We arrived in Washington, D.C. at the same time the heat and humidity rolled in. It's the first really unpleasant weather we've had since we outran the rain a couple of months back. But the sun was shining and there were lots of things to see, so we soldiered on. We walked about a million miles until, on our last day we discovered a little secret.
First up, the monuments on the mall.
As you can see, major restoration work was being done. When we visited the building, we were unable to go into the rotunda. But, we got a chance to go into the Senate and watch the "work" being done. It consisted of individual senators making speeches to a nearly empty chamber! Security made us leave everything, so no pictures, but I will say the building was beautiful and the Senate chamber impressive.
And, since everyone else was taking pictures at the front of Thomas Jefferson, I had to be different.
Sid's got Tom's back
There are actually more steps up the Jefferson Memorial!
View from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
On the looooong walk from the Jefferson Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial, we passed through the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It's actually a sort of park with statuary and sitting places and many of the quotes he's known for.
Roosevelt Monument
Sid was able to locate a name of a friend who died in the war.
If you plan to go to Washington, I want to give you a few tips here so you can benefit from our mistakes. First, forget about driving into the city and trying to find a place to park! We used the rail portion of the Metro system and it was very easy to navigate. Park outside the city in a lot that's cheap ($5.10 per day) and purchase a refillable SmarTrip card and all you have to do is swipe your card getting on and off. Senior cards are available for over 65 and the fares are even less.
Instead of walking around the mall (it's at least two miles from end to end), use a bus called the Circulator. The National Mall route circles the mall with stops in several locations and, at $1 per ride, your feet will thank you. Unfortunately, we didn't discover it until the last day!
There are guys on street corners selling cold water out of coolers. Don't be afraid to purchase a bottle for $1 - it really is ice cold and very refreshing on days that are 90 degrees with 75 percent humidity!
There's much more to come, so I hope you'll join me for the next several posts about other fun we had in the capital city.
Until next time...
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