We also visited the Smithsonian American History Museum in DC.
An art, with the Washington Monument in the background:
The Star Spangled Banner; a huge flag in the room behind this, but couldn’t take pictures of it:
First Ladies:
museum
Smithsonian Natural History Museum
We visited the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC.
We caught the DC Metro to the DC Mall area:
Smithsonian Natural History Museum:
Skulls:
Reconstructed neanderthal face:
World population:
African animals:
Dinosaurs:
Dark skies:
Rocks:
Hope diamond:
Phones:
Shark:
Back to the foyer:
Lots of stuff to see.
DC monuments by night tour
We did an evening guided tour of Washington DC from the Cherry Hill Park campground.
Selfie in the bus:
US Capitol:
Washington Monument:
Back to our bus; there were lots of food trucks like this lining the roads in DC:
Treasury building:
The White House:
Guide talking about the White House:
Washington Monument:
Thomas Jefferson Memorial:
Sunset:
Lots of tour buses:
Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial:
Korean War Veterans Memorial:
Washington Monument and the Capitol beyond the reflecting pond:
Lincoln Memorial:
Vietnam Veterans Memorial:
World War II Memorial:
World War II Memorial:
The Birthplace of Pepsi
We visited The Birthplace of Pepsi, located in New Bern, North Carolina. Our third soda-history stop, after the Dr Pepper Museum and the World of Coca-Cola museum.
Pepsi-Cola was invented by Caleb Bradshaw while working in a pharmacy at this location, now a soda and swag shop celebrating that history.
“Brad’s Drink”:
The Birthplace of Pepsi:
World of Coca‑Cola museum
We previously visited the Dr Pepper museum in Waco, Texas, so it seemed only fair to visit the World of Coca‑Cola museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The Coke museum was fancier, but we preferred the Dr Pepper one, if only because the Coke museum was way too crowded. Probably our fault for visiting on a Saturday.
Atlanta:
The World of Coca‑Cola museum:
We had lunch at the nearby Bottle Cap Café:
Coke and coffee floats and a basic sandwich:
Selfie:
Crowded waiting area before the theater:
After that was a 7-minute film, basically an emotionally-manipulative ad, showing people in major life events, and happening to drink Coke at the end. Then on into the main part of the museum:
The Vault, with exhibits of the history:
The vault with the secret recipe, allegedly:
More exhibits:
The Lab:
Tasting:
International beverage tasting:
Thailand’s Apple Kiwi Fanta was our favorite flavor (many others were not to our taste):
Gift store:
Back outside:
An interesting museum, if too crowded.
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
An out-of-sequence post: I noticed that I had missed posting about an attraction we visited while staying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida.
We’re fans of Japanese gardens, and this was one of the better ones.
Map:
A slow line for lunch:
Cafe menu:
Jenn’s bento box:
My teriyaki and spring rolls:
An art:
Yep, it’s Florida — caution, alligators:
Bridge:
Turtles:
Bridges:
Gate:
Pond:
Tree:
Rock garden:
Lanterns:
Bridge:
Waterfall:
Gate:
Lizard:
Bonsai garden:
Turtle:
Lantern:
Courtyard:
Exhibit:
Tea room:
Water feature:
Lizard:
Pond and bridge:
Waterfall:
Turtle and lizard:
Pond and bridge:
A nice garden, worth a visit.
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
We explored the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama.
It includes exhibits of various military planes, plus a submarine and the eponymous battleship.
Aircraft exhibits:
The USS Drum is a WWII-era submarine, the oldest American sub on public display:
The WWII-era USS Alabama battleship:
Fascinating.
New Orleans St Louis Cemetery Number 1
We did a guided tour of the historic tombs in St Louis Cemetery Number 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
An interactive map:
We checked in for the tour at the visitor info building across the road:
It has train exhibits:
A map with the area of the city that was flooded highlighted in red:
Then on to our guided tour of St Louis Cemetery Number 1:
Fascinating stuff.
The National WWII Museum
New Orleans Oak Alley Plantation
We visited Oak Alley Plantation, a historic sugar plantation west of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Map:
One reason we chose to tour this plantation was that they acknowledged the history of slavery as part of the establishment:
They had exhibits on the slave quarters, work, and other conditions:
Some nice gardens:
The big house:
Sugarcane theater, with a video on sugarcane harvesting:
We had a guided tour of inside the big house. Unfortunately they don’t allow photos inside:
A view of the oak trees from the second floor balcony:
The wrap-around balcony:
After the tour inside, we walked around the gardens some more:
Then went to the cafe for lunch, followed by the gift store:
Fascinating history.