The National Cathedral

The National Cathedral is located in north DC. For some reason I decided to drive through Georgetown. The restofthe world must not have had any people because they were all in Georgetown shopping. The place was packed. Block after block of folks milling around. Bumper to bumper traffic. Every intersection clogged. All this put me in such a wonderful mood.
The good news was that because it was Sunday, parking at the cathedral was free. The cathedral is really spectacular. Both gigantic and ornate. The same earthquake that damaged the Washington Monument damaged the national cathedral, so there is scaffolding up on parts of the exterior.
A service was being held in.the main sactuary, so we did not go in there. President Woodrow Wilson is entombed along the side hallway. The chapels in the basement are beautiful. Thee one has incredible mosaics on all the walls.
When President Reagan died I was in DC. The funeral was held in the National Cathedral. We did not get to attend that, but we did witness his casket being brought out of the Capitol. The motorcadedrove right by us on the way to the funeral.

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President's Graves

On this trip with David we are going to visit the graves of five Presidents. One of the greatest, George Washington at Mount Vernon. One of the worst, James Buchanan at Lancaster, PA. Three in the middle. Woodrow Wilson at the National Cathedral in Washington. John Kennedy and Howard Taft at Arlington Cemetary in Virginia. The two most impressive Presidential graves I have been to are Lincoln's in Springfield, IL, and Grant's in New York City. I have been to 17 of the 39 Presidential graves. Most of them are very humble. many are located in regular cemetaries. Their grave stones are less remarkable than many others in the same cemetary. I found this to be true of Buchanan's in Lancaster and Tyler's in Richmond. Many are buried at their Presidential libraries, such as Hoover and Truman. Some are buried at their homes, such as Washington, Jefferson, and FDR. I think Lincoln and Grant have such magnificent tombs because of their rolls in the Civil

Ford's Theater

The theater where Lincoln was shot has been completely changed since the last time I visited a few years ago. They purchased the building.next door and turned it into the box office. The museum in the basement is much better than it was before. The derringer used by Booth has a prominent place. Most of the other weapons used by the conspirators are on display as well. The pistol and knife Powell attacked Seward with and the rifles, pistols, and knives Booth and Herold had with them during their twelve days on the run were there. It is a great museum, but anyone who plans on visiting should study up on the assassination first. Visiting the theater itself was a disappointment. I expected a ranger talk, but there was none. The theater is a working theater and workers were busy building a set. Nonetheless, I still get the willies when I think of what happened in there.

The Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans was fought in late December, 1814 and early January, 1815, culminating in the final battle on January 8. The Americans, a ragtag bunch, made up of some regulars and some militia, plus volunteer free Blacks, Creoles, Natives, and s few French pirates We’re led byAndrew Jackson. The British had more soldiers and they were better armed and better trained. However when the final battle was over the British had suffered 2000 casualties and the Americans less than fifty. It was one of the most lopsided battles in the history of warfare. Ironically the battle was fought after the Treaty if Ghent had ended the War of 1812. The Americans victory ensured that the British would honor the terms. It also propelled Andrew Jackson into the awhite house. The pictures above were taken at the battlefield. A tell oblisk monument marks the center of the battlefield. The other picture is if the raised earthe n redoubt the Americans had thrown up, stretchin

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