Washington D.C. June 2009
We had wanted to spend time in our nation’s capital for the last year. But prior to the recession, I found it to be a very expensive trip and so the idea was tabled. This year, I looked again and found some bargains. We booked, through Priceline, the Sheraton Four Points on K Ave in downton DC. It is a very nice business hotel and within 1 mile of the White House.
We left very early on Friday morning and arrived at our hotel by 11 AM. We had a slight delay taking off while they removed the lavatory in first class or we would have been there even earlier. Once on the ground, we took a quick taxi to the hotel and found our room ready for check-in which was a nice treat. We grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel after settling into our room and we were off for our first day of touring. There was a gentle on and off rain but umbrellas in hand; we didn’t let it slow us down. We found a map and headed for the White House. While still blocked off to driving since 9-11, pedestrian access gives a close up view of the majestic house. We were able to view the vegetable garden that Michelle Obama recently planted on the grounds. We walked from there to the Mall, near the Washington Monument and hit a few of the Smithsonian museums along the way. At the Air and Space Museum we saw the Apollo lunar modules, Skylab, a lot of early pieces of aviation history and some great WWII era planes as well. The Spirit of St. Louis, that use to hang inside Lambert, is now located there. We also saw a huge double decker airbus.
Our next stop was the relatively new Native American Museum, designed by Native Americans to resemble a dessert landscape. It is a gorgeous and inviting space. We took a whirlwind tour through the museum, especially enjoying a modern look at Native American culture throughout the country as it exists today.
We finally ended up at the Capitol and realized that we had walked over 5 miles and had finally hit that wall. So we took a taxi back to our hotel. We found a cute little sushi place for dinner that was just a couple blocks away, "Sushi Aoi on New York Avenue. It was pretty decent sushi, though not spectacular. The ambience was nice with a local Washingtonian feel to it.
A good nights sleep in the top quality Sheraton bed and we were ready on Saturday for a long day of touring. We took a bus to Union Station and after a quick breakfast, booked tickets on the double-decker trolley tour bus. As we found great seats at the front of the trolley, we found we were among friends as we realized the two ladies travelling with their grandson were a couple. We chatted about women’s basketball and politics. The bus headed off and before long, we hopped off to tour the Jefferson Memorial. Next, we spent time at the spectacular Lincoln Memorial, though the crowds were heavy there. We walked through the nearby Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Korean War Memorial. Our next stop was Arlington Cemetery where we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as JFK and RFK’s gravesites. It was a sobering afternoon. Our next stop was a bit more upbeat as we found a very nice French restaurant in Georgetown for dinner, Café La Ruche. The restaurant was located in a courtyard and it oozed “cute”. Carol had orange duck which was spectacular as were my crab cakes right from Chesapeake Bay. It was a lovely dinner and just as I had hoped Georgetown would be.
With our afternoon tour complete, we had a couple hours before hopping back on to see the same sites at night. We took that time to walk to the Law Enforcement Memorial where we made sure to find all the local officers’ names inscribed, many of whom Carol knew and had worked with over the years.
The next day, we were off to Baseball stadium number 7, the first National League east stadium, and the home of the Washington Nationals. We took the Metro to the game and were impressed with their very new and beautiful home for baseball. The mascot is an eagle, Screecher, but the most hilarious part is the mascot presidents that run a race during the 7th inning., Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy never wins. The Nationals lost to the Mets but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the experience. There were tons of Mets fans there as well, including one from North Carolina that told us his best baseball moment was at a Cards game in St. Louis. We took the Metro back and walked a couple blocks to dinner at a the Crown Plaza Restaurant with outdoor dining and great service. I had rockfish and Carol had beef. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Beringer’s Reserve.
Monday morning, we were up and determined to cram a bit more touring into our day. We took a bus and then walked even closer to the Capitol and took photos right on the steps. We walked inside the Supreme Court building and ended our touring at the National Gallery of Art. There we saw a exhibition called small French paintings which was full of the work of the French impressionist that I so love. But before long, our touring had ended in and we enjoyed a restful quick flight back home to St. Louis.
We left very early on Friday morning and arrived at our hotel by 11 AM. We had a slight delay taking off while they removed the lavatory in first class or we would have been there even earlier. Once on the ground, we took a quick taxi to the hotel and found our room ready for check-in which was a nice treat. We grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel after settling into our room and we were off for our first day of touring. There was a gentle on and off rain but umbrellas in hand; we didn’t let it slow us down. We found a map and headed for the White House. While still blocked off to driving since 9-11, pedestrian access gives a close up view of the majestic house. We were able to view the vegetable garden that Michelle Obama recently planted on the grounds. We walked from there to the Mall, near the Washington Monument and hit a few of the Smithsonian museums along the way. At the Air and Space Museum we saw the Apollo lunar modules, Skylab, a lot of early pieces of aviation history and some great WWII era planes as well. The Spirit of St. Louis, that use to hang inside Lambert, is now located there. We also saw a huge double decker airbus.
Our next stop was the relatively new Native American Museum, designed by Native Americans to resemble a dessert landscape. It is a gorgeous and inviting space. We took a whirlwind tour through the museum, especially enjoying a modern look at Native American culture throughout the country as it exists today.
We finally ended up at the Capitol and realized that we had walked over 5 miles and had finally hit that wall. So we took a taxi back to our hotel. We found a cute little sushi place for dinner that was just a couple blocks away, "Sushi Aoi on New York Avenue. It was pretty decent sushi, though not spectacular. The ambience was nice with a local Washingtonian feel to it.
A good nights sleep in the top quality Sheraton bed and we were ready on Saturday for a long day of touring. We took a bus to Union Station and after a quick breakfast, booked tickets on the double-decker trolley tour bus. As we found great seats at the front of the trolley, we found we were among friends as we realized the two ladies travelling with their grandson were a couple. We chatted about women’s basketball and politics. The bus headed off and before long, we hopped off to tour the Jefferson Memorial. Next, we spent time at the spectacular Lincoln Memorial, though the crowds were heavy there. We walked through the nearby Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Korean War Memorial. Our next stop was Arlington Cemetery where we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as JFK and RFK’s gravesites. It was a sobering afternoon. Our next stop was a bit more upbeat as we found a very nice French restaurant in Georgetown for dinner, Café La Ruche. The restaurant was located in a courtyard and it oozed “cute”. Carol had orange duck which was spectacular as were my crab cakes right from Chesapeake Bay. It was a lovely dinner and just as I had hoped Georgetown would be.
With our afternoon tour complete, we had a couple hours before hopping back on to see the same sites at night. We took that time to walk to the Law Enforcement Memorial where we made sure to find all the local officers’ names inscribed, many of whom Carol knew and had worked with over the years.
The next day, we were off to Baseball stadium number 7, the first National League east stadium, and the home of the Washington Nationals. We took the Metro to the game and were impressed with their very new and beautiful home for baseball. The mascot is an eagle, Screecher, but the most hilarious part is the mascot presidents that run a race during the 7th inning., Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy never wins. The Nationals lost to the Mets but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the experience. There were tons of Mets fans there as well, including one from North Carolina that told us his best baseball moment was at a Cards game in St. Louis. We took the Metro back and walked a couple blocks to dinner at a the Crown Plaza Restaurant with outdoor dining and great service. I had rockfish and Carol had beef. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Beringer’s Reserve.
Monday morning, we were up and determined to cram a bit more touring into our day. We took a bus and then walked even closer to the Capitol and took photos right on the steps. We walked inside the Supreme Court building and ended our touring at the National Gallery of Art. There we saw a exhibition called small French paintings which was full of the work of the French impressionist that I so love. But before long, our touring had ended in and we enjoyed a restful quick flight back home to St. Louis.
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