Going postal

Ah, the US Postal Service, where the fine American traits of free-market efficiency, customer service, and cheap goods disappear the moment you step over the threshold.  A visit to the post office requires a level of physical and mental preparation akin to running a triathlon or sitting a university exam.  Will I stand around for 45 minutes then be handed the wrong parcel and have to prove that it's not my name and address on the front, like some lost scene from Kafka?  What random number between $5 and $50 will the machine choose today, to allow me to send a $2.99 packet of M&Ms to my brother-in-law in the UK?  On a scale of one-to-ten, how surly will the workers be, and will I get the special extra-grumpy one?

So it was with much trepidation that Pete and I accompanied Emily to the National Postal Museum in DC.  There was a special exhibition that my sister wanted to see, and despite now being an adult I'm still compelled to do whatever she tells me.  It's always the youngest that's the troublemaker.

But all my fears were unfounded as the place was fantastic - and free!  Things like a huge mail delivery truck that you could pretend to drive and baskets that you had to throw packages into (not to mention the many touchscreens) kept the 2-yr-old in the party entertained for hours.  Emily got to see the exhibition she wanted: PostSecret, where people send their secrets on a postcard to an artist who displays the best ones.  I think he writes them all himself, but Emily told me not to be so cynical.

Downstairs was dedicated to delivery, upstairs was all about the stamps, and Grandpa (a lifelong philatelist) has already asked if he can be delivered there in the morning and picked up at the end of the day.  The collection is vast, and we got to see the rarest stamp in the world, valued at $9.5 million.  Suddenly the cost of international postage doesn't seem so high...

The museum begins with the cute and heartwarming story of Owney the mail dog, who was the postal service mascot in the 1880s.



And then you get to meet Owney.

Could you lend me a Benjamin?

On a railroad car where mail was sorted as it moved.

Long Distance Clara (and helper).

Yay - touchscreens!

I didn't realise Hannah had written to the PostSecret exhibition.

But she was one of many!

If my sister-in-laws dressed like this it might be true for me too.

Won't we all.

Remember that amazing, totally original film about the crazy high-stakes adventures of mail inspectors?  No, nobody does.  And then they made a sequel.

I'm allowed to throw these packages?  Amazing!!



OK, now things get really exciting.

Maybe we can leave Grandpa and Pete here all day together!

The museum is right opposite Union Station.  Adding lunch and trains into the mix made it the perfect day for someone, as you can see.