Friends are such a wonderful thing. I met Rae when we were sophomores
in high school in 2003. It's hard to believe we've been friends for 14
years - almost half our lives. I went to Washington DC to celebrate her
30th birthday. Her wonderful boyfriend threw her an EPIC Golden Birthday
1930s themed party!
The next two days we spent time celebrating Rae and hanging out. She showed me her favorite neighborhoods and took me to some of her favorite restaurants. Her boyfriend introduced me to an incredible local ice cream sandwich.
I've been to DC several times, but there is so much to see. I got to check out a museum I've never been to before and I totally geeked out! We went to the Postal Museum. I LOVE mail and I find the whole mail system to be absolutely fascinating.
This building that houses this office, was built in 1911. This office was the office of the Postmaster General. Wouldn't this be an amazing office to work in daily. The position has been in existence since revolutionary times. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the United States, before it was a United States, managing all things mail.
We looked at stamps including the first stamp which made its debut in England in 1840. We learned the history of the Inverted Jenny, the postage stamp accidentally printed with the image upside down. We got to select 6 stamps to take home as a souvenir.
There's so much more to learn and see in this museum... but I'll leave you with this. In the early days of air mail, it was hard to get mail in and out of rural communities. So, mail was literally dropped in canisters into fields in rural communities and then picked up by the local post office and mail carriers to be delivered. Out going mail was placed in a canister and strung up on a goal post of sorts. Then, a plane would come by and mail was collected with the hook at the end of a pole hanging from the belly of the plane. It took two people to collect mail in the way - the pilot and the person maneuvering the hook. I only wish I could have seen this in action!
The next two days we spent time celebrating Rae and hanging out. She showed me her favorite neighborhoods and took me to some of her favorite restaurants. Her boyfriend introduced me to an incredible local ice cream sandwich.
I've been to DC several times, but there is so much to see. I got to check out a museum I've never been to before and I totally geeked out! We went to the Postal Museum. I LOVE mail and I find the whole mail system to be absolutely fascinating.
This building that houses this office, was built in 1911. This office was the office of the Postmaster General. Wouldn't this be an amazing office to work in daily. The position has been in existence since revolutionary times. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the United States, before it was a United States, managing all things mail.
We looked at stamps including the first stamp which made its debut in England in 1840. We learned the history of the Inverted Jenny, the postage stamp accidentally printed with the image upside down. We got to select 6 stamps to take home as a souvenir.
There's so much more to learn and see in this museum... but I'll leave you with this. In the early days of air mail, it was hard to get mail in and out of rural communities. So, mail was literally dropped in canisters into fields in rural communities and then picked up by the local post office and mail carriers to be delivered. Out going mail was placed in a canister and strung up on a goal post of sorts. Then, a plane would come by and mail was collected with the hook at the end of a pole hanging from the belly of the plane. It took two people to collect mail in the way - the pilot and the person maneuvering the hook. I only wish I could have seen this in action!
