DC: Day One

We had a relaxed start to our day. George had to get up very early to go to his conference, so Aunt Rachel and I were able to leisurely make our way out the door at our own pace. We had in mind one of those tours where you can pay a fare and then hop on and hop off a trolley service at your convenience. A quick google search showed one such place around 4 miles away or so.

The trick was this: we don't have a car, so we would have to ride the free hotel shuttle to the nearest metro station, decipher the system, and make the rest of the way on foot to the ticket plaza for the bus tour.

All this barring any unforeseen disaster and provided we we got off the metro at the correct location. 

But, thank goodness for Google maps, which makes any poor confused soul look like a proper genius, even if you are walking around the DC metro station with the look that says"I HAVE ZERO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING" written on your face. Thanks to the kindness of our shuttle driver and the ticket attendant, we managed to stumble our way onto the metro platform and then make the right transfer. I think my prior experience using the Tube proved handy,

as the DC metro is similar (but definitely not as pretty) as the Tube. Sorry DC, London has you beat.

Finally, we were able to find our way to the ticket station which was located across the street from Ford's theater. We bought our ticket, and while waiting on the trolley to arrive, we stopped at a coffee shop, where Aunt Rach got an ice coffee. I got a bottle of Pellegrino, because I was pretending to be a Euro snob. 

The trolley gig was awesome, and well worth the money. It allowed us to relax as the driver took care of the navigation and enjoy the flexibility of hopping off or on  whenever we liked. 

We covered a lot of ground: Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, American History Museum, etc. We rode by all the major buildings of importance several times: the Surpreme Court, Archives, Senate, House, Smithsonian, Jeferson Memorial, Washington monument, WWII memorial, you get the idea. We also saw the Capitol building (which was currently under renovations.) Our tour guide took the liberty of saying "you know, at least they can fix the outside." 

We ate lunch at the U.S. history museum. As we walked in, I noticed that the flight simulator was placed adjacent to the cafeteria. Is it just me, or is it a rather brilliant marketing scheme to go cafeteria---> flight simulator? Especially considering the food was on the expensive side. Just saying.  #conspiracytheory

Our lunch, while overpriced, was delicious. While we were eating, a nice older man came up and complimented Aunt Rachel's cane which yes, is cute, and has a purple floral pattern. He said he was asking because he wanted to get one for his Mom. Uh huh. Suuuuure. 

We hopped back on the bus and rode one last pass around the city. We met some nice folks on the trolley throughout the day: a sweet lady from Oklahoma, a British couple, cute babies. 

There was also this lady from Japan with her Seahawks jersey. I just hope she didn't buy her jersey thinking it said "Wilson" on the back. ;)

Just as it began to rain, George met us with the car at the last trolley stop. He had a long day attending a conference where there was much coffee and boredom to be had. We ate dinner at a really good Asian restaurant down the street near Independence Ave. I chose Asian salmon salad and Thom Kha Gai soup (coconut lemongrass soup.) Soo good, especially after walking all over tarnation.

After our meal, the rain subsided and it cooled off a bit. On the way home, we stopped to take a few pictures at the Marine Corps Memorial which looked just lovely in the setting sun. 

(This picture was taken shortly before five gazillion Canadian teenagers converged. You should see the before/after pics!) 

We also visited the Pentagon memorial which is located adjacent to the area of the building that was struck by a plane in 2001. At first, the little bench-like things with reflecting pools looked quite random, but once the symbolism was explained, the intricacy and thought that went into preparing the memorial became apparent and it was very moving. 

George was in his full Navy fatigues during our dinner and evening trips (and burning up too, since it was in the 80's and those uniforms aren't exactly breathable!) As we left the Pentagon, a little boy who was visiting the memorial with his school group approached George and shook his hand and thanked him for his service. This set off a chain reaction which led to many of the teenagers and middle schoolers to do the same as we exited the memorial.

"Thank you for your service, sir."

"Thank you sir."

"We appreciate you sir."

(as you can see above, yes, he did look really spiffy) :)

After making a supply run at the grocery store down the street we settled in for the evening, the good kind of worn out.