Today we continued our tour of DC. We started right back where we left off yesterday with the monuments. After driving into the city, and much to my surprise, finding ample parking, we set off to the first of the three last monuments we missed yesterday.
Our first stop was the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial that just opened up just a couple of years ago. I got to see it shortly after it opened with the controversial quote still inscribed. It has since been removed and is now just a blank space.
From MLK, we walked around the entire tidal basin. About two-thirds of the way around we stopped at the Jefferson memorial. Did you guys know there are little museums inside the base of the memorials? There was also one at the Lincoln memorial and until yesterday, I had NO idea.
The final stop on our way around the tidal basin was the FDR memorial. It’s one of Andrew’s favorites and probably one of the most underrated memorials. Not only is it extensive, beautiful, and poignant, it’s also never crowded or loud because it’s a little bit off the beaten path. I think we all agreed it was a great stop.
After the monuments and memorials we stopped for a quick lunch before spending the afternoon tackling some of the Smithsonian museums. It started to sprinkle right as we finished up lunch so our timing was perfect. We started at the Air and Space museum (duh) which had some great new spaceflight exhibits.
With only a few hours left we walked over to the American History museum where I finally got to see the Star Spangled Banner. We also saw a bunch of pop culture artifacts, including Dorothy’s ruby slippers and Julia Child’s kitchen. I think those were a hit with Linda.
After a long day of walking and exploring we rendezvoused with Andrew and headed down to his parent’s house. We finished the day pooped but satisfied with some great pizza (hurrah that Passover is over!) and even better conversation. Sadly vacation is over now and it’s back to the real world.
It’s been nice being a tourist in DC again. I used to do it a lot, but the past few years the crowds and the traffic have deterred me from exploring which is a shame because this city has a ton to do. Perhaps this fall (I’m still boycotting DC in the summer to avoid all the tourists), I’ll be back to exploring. I think my mom and Linda will agree though that this has been a great trip and I’m sad to see them go!
112/365