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Washington D.C., It Is Kind of a Big Deal

Nathan — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:36:18 +0000

Let me just say that if you are a traveler and have never been to Washington D.C., make it a priority in the coming year. I honestly thought it would be kind of cool with a lot of interesting history and museums to see. I was right, but I did not realize how awesome it would be to see so much of what this country is based on. Seeing the real Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was nothing short of a touching experience. The amount of monuments, museums, and government buildings blew me away. Amy and I spent 3 days in D.C. and we did not see the half of it. Since we saw so much I am only going to outline some of the key places we saw.

Mt. Vernon

Home and final resting place of George Washington, the man who defined the presidency. At the close of the American Revolution General Washington was in a position, and even encouraged, to take a role of king/chancellor/emperor of the United States. Through wisdom and the grace of God, Washington relinquished the authority of the Continental army back to the Continental Congress and gracefully stepped away. At this time in history such an act had never been done. This was a defining moment for the course of American history.
It is no wonder why President Washington preferred to be at his estate on the Potomac as opposed to at the capitol, Mt. Vernon is a gorgeous place. From the rolling hills of forrest to the bank of the Potomac the scenery is candy for the eye and soothing to the day-to-day stress we all seem to find in our modern society. It was quite a treat to be able to tour the grounds and even the mansion. Although I did find many of the placards along the grounds comical as it seemed that the historical foundation seems to have a quite from Washington for every little inanimate object found on the property. What I find amusing is the lack of context to the quotes…spewing out a one-liner can mean a lot of different things depending on preceded it or came after. What if Washington followed the quote with an “LOL” of his time?

Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.)

All I am going to say here is Gilmore Girls.

Washington Monument

It is tall, seriously. Amy and I had tickets to go into the monument, but unfortunately due to the earthquake a week prior to our arrival they are not letting people into the monument on account of a crack that formed near the top. Due to the monument’s location and height you get a lot of great views of it from all around the National Mall.

World War 2 Memorial

The WW2 memorial is a rotunda that has an engraved pillar for the fallen from each of the fifty states. There is also two relief sculptures around the rotunda. Half of it is dedicated to the Atlantic campaign and the other half is dedicated to the Pacific campaign. There is also a memorial wall with stars signifying the soldiers who lost their lives in WW2. You would be hard pressed not to acknowledge high price of our freedom that we take for granted daily while glancing at the x number of stars that each represent 100 people that paid the price.

Holocaust Museum

The Holocaust museum opened my eyes to the fact that the world, yes even the U.S., ignored and blocked Jewish people from immigrating to escape persecution. I have watched and read a good deal about the Holocaust and it is amazing how this aspect is so rarely mentioned.

Archives of the United States

Visiting the Archives was nothing short of being worth the trip to D.C. on it’s own. Why? Because see the real Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was almost unreal. Seeing them in person made you think about what these documents meant in the day of their composition and what a monumental change for world history that they signify. It is incredible. When I heard the encasements cost $5 million dollars later on I did not even bat an eye for what those documents mean and stand for makes this a trivial cost in preserving these key pieces of history.

Key Learnings

Plan to spend 4 hours at each museum.
Government buildings plan 2 hours.
Monuments plan about an hour each with walking time included.
You will not see or do the majority of D.C. in 3 days.

Arrived in Bangalore

Nathan — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:09:05 +0000

I arrived safely in Bangalore at about 12am Sunday the 8th. I left MSP at 5:30p.m. I have logged about 18 hours of flying and now know that Business class is where it is at for flying. Oh and I learned Charles de Gaulle(Paris, France) is a dump sack. There terminal/bus setup is a train wreck and I noticed a dead mouse laying on the floor in plain sight in the terminal. This of course aside from the general dumpy conditions of the building/equipment. Bangalore International on the other hand has very nice facilities and their staff seems fairly organized. -1 France, +1 India.

Business class on the Delta/NWA Boeing 767 was very nice. A little dated, but nice none the less. The staff was fantastic, and the food delicious. Air France and their Airbus 330 was less than impressive. The seat setup was poor compared to the Boeing. You do not even get a controllable air vent. The food on Air France was not that great. The Duck Foie Gras was nasty to say the least, the main course of chicken was dry and overcooked. At this point in my travel life I am done with Air France/Airbus.

I will hopefully post pictures later, the camera does not want to connect to the Macbook and it is about 4a.m. locally so I need to sleep even though I am not even tired.

Business Trip to India

Nathan — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:01:00 +0000

So this past week I received confirmation that I would indeed be going to Bangalore, India on business. The team I am a lead of at work is getting a supporting team built in Bangalore. Since one of my direct(someone who reports to me) will be going over there to start training the new team, I will be joining for safety reasons. Plus since I am there I will assist the managers their in talent acquisition for other senior members of the secondary team that is being assembled. I will be in Bangalore for about a week. Our flight, direct’s and mine not Amy, on Air France will leave Minneapolis/St. Paul and fly to Paris, France. In Paris we will have a one and a half hour lay over and then from Paris to Bangalore.

In previous domestic traveling with the company cost has been king when it comes to flights and accommodations. Apparently when it comes to international, or at least India, cost is not a big concern. In fact higher cost is directly associated with more “safety” and necessary “comfort”. I will be getting to flight Business class, first time, and staying in what I am told is one of the most luxurious hotels in Bangalore, the Leela Palace. Honestly it looks way to rich for my blood, the kind of place where I am at a discomfort with the feeling of I do not belong.

So now it is time to get all my documents in order like a work visa, get inoculations, and all of that other fun stuff. I am hoping to get a decent amount of free time to tour the city and whatnot so we shall see.