is easy off of Hwy 36 east. Following the road is easy and even in the winter months it is kept in good shape up to the park head quarters where people go for cross country skiing and sledding after the first snows close the road through the park. The road reopens in late spring/early summer which in my opinion is the time to go. Make sure to take your time as there is a lot to see and going early is always a good idea. The most popular areas get super busy during the day.
So you have paid the fees at the entrance, now what? ohh boy the first stop for me is always the headquarters. the park staff is super nice and always ready to help with any questions you have. Next head on up to Sulpher works. The thermal vents here are a sight, and a smell
I would not spend a lot of time at the Sulfur Works because there is so much more to see so lets head out. Next make your way up and around the hill to Bumpass Hell. Get here early, I can not stress this enough. We have been here several times and never found a spot to park. The hiking trail down is well worth it so don"t get lazy here. I am not even going to post a picture here so that you have no excuses not to go see it.
All done at Bumpass Hell? ok cool lets go take another hike, well maybe not everyone but if you feel you can hike it do it, my father and I did when I was a kid and it was extremely rewarding. Lassen is beautiful to look at but the view from the top... makes you feel as if your the king of the mountain for sure. take your time and plenty of water.
Our next stop has been visited by many many photographers. some of them considered the best at what they do. Upper Meadow, where Kings Creek flows out along the tree line. A photographers dream and nightmare. capturing this on film during the right time of day, season, lighting conditions is a thing to behold. No two images seem to be a like and no two images seam to capture everything the photographer is searching for.
Hey is it lunch time yet? Glad I packed my lunch lets just sit here and enjoy for a few
So now just jump in your car and head home... Just kidding
The road meanders through some beautiful areas and you will see a lot of small lakes to enjoy. Lots of places to stop and take pictures and get out and look around. Helen Lake, emerald Lake, and summit Lake are all worthy of a stop and maybe a short walk to get that perfect memory on film. Check out the Chaos Crags and the devastation areas..
Wildlife is abundant in Mt Lassen National Park and you never know what you will see next but rest assured there is always something to see and experience.
While paved roads may be a requirement on your outdoor/ camping list, some may prefer to get off the road maybe do a little or a lot of hiking. Day trips, weekend trips and even week long trips are very popular here. More than half of the park can not be seen from the road and the miles of hiking trails far out reaches the miles of paved roads. Did I mention lakes? oh boy the number of lakes along the hiking trails is amazing. lakes like Snag Lake, Silver Lake, and the Twin lakes just to name a couple. Juniper lake and Butte Lake are both accessible by autos from other routes in to the park and are well worth the trips.
Manzanita Lake is probably the most popular spot in the park. A Museum and ranger office in an old building is a cool site to see. The lake itself is a popular camping area as well as an anglers dream. Hikers will enjoy a few short day hikes as well as Nobles Emigrant Trail passing through there.
All in all Mt Lassen National Park is one amazing park that offers something for almost everyone. Simply Beautiful
西柚不是西游-
美国，那是一个大部分人们向往的地方，没去过的就不能帮你回答，我去过，远远望去一大片一大片的人们，把路堵得水泄不通，再一看，那里的人们的发色各不相同····················
蓓蓓-
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