Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: USA

Tourist at Home: The Crime Museum

One of D.C.’s newer museums, the Crime Museum focuses on the history of crime, law enforcement, and forensic science. Chris and I decided to spend a couple of hours there on Saturday afternoon, learning more about the most notorious crimes in history.

Four different admission types offer a customized experience ranging from general/self-guided tours, to audio tours and a family-friendly Top Detective Challenge in which participants answer workbook questions and follow clues to solve a mystery and win a prize. The tour starts on the top floor with the first gallery, A Notorious History of American Crime, dating back to medieval crimes. Then you work your way down three floors moving chronologically through to the Technology of Crime Fighting. The five main multimedia galleries include American History, Punishments, Crime Fighting, Crime Solving, and the America’s Most Wanted studio. Photography is allowed throughout as long as you refrain from using flash. It’s dark in there from beginning to end, so be prepared to use a high ISO and steady your camera if you can! All of my photos are from my point-and-shoot or my iPhone.

On the subject of families, we did see a few elementary school-aged children and there are stations throughout the museum intended for young kids, but just know that the majority of the museum is dimly-lit so it’s a little spooky in places (there are no windows), and the galleries include artifacts such as weapons of all types, an electric chair, a gas chamber, a guillotine, and various medieval torture devices. There’s also a simulated autopsy that would have creeped me out as a five year-old for sure. I suppose, like anything, it just depends on your child and what he/she can handle, and what kind of conversations you’re ready to have. The middle-school kids and high-schoolers seemed to be enjoying themselves – most were participating in the Challenge.

There are a ton of opportunities for interaction and even photo-ops including a mock lineup, a jail cell with an escape tunnel, a police chase simulator, finger-printing stations, and a body heat sensor camera. Chris and I took advantage of those photo-ops, of course. My apologies for looking so inappropriately happy to have my head and arms locked up in a stock. Or maybe I’m just crazy…

We visited on a high-traffic weekend (Independence Day weekend), and it did feel a little crowded. The galleries on the top floor were especially cramped since the space is smaller. Once we reached the lower floors the crowd thinned out and the galleries were bigger, so it was easier to read the information at each display. I picked the subjects most interesting to me (I had fun trying to guess which Coach bags were fake in the Counterfeit Crimes display) and skimmed the rest, and it took us about two hours to complete our self tour. There’s enough material to fill an entire day or two if you’re super interested in crime history, but for most people I would plan 1-2 hours at least. If you are on a predictable schedule, you can buy tickets in advance online and save some money. The tickets are specific to date and time though, so you do have to know approximately what time you want to visit.

Just a funny side note, keep an eye out for typos throughout the museum – there are quite a few! Chris noticed this Glock 22 mistake (there shouldn’t be a dot/period in front of the 22 since it’s a model number, not a caliber) and I wanted to grab a red pen in the forensics room because that’s not how you spell autopsy – oops! They opened in 2008, so maybe they’re still working out the details?!

Chris and I both enjoyed the museum and found the material fascinating. I would compare the Crime Museum to the Spy Museum in size, tone, and price, although when we went to the Spy Museum they didn’t allow photography! Sad face. (They have since modified that policy to allow photography in certain areas.) And the Crime Museum has a lot more interactivity. As far as the layout of the Crime Museum goes, I think I might have been spoiled at the Newseum. The Crime Museum layout felt a little cramped and sometimes it was difficult to read the placards at each station due to the volume of people, whereas the Newseum was spread out over a huge floorplan. But I definitely recommend a visit to the museum to learn a bit more about crime and punishment throughout the ages. It would be a fun way to spend a few hours beating the heat (or the cold), and since it’s near the Chinatown/Gallery Place Metro stop, there are tons of great places to eat nearby.

July 7, 2014
Photo Friday – D.C. Retrospective

Technically I did blog this photo a long time ago, but it was at the end of an engagement session entry and it’s one of my favorite images of D.C., so I thought I’d give it its own post.

A few years ago when I took this image, I was sitting at a stoplight on Pennsylvania Ave., and I had my camera in the front seat since I had just finished photographing a session in the city. Right before the light changed to green, I noticed the Capitol building in my side view mirror, shining brightly against the deep blue of the dusky evening sky. I grabbed my camera and quickly made one exposure before it was my turn to go. Whenever I see it, I’m reminded of the many times I spent a weekend afternoon/evening in the city photographing my wonderful clients. There may have been traffic (there was), it might have been difficult to find a parking spot (it usually was), and one time President Obama’s motorcade on Rt. 66 might have made me late to a session (it did), but I remember my city shoots in our beautiful capital fondly.

June 27, 2014
Tourist at Home: Capital Bikeshare

A few weeks ago when Chris and I visited the Newseum in D.C., we also tried a couple of new-to-us restaurants. For lunch we had tasty tacos at Taqueria Nacional, which was great for fairly inexpensive Mexican fare, and for dinner we tried Smoke and Barrel in Adams Morgan. We loved their delicious BBQ and smoked meats, and they have a great beer and whiskey selection, too.

Thankfully we walked around the city quite a bit and burned a few of those delicious lunch and dinner calories. We also walked from the Metro to get to the restaurants. But after all that walking on top of the hours we spent wandering the Newseum, my feet were tired! When we exited Smoke and Barrel, I noticed a Capital Bikeshare station, and I knew there was another one close to our Metro stop as well, so I talked Chris into hopping on a couple of bikes for the remainder of our walk back. (Note: We each rode one bike in case that wasn’t clear.)

Here’s how it works: there are a few hundred Bikeshare stations around the D.C. area with several bikes available for rent. You can pick up a bike at any station, and return it to any station. They offer memberships, or pay-per-use options. We swiped our credit card at the self-service kiosk and paid for a single use. We unlocked two bikes, and rode them to the station nearest our destination where we returned the bikes. The bikes were clean, in great shape, and had comfortable, cushy seats. You can see in the photo below that these are sturdy, hefty bikes and aren’t going to win any kind of weight-weenie competition, so keep in mind that they might feel slow and heavy on a bit of an incline. My short legs and I were appreciative of the step-through design, and the adjustable-height seats.

It definitely gave my tired feet a much needed break! And I can see how the bikes would come in handy for a full day of sightseeing – you could easily plan your Bikeshare stations around the monuments, museums, and restaurants. There’s a map for that, and an app for that!

We paid the 24-hour price of $7 each. It seemed just a little pricey since we only needed the bikes for one short ride, but if I understand correctly, we could have used the bikes all day (for a 24-hour period) and each time we unlocked a bike, the first 30-minutes of that ride would be “free.” So if you plan to use them all day, the rate is very reasonable.

There are two potential (minor) drawbacks to keep in mind. First, if you return a bike to a station where all of the spots in the bike rack are full, you have to go to another station to return your bike or else pay for the time beyond your free 30 minutes. They do give you an extra 15 minutes in that situation, but if I was already where I wanted to be, I would be a little annoyed at having to ride to another station. Thankfully when we arrived at the station near our Metro stop, there were plenty of available slots.

Second, it’s important to protect your noggin, but there are no rental helmets (sharing a helmet with everyone else would be a little weird, right?) so you need to bring your own. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision for Chris and me so we didn’t happen to have helmets with us and I wouldn’t imagine tourists would have helmets with them either. It felt weird to ride without one, since we always don helmets when we ride closer to home. Capital Bikeshare does, however, recommend that you wear a helmet and they offer a 10% discount on helmets at several local stores to Capital Bikeshare members, so that’s a nice perk. D.C. is fairly bike friendly with designated bike lanes, but keep in mind that not everyone is familiar with the share-the-road rules, so best to be safe and helmet up if you can.

Bottom line: I’d use Capital Bikeshare again! It was super easy and convenient, and I think if we planned to use the bikes more often than just once in a 24-hour period, the cost would definitely be worth it.

June 23, 2014
Hawaii 2003

I recently spent some time with my scanner and digitized a few more of my favorite 35mm film prints from my first time traveling to Hawaii waaay back in 2003. It was such a fun trip, so I definitely wanted to give it some space here on the blog! Chris was working at a conference in Honolulu for a week in June that year, so I was able to tag along and enjoy my first visit to Oahu. I filled the week with restful days at the pool at the Sheraton Waikiki and did plenty of sight-seeing. We rented a car and drove around the whole island when Chris had time off. When he was working, I explored Pearl Harbor and the Byodo-In Temple. (For some reason I can’t find the handful of photos I took at the USS Arizona Memorial, but it’s definitely worth a visit.)

Here’s one of only a few photos of me from the whole trip – we were at the Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu. Doesn’t Chris look thrilled to be posing for a photo?

Hiking to the top of Diamond Head is one of the first things we did on the island. I highly recommend this hike if you’re up for a bit of exercise! It’s a short hike, but the 0.8 miles to the summit are steep and strenuous, with stairs, switchbacks, and tight crawlspaces. Good sturdy shoes are a must, and some people chose to bring flashlights although we didn’t. The little tunnel was short enough that you could illuminate it with a cell phone if needed. Your reward awaits at the top – stunning views fit for a postcard, so bring your camera!

The Byodo-In Temple is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever visited. The grounds were immaculate and wonderful to photograph. Non-commercial photography is allowed without a permit, and the website even offers suggestions for the best time of day to photograph: “The best time to take photos of the temple and grounds is in the morning when the sun is still in the east.” The temple is a work of art, as is the Buddha statue inside. Before entering, I happily rang the bon-sho bell (or “sacred bell,” pictured below in the small structure), said to bring happiness, blessings, and a long life.

Sadly we didn’t spend much time in the water on this visit. I got completely spooked by a sign posted on Waikiki beach one day that warned swimmers not to enter the water due to the amount of jellyfish swarms! So of course in my head, that meant Hawaii = death by jellyfish. The sign was only posted one day, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I think I’ve made good strides towards getting over that fear, and I’d like to go back one day. (Of course, if the sign was posted again I certainly wouldn’t jump into the water, but I’d go in another day.) I hear the snorkeling is awesome! Plus I would love to see Maui.

Chris and I did explore other beaches, even if we didn’t swim.

This last photo is what happens when you hand a stranger your 35mm film SLR and ask him to take a photo of you on the beach. To be fair, properly exposing a sunset and people in the foreground is one of the toughest shots to get right, and I should have dialed in the settings for him. He actually made me super nervous because he approached us and offered to take the photo, but once the camera was in-hand, he kept backing up and backing up a little bit more. It turned out he just didn’t know how to use the zoom lens, but I thought for sure he was going to run off with my camera once he had some distance from us. Thank goodness for kind, honest people.

It was a gorgeous sunset though, and I still love this photo!

June 18, 2014
Tourist at Home: National Arboretum

This is actually a retroactive Tourist at Home post because I visited the National Arboretum with my friend Casey a few years ago and I just realized I never posted the photos! Bad blogger. I have some free time now to show some photos and tell you a little about our visit.

In July 2011 when Casey was visiting from out of town, she and I spent part of an afternoon seeing the Arboretum since neither of us had been before. I remember it being a very (very very) hot and humid day, but it was so fun to see something new. Plus admission is free and free is always great! Parking was super easy and it was just a short walk to the entrance. We both brought our cameras to get some photography practice in, and the Arboretum doesn’t disappoint with plenty of interesting subjects to shoot – a koi pond, fountains, lots of flowers and foliage, and of course the famous National Capitol Columns that were originally part of the East Portico of the Capitol building in the 1800s.

You could easily spend several hours here exploring if you enjoy botany and horticulture. We didn’t even venture into all of the various gardens and areas of the 446-acres just due to time (and the fact that I was almost literally melting). The Arboretum offers a tram tour, or you can pick up a map at the Visitor Center and work your way through the grounds on a self-guided tour. There’s also a designated picnic area if you want to enjoy an alfresco lunch – I’ll definitely go back sometime on a nice day to do just that. We opted to just wander around with our cameras and see what we could find to photograph. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day, including one of us before I did melt.

June 16, 2014