Friday, April 25, 2008

In The Power Corridor

It had been way too long since we'd been to the world's most powerful city.
So yesterday we decided to join a group of friends and colleagues for a quick trip to the nation's capital. The weather more than cooperated, providing us with a perfect spring day.
Our first stop was the National Press Club just a few blocks from the White House where we attended a luncheon and heard from Charles L. Overby, Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Forum, The Newseum and The Diversity Institute. Overby, a former newsman who speaks with a wonderful southern drawl told us all about Washington's most popular new attraction, The Newseum. That whet our appetite for the real thing. So, after lunch it was off to The Newseum (pictured) just about a mile up the road on Pennsylvania Avenue and within shouting distance of The Capitol.
The Newseum — a 250,000-square-foot museum of news — offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.
The exterior’s unique architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by can watch the museum fulfill its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other.
The Newseum features seven levels of galleries and theaters where you can see artifacts such as the door that burglars taped during the Watergate break in, the notes that JFK took during his historic 1960 debate with Nixon, the microphones that FDR used to deliver his fireside chats and the charred electronic transmission tower from the top of the World Trade Center. You can easily spend four hours or more at The Museum which makes it worth every cent of its $20 admission price. Don't miss it!
After The Museum we dined next door at The Source, Wolfgang Puck's newest eatery which features a sleek three-level interior, a second-floor outdoor dining terrace and fresh, simple dishes with an Asian flair. This is Puck's first Washington eatery and with white table clothes and soft lighting it's also one of Puck's more upscale outlets. Delicious, but be forewarned: the portions are not exactly huge.
After The Source it was off to The White House.
But more about that in the next post!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love how you described his "souther drawl" as lovely. Haha