DC: Day Two

"So, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

*laughs*

This is how our days here have started out, and it's a great way to start: open to all possibilities, 

no schedules, and no rush. They have gone quite seamlessly for "not having a plan," so we have decided that our secret is: Don't Have A Plan. Then, you you aren't upset if the set "plan" doesn't work, and best of all, it's fun and totally surprising.

Being the curious minds that we are, we set our sights on the historic district of Alexandria, VA, namely King Street. Armed with nothing but a map and our wits, we set off on foot.

The Alexandria historic district was lovely, full of old row houses and more historical buildings than you could count. While we walked, we passed by the Lee family home where 7 of the Lee family members lived at different stages of their lives. 

We were walking around a corner when a lovely church spire took us by surprise. We explored the graveyard and then saw the plaque: Christ Church. 

The tour guide gave us a nice long tour. It had been an active church since 1773. I had no idea that this church was the church that Robert E. Lee grew up and brought up his family in. And that George Washington attended there as well. 

Me:

"OH MY GOONDESS this is where Washington went to church!

"OH MY GOODNESS this is where Robert E. Lee attended this church since he was a baby and had 2 of his kids confirmed here!"

Both E. Lee and GW are some of historical figures I admire greatly (hence the pet names.) ;)

I sat in the same pew as George Washington y'all (see above.) Back then you reserved your pew with a plaque. Pews rented in boxes, and had a little gate with a number, and you shut yourself in them. Originally, all the pews were in literal boxes, facing both towards the preacher and away from the preacher, because church back then was not necessarily about watching the preacher, it was more a listening and a pondering experience.

The church was spared from destruction during civil war since it was known as "Washington's church," and during the occupation of Alexandria, the Union army used it as a chapel. 

I took pictures of some of the tombstones outside the church. One stone said that "Elanor, the wife of Daniel Wren" died when she was 134 years old. That would be remarkable, if a solider during the Union occupation of Alexandria hadn't added in a "1" next to her actual age, 34. Graffiti: Civil War Style.

After our tour, we explored Old town Alexandria along King street. After a quick stop at Chipotle for some tacos, we took advantage of the free trolley and rode all the way to the Potomac Waterfront. We were pleased to discover that there were indeed waterfront tours running to the monuments and Georgetown and back. We had the good fortune to arrive there 15 minutes before the next charter was leaving. Perfect timing!

There were barely any folks on the first leg of the cruise. There were, however, a group of Russians, who were busy taking photos of themselves with an entire (half-empty) bottle of white wine. Yeahhh.

After putting down their multiple bags of NASA merchandise (*insert joke about Russian/American space race here*) they relocated themselves to the bow shortly after their wine bottle photo op.

The cast of characters on our vessel also included a ship attendant dude that kinda resembled Hawkeye from the Avengers. Heh. Was gonna get a covert picture to prove it, but that's creepy, ya know. ;)

On our way to the monuments, we cruised by the Pentagon as well as the Ronald Reagan Airport. That was was fun for two reasons, for one, that's the airport we are leaving from on Thursday, and two, watching planes take off just never gets old. 

We had a splendid view of the Washington monument and the Lincoln memorial from the water. It was a lovely day (with cool clouds!) and my pictures turned out lovely.

On the journey back there were much more folks boarding, the people mostly consisting of a giant herd of school kids. 

There was one family that I was suspicious might be British, and when the oldest son pulled out his passport out to get to his wallet, it confirmed my suspicion. (one of the quickest ways to identify where someone is from) British folks have purple passports with a cool gold insignia on the front. They were very well-to-do, at least from what I could tell, and the wife had the biggest diamond on her wedding ring that I have ever seen. 

We hopped off the boat and noticed a very tempting sign that read: "Leadbeatter Apthoecary-tours $5" Considering I'm a herb nerd and herbalism/old time pharmacy stuff fascinates me, we just had to go in for a tour. If I had half my herbs and tinctures organized as well as this place did, I'd be doing good. 

Along with all the original bottles and devices lining the shelves, we saw the bloodletting instruments and the guide mentioned that George Washington's doctors were customers here, as well as Robert E. Lee himself.

I felt like I was in my element,

as I love herbs/tinctures/remedies! Our guide said they give Harry Potter themes tours every year, because the shop looks a lot like Snape's workspace: vials, glass bottles, mortar and pestles. Their collection of herbs also include Dragon's Blood and Wolf's Bane. During the Harry Potter tour, they would let each attendee make a toothpaste with Dragons blood, Orris root and cloves. 

I indulged in as much history as I could handle today and it was just fantastic. 

Howard Lee Clark and his friend Betty took us out to dinner. He is related because Aunt Rachel's grandfather and his Father were brothers, and they were very close. 

Howard is just about the most charming 79 year old gentleman you could ever meet. He enjoys the symphony and opera on the weekends, is a train/locomotive enthusiast, and is a huge Clemson fan. It was a fun game to play "I spy" the Tigers, orange, or purple when we toured his apartment later on in the evening. He grew up in Dillon, SC and attended the college later on. His friend Betty, who he has been dating for 2 years, was charming.

Tell me that is not the sweetest picture ever. If both their Fathers could see them now, they would be smiling.

At the restaurant, I ordered the  "Lighthorse Harry Lee" (how could I not?!) which was a crab cake with fries and tartar sauce.

Since most of the party had consumed wine (except me) I was voted to drive their fancy Lincoln town car to see their apartment. I was a tad bit nervous having been given the task, but Betty sat up front and told me when to turn and such.

We got to tour their retirement complex and see their apartments. Let's just say that it is such a nice facility that I wish *I* was the minimum age of 65. They can even see the entire Washington skyline from the rooftop veranda.

(Betty, Howard, and Aunt Rachel)

We arrived home quite late, and we were all worn out. 

I leave you with this sign we saw in Banana Republic today. Fitting, no?