The United States Holocaust Museum had just opened. It is a place that everyone, regardless of faith, should visit. You can write for the free, timed passes in advance (there is a small charge for processing) or get your free passes at the Museum on the day of your visit. As part of your free pass, each visitor is given a small card, with a photo and story about one of the millions of people who perished during the Holocaust.

J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building is one of the most popular sights in Washington. The free tour has exhibits depicting famous past cases and illustrates the Bureau’s fight against crime. There is a live-ammo firearms demonstration at the end of the tour but, unfortunately, the building is closed for renovation at this moment. Check to see if it has reopened before you go.

The Capitol Building, one of Washington’s most recognized landmarks. We wrote our state senator and representatives for tickets to visit the Senate Chamber and House of Representatives. Don’t know if you can still visit with heightened security. It’s worth investigating and, if not, still take the tour.

There are nine Smithsonian Museums, all located on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. It would take at least two weeks to properly see them all. We visited just three on different days according to our interests:

- National Museum of African Art with its over 6,000 sculptures, textiles, decorative arts, jewelry and other objects.

- Air & Space Museum including the Wright Brothers’ 1903 Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis, IMAX and Apollo 11 module. Those were our favorites.

- National Museum of American History. The original Star-Spangled Banner, inventions, First Ladies’ Gowns, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers.

Ford’s Theatre: where John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln. The theatre still looks as it did then, and there is a museum downstairs displaying artifacts relating to the assassination. There are scheduled 15-minute historical talks. If you miss one, tours are self-guided and free of charge.
The House Where Lincoln Died (The Petersen House). After Lincoln was mortally wounded, the doctors carried him into the rooming house of William Petersen, a German-born tailor. It takes about five minutes to walk through the building seeing: the front parlor where Mary Todd Lincoln spent the night with her son, Robert; and the room Lincoln died in, lying diagonally on a bed the size of the one in the room, because he was so tall. (The Chicago Historical Society owns the actual bed and other items from the room.)

But there was still so much more to see and do….