To D.C. & Beyond

Greetings from our Nation's Capitol. Another great day (long, but great). We hit downtown hard with an early tour of the Metro. . .attempting to get to our early tour of the Library of Congress. Life Lesson #343--always trust your gut & when dad says he has a good sense of direction (which he usually does)--even underground, check the map one more time!

We had a lovely walk to the Air & Space Museum where the American History Museum (which is being remodeled) has 100 of their "top" items on display. Kimmy took some great pictures of Kermit the Frog and the puffy shirt from Seinfeld. The fact that a puffy shirt from a sitcom is a featured item in the most prestigious of museums makes one question the depth & breadth of our nation's grasp of American history. One of the best finds of the day was the city's Circulator bus route (much thanks to Paul & Joanne) which runs around the mall. By my count, we were able to visit 8 monuments/memorials (apparently there's a difference)--including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Korean Memorial. A short Metro ride to Union Station brought some much needed sustenance, cool air (as the temperature is in the 80s), and a bit of vacation r&r while we awaited the departure of our evening tour. Let me say this--the night tour was super and highly recommended. Fred was our trusty driver and tour guide. I must admit that I found his knowledge of the area quite appealing (despite some really bad pirate jokes). The tour added the FDR Memorial, Iwo Jema (I know that's spelled wrong, but I'm too tired to look it up), and a bit of Arlington Cemetary to our daily total.

My favorite moment of the day? Easy--the above photo taken with several WWII veterans at the WWII Memorial. Poignant. Powerful. Memorable.