Day 1 - Washington DC, has it really been 19 years?

As part of our two week visit from the English family, we traveled to Philly and Washington DC.  We spent most of two days very near the Mall, taking advantage of all of those museums that our tax dollars pay for.

We check in at the Hyatt Regency just after 5pm at night.  This hotel is two blocks from the Capitol, so we figured it was convenient, and since they are remodelling we got a great deal on the rooms.  Oh, and it was the weekend so the Government was not around.  I have a question, "Why do all of the big hotels in DC, have prostitutes who walk in front of the entrances in broad day light?"  When Rod and I were "courting" we met in DC in a hotel in Dupont Circle and they were also very obvious.  No need to answer that question!  I think I understand human nature, but it was striking, as we checked in at 5pm at night, and it was way more obvious that in other cities, and hotels that I have stayed in.

The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast at West Wing Cafe, we bought the on-off trolley ticket which was fabulous.  The narrators were really incredible so if you go, choose one with a live narrator.  I had not seen the Holocaust Museum, so after traversing the mall several times on the Trolley we got off there.

I have learned that when I am in a museum, I don't want to be constrained by the pace of others, so we said, "let's meet in 90 minutes!".  I then took off to experience the museum by myself.  I have heard a lot about the Holocaust Museum, and it really was moving.  I was struck by how civil people were, and quiet.  As I walked through, I wondered how many people around me lost family members during that time.  I actually finished the permanent exhibit, and went back to view a few parts in more detail.  I also went through the rooms, that were designed for children.  This was the only place I saw someone taking pictures and she was asked to stop taking them.

We then grabbed a hot dog from the street vendor, ate it standing up, and boarded another trolley to travel to the war museums.  Here I was struck that most of what we saw that day was oriented around a war:  Holocaust, WWII, Vietnam, Korean, Lincoln Memorial.  This is where we also discussed that it has been 19 years since we were sight seers in DC.  My maternal grandfather was killed in WWII so we took pictures at the WWII memorial, of Virginia (His home state), Alaska (where he was killed) and Vermont (Where my other grandfather who served in WWII was from). 

We then boarded another trolley, and did the loop which goes by all of the embassies.  I want to go back and walk those streets, but it was fun to fly by them on the bus.  The National Cathedral is under construction, and it was still magnificant.  Georgetown on the trolley, and then back to the hotel.

We had dinner at Union Station and had arranged for my cousin Kit to join us.  She lives in DC and it was great to catch up with her.

After "The Sisters" went to bed that night, Rod and I went for a long walk, around the Capitol, down to the Washington Monument and back to the hotel.  It was a quiet night on Capitol Hill, and fun to revisit our walking days of DC in 1986.