Washington Monument

I got to visit the Washington Monument!! Pretty cool, right!!?

The Washington Monument is an obelisk, which is a four-sided square that tapers as it gets taller and has a pyramid on the top. It was built in honor of our first president--George Washington.

George Washington was a very modest man and didn't want a monument built in his name after his death.  But, apparently, the citizens forgot that and in 1849, 49 years after his death, they started building a monument to him.

About 1/3 done

By 1854 they had about a third of it built but the project ran out of money and construction stopped. Some people tried to keep the construction going over the years, but it pretty much stayed the same for 25 years. Then, in 1879 they were able to raise more money and they started building again. However, it had they so long that they now had to get their stone from somewhere else because the quarry where using before had closed. If you look close enough you can see a line where the color of the stone changes slightly from having to use a different stone. Finally, 40 years after it was started, they finished it and it opened to the public in 1888. Wow! They worked on the Washington Monument for a long time!!!

Some of the old graffiti

You can take an elevator to the top of it if you want, but you can also schedule a day to walk up it's 890 steps, and 50 landings to the time. As you go up there are tons of different special commemorative stones incorporated into the building. You can even see graffiti carved into the marble on the inside from civil war soldiers and other people who were there.

Sadly, the Washington Monument was damaged from the earthquake in August 2011. It's been closed since then, but engineers are trying to figure out how to repair it so it will last another 163 years. I hope it will be finished soon so I will be able to go inside of it and see all of the cool stones. It was still really cool being able to see the outside of it, though. You should visit the Washington Monument if you ever get the chance.

Quack Report:

My quack was awesome!!! You should've heard the echo. It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!   

  

White House

Have you ever been to the White House??? I have. It's Awesome! You should go to the White House if you ever get a chance.

The White House is one of the most famous homes in the United States. That's because it's where the President and his staff work. The President even lives there! In fact it has been the home to every U.S. President since John Adams!!

The White House was built between 1792 and 1800, but it looks very different then it did when it was first finished. Over the last 200 years there's been a lot of changes. Like, the additional wings that have been added. The first construction took 8 years, and cost 232,371.83 dollars. Which would be over 3 million dollars today. Wow!! That's a ton of money!!!

During the war of 1812 the White House was set on fire by British troops in 1884. The only walls left were the exterior walls, and those had to be reconstructed, too.  It was rebuilt, but wasn't taken very good care of after so many years of use. By 1948, the house was declared to be in imminent danger of collapse, which forced President Truman to commission a reconstruction and move across the street to Blair House from 1949 to 1951. The White House was rebuilt bigger and better, and modernized with air conditioning. Even elevators and a bomb shelter. 

 In 1961, President Kennedy and his wife Jackie renovated the White House and made it a place worthy to entertain heads of state and foreign dignitaries. A lot of the decoration and artwork you see there today is because of their efforts. It has paintings of former presidents and historic furniture that's been carefully maintained and kept up so that everyone can enjoy it. The White House is amazing. You really should visit the White House.

Quack Report: 

My quack was loud!!! The echo was even louder, and it echoed all over the place!!! 

Executive Building

Have you ever been to the Old Executive Office Building?? It's right next door to the White House. It's actually been renamed the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but everyone still calls it by it's old name.

The Old Executive Office Building is 123 years old. It was build between 1871 and 1888. The building is right next to the White House, and that's where many of the staff have there offices. This is because the White House isn't big enough for everyone that works there, so a lot of the workers have there offices at the Executive Building, and can go to the White House when they need to via the tunnel that connected the two. I wish I could work there! That would be Quackers!!

Originally the building was for the State, and the War and Navy departments, but those folks quickly outgrew the building and left it vacant. Eventually, those people moved to the pentagon and the building gradually became seen as inefficient. Then, it was nearly demolished in 1957. But in 1981, the building was saved and restored. Now the Vice President and many of his staffers use this building. Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush all had offices in the building before becoming President. I think it's an awesome building.           

The Old Executive Office Building was referred to by Mark Twain as "the ugliest building in America." Harry Truman called it "the greatest monstrosity in America." And Henry Adams called it (the architect) Alfred B. Mullet's “Architectural Infant Asylum.” I think the building is amazing! Not ugly at all.

Quack Report:

My quack was Duckariffic!!! It was the best echo EVER!!!!    

Capitol Building

Have you ever been to the capital building? I have.

What's really amazing about Washington D.C, is how old the buildings are. Construction on the U.S. Capitol began in 1793! That's over 218 years ago! 218 years and the building is still in use today--can you believe that?!!

The U.S. Capitol is where congress, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, meet. Also, it's where most of the federal laws in our country are written, discussed and voted on.  In its early days, the Capitol building was not only used for governmental functions, but for other things, too. Like on Sundays, church services were regularly held there. I think the Capital building is really awesome.

Did you know how the White House was burned during the war of 1812? Well, the Capitol was too. That's why in the early 1800's they reconstructed it. That's also when they began adding the first dome, and the center rotunda. The house and senate wings were added in the 1850's, because that's when it became clear that there needed to be more space for all of the congressmen. They also rebuilt the dome in the 1850's because the 1818 dome was made of wood, which wouldn't have lasted over the years. Wow! That's a lot of rebuilding!!

They wanted to keep the Capitol strong, and beautiful, so there was another reconstruction in 1958. Which is probably why buildings in Washington D.C last so long. Someone is always fixing them and repairing them to keep them up. The East front had to be completely rebuilt because the old columns weren't able to support enough weight anymore. Then a landscape designer named Russel page created a new place for them in a large meadow at the National Arboretum. It was only a couple of Miles away, and now they stand with a reflecting pool and tall grasses. It's kind of like an ancient ruin of a Greek city.

Quack Report:

I was hoping that my quack would echo nicely off the water and boy did it ever! It was a great echo. One of my best yet!!

Corcoran Gallery

I got to visit the  Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C!!  

Have you ever been to the Corcoran Gallery of Art? It's just a catty corner around the D.C elipse from the Old Executive Office Building.  It is the largest privately supported cultural institution. That means that none of our tax dollars are going toward supporting it.

 Inside you can see original art from painters like Rembrandt, Degas, Monet, Picasso, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, just to name a few. Some of my favorite works were paintings from Rembrandt and Monet. They are two of my favorite masters!

The museum's mission is to be "dedicated to art and used solely for the purpose of encouraging the American genius." I love the way "the American geniqus" sounds. I think more things should be dedicated to "encouraging the American genius."

All of the art was amazing but my very favorite experience at the museum was sitting with the gigantic stone lion on 17th street.

Quack Report:

I quacked next to the lion and it definitely needed some work. The echo was horrific. I think I was a little intimidated by the lion. 

American Indian Culture, Washington D.C

This museum is quackers!!

I'm back in Washington, D.C!!!

I wanted to learn more about American Indian Culture, so I decided to check out the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Most people think of "The Smithsonian" as that red castle, but actually there is more than one Smithsonian Museum. There's way too much American art and history to fit everything in one building, so the Smithsonian Museum is really dozens of buildings in Washington D.C, Virginia, and Maryland. The National Museum of the American Indian is the newest Smithsonian Museum. The museum is dedicated to the languages, literature, history, life, and arts of the Native Americans that live in the Western Hemisphere. It's also the first national museum in the country exclusively dedicated to Native Americans. I think it would be awesome to have a museum dedicated to me!!! That would be quackers. 

The Museum is amazing. When you look at the building you can see tributes to Native American culture all through the construction. There's not a straight line or a corner anywhere in it. It was meant to look like the environment in which many Native Americans lived. The museum is made from golden colored Kasota limestone. The limestone is designed to evoke natural rock formations shaped by wind and water over thousands of years. What I really loved about the museum is that it was surrounded by wetlands, pools, water fountains, and there are a lot of really tall grasses growing all over the place!!!! There's even a side of the building where they grow crops! The museum is ducktastic!!!

Quack Report:

My quack was very low. It was loud though!! The echo was low also, but it was noisy!!!       

Atlanta

This is Sublime!!

I'm in Atlanta!!

This place is HUGE!!!

Atlanta is awesome. One of my favorite places in Atlanta is a hot dog joint called The Varsity. The Varsity has some of the most amazing chili dogs, and it is over 80 years old. It's the world's largest drive-in restaurant. I scarfed down 5 chilli dogs, and 2 frozen oranges for dessert.

The Olympic Torch

The 1996 Olympics was held in Atlanta, so you can see an Olympic Torch from the back window of the Varsity. This is not where the original flame stood. But it is a memorial representing the Olympics.


  Quack Report:

My quack was okay. It was loud, but squeaky and high. The echo was pretty high, too. 

Lincolin Memorial

Wow! The Lincoln Memorial!!

I'm in Washington, D.C to visit the Lincoln Memorial!!!

Remember when I visited Gettysburg? Gettysburg is where the battle of Gettysburg happened, but the national monument is in Washington D.C. The Lincoln Memorial isn't just a monument to the Gettysburg address, but the speech in it's entirety is written on one of the walls.

When you look at the back of a penny there is a Lincoln Memorial. But if you look really closely, you will see a little dot between the columns. That is a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a statue of me?! I think that would be pretty cool. 

The Lincoln Memorial is a new building--it was dedicated in 1992!!! Also, not only can you find the Gettysburg address, but you can find Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural speech. When they were engraving the second inaugural address there was an error. In the line, "With high hope for the future" the "F" in "future" was originally carved as an "E". So to fix the mistake, the bottom line of the E is not painted in.  

The Lincoln Memorial is filled with symbolism. 36 columns represent the states in the union at the time of Lincoln's death. The 48 stones on the attic above the columns represent the 48 states in 1992. On the south wall mural, Freedom, Liberty, Immortality, Justice, and the Law are pictured, while the north wall portrays Unity, Fraternity, and Charity. Both scenes have a background of cypress trees, which is the emblem of Eternity. 


Quack Report:

My quack was amazing!!! The echo was the best echo ever!!!! 

Notre Dame

Wow! Notre Dame!!!

That's awesome!!

Notre Dame is a College in South Bend, Indiana. In French, Notre Dame means "Our Lady", and was founded by Edward Soren, who was also the school's first president. I think it would be awesome to be president!!! I wonder if I could get some campaign posters started.

After visiting the college I decided to go see the administration building. It was awesome!! The administration building was started in 1864, and was finished in 1865. After 14 years the building was destroyed in a fire in 1879, but rebuilt in 1882. I'm glad they rebuilt it, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to see it.

Isn't that cool?!

Touchdown Jesus is a mosaic mural on the library in Notre Dame. His arms are in a gesture meaning prayer. Unfortunately, it's the same gesture football coaches use, and he is facing the football stadium, so that's why people call him Touchdown Jesus. If you ever go to Indiana, you should go see Touchdown Jesus.

Quack Report: 

My quack was awful. The echo was horrible.  

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'm in "Philly", Pennsylvania!

Whoa! That's loud!!

 Philadelphia means the City of Brotherly Love. On the east coast every one calls Philadelphia "Philly."

I decided to visit the Liberty Bell museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War this is the place the Liberty Bell was hidden for safe-keeping and now it is a museum.

I got to see a replica of the Liberty Bell. I even got to hear it ring and let me tell you it was loud!!! I tried to quack along with it to see if I could match up my quack with the ring. I wasn't even close. It was so loud I couldn't even hear my quack.

Signing the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell.

I also got to see several recreations at the museum. I saw a recreation of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. My favorite recreation was the soldiers transporting the liberty bell. That was awesome!!! I wonder how strong I would have to be to carry the Liberty Bell . . . .

City Hall and street art

The City Hall building is probably the most famous building in Philly. What I really like about Philadelphia is that it's full of street art and murals. It's really fun to fly around and look at some of the crazy stuff people paint on the sides of buildings.    

Quack Report:

I tested my quack when the bell rang. I don't really know how loud my quack was because I couldn't hear it, but afterwards the echo was awesome!!! It was my best echo yet!! 

Rome

I'm in Rome!! How fantastic is that?

I decided to visit the Basilica of St. Peters--it's awesome!! The Basilica of St. Peters is in Vatican City, and Vatican City is in Rome but isn't a part of Rome. Infact, it isn't even part of Italy because it is it's own country. (Wouldn't it be awesome to have a country named Simon?? I wonder if I can work something out.) Vatican City even has it's own post office and postage. The Vatican is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, with the pope as the head of the church. That's why the pope lives in the Vatican.

The Piata

The Piata is a statue of Jesus, you used to actually be able to go up to the statue and touch it. You could see the marble and what looked like veins under the skin, but you can't any more because some crazy people were trying to break his arms and legs. Now there's a fence, and bullet proof glass in front of Jesus so none of that is possible to see.

After the Piata I got to go see a dragon. I wasn't sure what to think of him, because on one side he looked very friendly, but on the other side he looked like he was about ready to eat me!!

His friendly side

His mean side

 
Quack Report:

My quack was great!!! Thanks to the dragon, I got so scared I quacked out a yelp!! I bet you could hear the echo seven miles away! 

Florence, Italy

Florence is awesome!!

Those statues are amazing!

I decided to visit my friend Giuseppe again--but in Florence, Italy. It was fabulous! This beautiful region of Italy is around Tuscany. Tuscany is known for its gorgeous landscapes and lots of people think it's the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It's also home to some of the most influential people in the history of arts and science--such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Amerigo Vespucci. I thought that was pretty awesome.

When Giuseppe and I first arrived in Florence we decided to visit Piazza Della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio. Piazza Della Signoria is an L shaped square in front of Palazzo Vecchio. Palazzo Vecchio is a building named after a guy named Palazzo, who used to be the Signoria. The Palazzo Vecchio is also the town hall of the city, and among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. I think that fantastic fact is a very amazing thing. Another wonderful thing about it is a copy of Michelangelo's David statue is overlooking the square. I thought that was pretty awesome, too.

I wish I was that strong!

Though Michelangelo's David statue is pretty awesome when we went inside the Palazzo Vecchio to the right of the entrance we saw the white marble sculpture Hercules and Cacus which was even cooler. Hercules killed Cacus for stealing cattle which is a symbol of physical strength. This compared nicely with David as a symbol of spiritual strength. Hercules and Cacus and Michelangelo's David statue are both made of marbel, and it represents the victor (the Medici) and the vanquished (the republicans.) I thought that was very interesting to think about.

Isn't that just amazing!?

After that, we saw a statue of Perseus with the head of Medusa. It was a pretty scary looking statue, but it was worth it--that statue is amazing!! This was made by Benvenuto Cellini and is was his attempt to surpass Michelangelo's David and Donatello's Judith and Holofernes. It caused Benvenuto trouble and anxiety, but as soon as the statue was completed it was hailed as a masterpiece. I hope to make a statue that famous one day. That would be quackers!

Splish Splash!!

Giuseppe and I decided to go see the Ponte Vecchio, or "Old Bridge." It was marvelous! it's a Medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence. It is noted for still having shops built along it. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The bridge crosses the Arno at its narrowest point. It is believed that after it was destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone, then swept away again in 1333, and rebuilt a second time in 1345. It is rumored that Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during WWII because of an express order by Hitler.

It's HUGE!!!

The Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Place), is a Renaissance palace in Florence. Giuseppe and I decided to go check it out. In 1549 the palace was bought by the Medici family and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It was fantastic!! You should go see it if you ever decide to visit Florence.

It's beautiful!!

The Florence Babtistry is a religious building in Florence. It was really pretty and the architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style. The octagonal Babtistry stands in the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni. It's also one of the oldest buildings in the city--I wonder just how old it is. I hope to be the oldest duck in the world some day!! That would be awesome.

Have you ever heard of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore? It is very cool. It means "Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower". The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is a cathedral church in Florence, and is ordinarily called the Duomo. It started in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio, and the structure was completed in 1436. It is faced with polychrome marble panels in lots of different shades of green and pink, bordered with white. It's also one of Italy's largest churches and was the largest in the world until development of new structural materials in the modern era.

Whoa! That's tall!

Giotto's Campanile is a part of several complex buildings of the Florence cathedral. Beside the Basilica of Anta Maria del Fiore and the Babtistry of St. John, the tower is a showpiece of the Florentine Gothic architecture. It stands on a square plan and is sustained by four polygonal buttresses at the corners. Wouldn't it be awesome to stand at the top of the tower?? I bet I could see the whole world! That would be duckariffic!

Quack Report:

My quack was sad and depressing. It didn't make any noise!!!! Just forget the echo.