Not quite a state but a pretty iconic spot …
No new state today and not even a new district as we have visited before – we return to Washington DC , the country’s capitol, after visiting 14 years ago !
Not a long drive today into Washington and we have a day of sightseeing before Liam arrives to join us for a week ! We have another day tomorrow to take in the city.
We woke in Charlottesville to a bit of drizzly weather again but by the time we arrived in Washington, although still cloudy the rain held off and by late in the day there was quite a bit of sun around.
We have been surprised driving the states so far – especially from West Virginia onwards – how forested the countryside has been. There is a lot less farming than we had expected – certainly in the areas we have covered – but there are still some large farms to be seen.
Liam was originally due to arrive in Washington late in the day to meet up with us but part way along our drive we got word from him he might be delayed. Rookie error – he had packed his passport in his checked bag and when going through the TSA check they wouldn’t accept his Australian Drivers Licence as sufficient ID. A little assistance and persuasion with TSA from the Alaskan Airlines staff and he made his flight !
We arrived in Washington late morning and were lucky enough to get access to our room so we dropped our bags and headed off toward the Capitol Building where we had a tour booked. We were a little early so we first went to the National Portrait Gallery. We didn’t get to see a lot – you could spend weeks inside – as we didn’t want to be late for our tour.
We bought Washington Metro passes and used the Metro to get near the capital – we used it a bit over our 2 days and it was a very efficient way of getting around.
The Capitol tour took in the Rotunda and the old Senate & House chambers. These were eventually replaced as what was sufficient for the original 13 states didn’t quite the expanding numbers as more states came into the Union.
It was a bit rushed and there were lots of tours happening at the same time so there were people everywhere but none the less worthwhile.Whilst we were “touring” it was business as usual and we spotted a Senator from Missouri who came in & out of the current Senate area which was in session.
After our tour we made our way back to the hotel for “Evening Reception” and to wait for Liam. Once he arrived we had dinner in the hotel while catching up on his news.
Day 2 – Walking Washington
Not much to say about the day other than we walked and walked and walked – seeing plenty of “big ticket” locations.
We started at the National Archives – no pictures inside but treasures such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.
We then set out on a walk across the National Mall and along the way we saw the Washington Monument, the White House and Jefferson Memorial from a distance, the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and much in between. We then walked to the White House and White House Visitor Centre before stopping for a bit of lunch and to rest our feet.
After lunch we caught the Metro to the Library of Congress, walked back past the Capitol & Supreme Court and found the Metro again to get us back to the hotel for a well earned drink at the “Evening Reception” again.
We finished the day with a tasty dinner at the nearby Capitol City Brewing before putting up our weary feet – ready to move on to Pennsylvania tomorrow.