The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House and Carter G. Woodson House.

Nestled in a neighborhood just past the McPherson Square Metro station, adjacent to both the Shaw district and Thomas Circle, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House blends right into the rest of the rowhomes lining the block. It would be very easy for a pedestrian to walk by day after day and not even notice it, save for the sign in the front yard proclaiming its identity.

The home, built in 1875 and restored post-fire in the early 1900s, is a wonderful specimen on its own accord. A Victorian design boosts its 19th-century DC charm with vast, wide doorways and ornate woodwork. It's a place steeped in history by its very being, its place overlooking the growth and development of our nation's capital over the better part of 150 years, and it's worth a visit just because of this.

But the building it also steeped in history from another angle; it was the cradle of equality and tolerance in a woefully divided nation. Here, Mary McLeod Bethune brought African-American rights to the forefront of the government. Here, she was able to build a base from which to lobby for reform, beginning at the very top. Indeed, she met with Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and became close friends with Eleanor Roosevelt (who stayed with her at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach for extended periods later on). Here, she lobbied for -- and won -- many acts of equality, tearing down the barriers that separated one American citizen from another.

The Council House isn't the biggest or most popular of the area's national historic sites, but it's certainly well worth a visit. The park rangers are extremely knowledgeable, the artifacts and history interpreted within the house are excellent, and the home itself is certainly impressive as well!

Unfortunately, the Carter G. Woodson Home is not open to the public; you'll have to get your stamp at the Council House instead. (The Park Service would like to restore it, but funding is lacking, so there it sits, condemned and abandoned.) But since the two sites are just a few blocks apart, go ahead and walk over to pay the home a visit, and imagine it in its former grandeur.

The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House.

The Carter G. Woodson Home.

Arlington National Cemetery.

Today we ventured out to Arlington National Cemetery, where we visited President Kennedy’s eternal flame and President Taft’s memorial gravesite, and paid our respects to thousands of our fallen countrymen and –women. I’ve been to the cemetery several times before, but each time I go I’m awed anew at the sacrifice so many have paid over the years, and with each visit I’m rendered speechless at the heroes whose names I see engraved on each and every headstone.

Along with the cemetery itself, we also visited the Arlington House, former home of Robert E. and Mary Lee. The house itself is currently undergoing extensive restoration, so nearly all of the furniture has been removed from its rooms and won’t be replaced for several more years. However, the current tour setup is such that we were able to walk through rooms we’d only been able to spy from hallways, which was a treat. We were even able to stand in the exact spot where the Lees were married all those years ago!

The house is surrounded by gardens, which are lush even during this autumnal weather. But perhaps the most interesting – and sobering – aspect of the gardens is the fact that they were the impetus behind the cemetery; Union troops began burying their dead in Mrs. Lee’s rose garden once the National Cemetery in Alexandria was full during the Civil War. Interesting times, indeed.

During our visit, we picked up cancellations for the George Washington Parkway: Arlington (for that’s the road we took to get to the cemetery), Arlington House: Robert E. Lee Memorial, and the Underground Railroad Freedom Network. The visitor’s center also had a cancellation for the Marine Corps War Memorial, but we didn’t visit today, so that stamp will have to wait!

Some photos of our visit are below.
















A view of the cemetery.
















The gravesite and eternal flame of President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Patrick Kennedy, and baby daughter Kennedy.













Arlington Cemetery in autumn.













The conservatory at Arlington House.













The George Washington Parkway, by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove.

Fort Washington and the Fort Washington Light.

We've visited this park twice so far and are so glad to have found it! It's a wonderful old fort with lots of artillery and buildings to see, trails to hike, and plants and wildlife to identify. On our first visit, back in July, we saw a bald eagle flying overhead, and on our most recent visit in October, we spotted a deer grazing along the hillside. We also got up close and personal with the lighthouse, which is a wonderful little light along the Potomac.

The photos below are from our October visit. I can't wait to go back in the winter so I can see how the view changes with no leaves on the trees!
















The visitor's center, fort, and Potomac River.
















A cannon at the fort.
















A deer grazes at the fort.
















The Fort Washington Light.
















A view of the fort from the lighthouse.

Let the project begin!

Marathon season is over. National Novel-Writing Month is nearly halfway done. The stock markets are going nuts, and the holidays are coming quickly.

I think it's about time for a new project, don't you?

Enter The Passport Project, my first organized foray into collecting passport cancellations from all the U.S. National Parks.

Growing up, I'd always eyed the "Passport to Your National Parks" with envy. I just loved the look of the thing -- the small, pocket-sized book, the sleek, sturdy blue cover, the pages and pages of parks to visit and stickers, stamps, and cancellations to collect. I don't know why I never asked for one; surely, at such a bargain price, my nature-loving family would have purchased one for me if it was above my allowance paygrade. But still, I ogled at them every time I was in a park visitor's center or bookstore, inspecting them and their accompanying sticker sheets with great interest.

But now I'm adult, and I have the full autonomy to shell out for my own Passport if I so choose. And a few months ago, back in July, I did just that.

And my Passport Project -- though I didn't know it as such then -- began.

I'm really very blessed to live in an area where my yen for national parks can be so easily fulfilled. The National Capital Region is awash in monuments, memorials, relics, statues, parklands, refuges, forts, and more. Everywhere you turn, there's another historic site, another colonial farm, another trail or pathway seemingly leading out to the wilderness, right outside my front door.

This has, as you might imagine, made my initial forays into passport cancellations very, very fun.

So fun, in fact, that now I'm getting serious. I'd like to use this blog to chronicle what I've seen, where I've been, and where I'm hoping to go next. And I'd like to throw some challenges out along the way -- for myself, and also for anyone who happens to stumble across The Passport Project (heaven help you).

So, the first challenge is this: Beginning with this past Oct. 1, I will strive to pick up each and every cancellation within the National Capital Region within the next 52 weeks. There are 56 different locations to visit, by my count, so that sounds doable, if slightly difficult. :) My deadline will, of course, be Oct. 1, 2009. And not to worry -- I'll provide plenty of updates along the way, since that IS the point, after all! :)

C'mon, join in! What's YOUR contribution to The Passport Project?

:)