Midweek in DC-hitting our stride

Trip Start Jun 15, 2008
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Trip End Jun 29, 2008


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Flag of United States  , District of Columbia,
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wednesday we had our Capitol tour scheduled.  We opted to eat our free breakfast in the hotel rather than what Senator Diane Feinstein provided because we loved the breakfast at the hotel so much, and hers was just a continental breakfast.  Arrived at Congressman Brian Bilbray's office at 9:15 and waited a while for other tourists.  Then two interns took us down to the basement tunnel for security.  The line was horrendous, and this was just for people who had tours through their congressman's office.  Finally we entered the Capitol rotunda, which was spectacular.  It was hard to hear our tour guides because it was so packed with other tour groups and it was very echo-y.  The House gallery visit meant even more waiting.  There were only a few people actually on the Floor, and they were reading newspapers, chatting together, and otherwise ignoring the two guys who were speaking.  They were debating new taxes, something to do with high gas prices, etc.  Alex thought it was interesting.  The highlight of the entire morning was congress's own personal hanging open-air tramway that went very fast.  

It was after 12 noon by the time we left and headed for Alexandria.  The Metro ride was above ground for a change, so we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Alexandria was charming and we rode down King Street to the waterfront in a free trolley.  After a delicious lunch at the famous Chadwick's, we visited the Torpedo Factory art studios, which was not at all interesting for us.  We walked up King Street and enjoyed homemade ice cream from Scoops grill.  They had very unique flavors.  Ratko got passion fruit, Joey had maple nut, Alex had pink peppermint, I had orange chocolate chocolate-chip, and Ryan had good old vanilla.  The single scoop cones were gigantic, which made them a bargain at $3.50.  Alex helped Ryan finish his.

We enjoyed some souvenir shopping at a store called America, where I got a necklace of the American flag in a heart shape.  From there we hopped back on the trolley and before getting onto the Metro again we visited the George Washington Masonic memorial.  It was beautiful and tall.  Unfortunately we couldn't go up to the top because it was 4 pm by this time and they were closing.

Our itinerary had us visiting Arlington Cemetery next, but we knew we needed a rest before our 6pm walking tour of the monuments, and we decided that even though it was a popular tourist destination, we wouldn't die if we missed it.  

Met up with tour guide Ben from DC by Foot tours just as they were heading toward the Washington Monument.  Their brilliant marketing strategy offers free tours, tips only.  Naturally Ben worked hard for those tips!  It was very informative and funny.  The tour ended up being the highlight of our time in DC for Alex and Ryan.  The WWII memorial was impressive.  The Vietnam Memorial was very moving with all the letters, flowers, and mementos left by family members.  A child wrote one that I saw.  It said "Dear Uncle James, I never knew you, but thank you for your service."  After the tour ended, we went inside the Lincoln Memorial, which Ryan really enjoyed due to an audio CD story from Adventures in Odyssey that he listens to over and over before bedtime at home.  We stopped by the Korean War memorial before deciding that we were too tired to walk all the way around the Tidal Basin for the Jefferson and FDR memorials.  A pleasant surprise on our way home was the sight of fireflies on the grass of the National Mall, which, being from California, we had never seen in our lives.  It was magical!
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