Washington DC

 

Today’s adventure started and ended with public transportation.  We caught a bus to the train station and rode the train to the correct stop (with some trepidation)(it all seemed to happen pretty fast).

 

The Lincoln Memorial was going to be the highlight of our visit so we decided to go straight there while we were still fresh.  We got off the train close to the east end of the mall (the capitol building end).

 

We walked past the Washington Monument, still hidden under scaffolding while earthquake damage is repaired.

 

From there we followed the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial.

 

It has been a lifelong ambition of Judy’s to visit the Lincoln Memorial.

 

It was a moving experience.

 

…and our President Lincoln ended up with a pretty good view.

 

 

We finally wandered away from Abraham Lincoln and over to the Viet Nam Memorial.

 

That was sad.

 

It was sad because I couldn’t remember anyone’s name to look up.  It was sad to stand there holding Judy while she cried because she was glad she wasn’t here by herself looking for my name.  It was sad that all these soldiers died and I still can’t figure out if this war accomplished anything or ever made any sense.

 

 

We moved on.  We ate Polish dogs from a street vendor then walked to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  That was a treat.

 

Architecture, parks, ponds, gardens, monuments, memorials, and seven miles of walking.

 

We had pre-paid tickets for the train rides.  To get to the trains you have to scan your ticket through the turnstile.  To get away from the trains and back out onto the street you have to scan your ticket through the turnstile again.  My old-guy pass worked perfectly.  Judy’s pass worked fine to get her on the train, but when we got to our destination, the turnstile wouldn’t let her back out.  We got an attendant to check it out and he explained that the fare was $4.20, her card only had $4.50 left on it, so she would have to go put her card and a $1 bill into the money machine to get an updated card so she could get out.  He was right.  The money machine took her dollar and gave her a new card.  Judy got out, the machine kept the change and we headed happily home.

 

Tomorrow, the National Zoo.  We’ve had our public transportation adventure.  Tomorrow we’re going to have a driving-a-car-inside-the-beltway adventure.