Washington D.C. - Day 1
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Jul 8, 2008
The morning started well. I got up early so that we could all be up and around to leave the hotel to take the Metro into the District (D.C.). It was actually quite cool which was really nice.
We got to the Metro and it took us a few minutes to orient ourselves to the system. It was a little confusing, but we managed to get our tickets and be on our way. Michael's eyes were really big at riding on a train that went underground. So fun to watch!
Bryce and I had decided that we were going to do a Hop On/Off tour of the area to get our bearings and also just see as much as we can. Unfortunately the website for the company we decided to use didn't have an exact address for their office so we were winging it. A big mistake!! We also decided mid-stream to change trains and take a different line. Well, that was our second mistake!
Anyway, we got off the train and found ourselves in downtown Washington DC. Fortunately it is a really nice place so we didn't feel weird or unsafe or anything. I decided to wander down towards the National Mall as I thought we might find the tour office closer down there. We started wandering and there began our 1 1/2 hour trek around the streets of DC trying to find the Old Town Trolley Tours. It also decided to get sunny and HOT. Sweat was pouring off of us as we went from one person to the next trying to find the right place. Finally, someone seemed to know something so told us to go past The White House and find it over there. So off we went.
Meanwhile, Michael has started to complain about walking, about being hot and how he hadn't decided to do this thing at all and why were we doing it. It went on for awhile. Finally we reached The White House and we got to admire it and take some pictures. I hadn't seen The White House on my previous visit to D.C. in 1985 so it was neat to see.
After doing that, we kept walking and once we reached the spot where the office was SUPPOSED to be...guess what? It wasn't!!! Michael about collapsed and died on the spot :) Anyway, we realized that there was a Metro station close by that would take us to Union Station where we knew there was a Trolley office. (Why I didn't do that earlier...who knows!). Anyway, we had lunch at Subway which was delicious. After we had cooled off a bit, we managed to find the station and ride the subway to the right place. What a relief to finally get our tickets and get on the Trolley.
We were very lucky to get a very knowledgable driver and he really helped us understand the layout of the city, what various things meant and did an excellent job at taking us around. I was awestruck by the gorgeous buildings and also just being somewhere that we see so much on TV and in movies. We decided to get off at the Lincoln Memorial which was awesome!! It is so awe-inspiring and gorgeous. I had never visited the Vietnam Memorial so really wanted to see that as well. It was so hot as we were walking along there which made it a good object lesson for the kids about the heat of Vietnam.
After visiting the Korean War Memorial, we decided it was time to get back on the Trolley and finish our tour. It was very interesting. We went through Georgetown and up into the hills of D.C. where it is so leafy and green and much cooler. We also went through Embassy Row which was amazing. I loved seeing all the flags and buildings of the different countries. Our driver was amazing in that he remembered all of them.
We finally got back to Union Station after a really interesting day. We decided to eat at the Station and then make our way back to our hotel. It was wonderful to finally collapse in a heap on the bed and relax, but tomorrow we get to do it all over again!! It's the Smithsonian tomorrow.
1 comment:
UGH!!! SO FUN!! Someday I bet Michael will look back and be amazed at all you saw. I am SO JEALOUS...especially b/c I've been working on support the past 2 days! ;)
Love you guys!
Jodi
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