Washington, DC

A short trip to Washington, DC,  may not be the choice of everyone to escape the cold and snow of MN, but we did it anyway. Yes, Uncle Don was there. And Aunt Janet. Don and Janet suggested the trip to us a few weeks ago, with Don insisting that by the first week in March, it would certainly be spring in Washington, DC. Instead, there was a snowstorm the day before we got there! Fortunately, the temperature made it into the 40's after that, with no need for winter coats.

I didn't take many pictures, and here are most of them: 

Walkway to  the Lincoln Memorial

This gift shop near the Lincoln Memorial caught my eye. I wonder how much film they sell in 2014?

Korean War Veterans Memorial. This is an impressive but eerie memorial, with nineteen larger-than-life aluminum figures representing soldiers on patrol.

Ford's Theatre.  Unfortunately, we could not see the stage or balcony; only the lobby and the museum areas. That was a huge disappointment for me. The reason we couldn't go in? The acting troupe was rehearsing for their spring musical. Doesn't that seem a little odd? A musical at Ford's Theatre??

Here are Abraham, Larry, and Don. I think there's a song with a similar title... 

We also visited the Petersen House across the street, which is where Lincoln died, and is now a museum that commemorates the events surrounding his death and afterward. On display in the Petersen House Museum is this stack of books, each about Abraham Lincoln, including titles by St. Peter native James McPherson.

This is St. Alban's School, where Al Gore attended high school. Our trolley tour guide said this is where Gore was inspired to invent the Internet. Day school tuition at the all-boys' school for Miles, Westy, Ethan, and Owen is $38,000 each/year; almost $54,000 each with room and board. Hannah and Vivi could enroll in the nearby National Cathedral School for girls for about $36,000 each, but they would have to commute, since it's not a boarding school. Any takers?

The National Archives, home of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Magna Carta.

Column detail, National Archives

Miles, here's the White House!

The Capitol Building

 

Don and Janet in front of the Capitol Building

I found an FBI agent out in front.

 

These photos are inside the Capitol Building. We had a great tour guide, James, a life-long resident of DC, who shared interesting facts and good humor.

 National Statuary Hall

 Rotunda Dome ceiling

Gpappy and I had to send Don and Janet off on their own on our last full day in D.C. while we took a cab ride to an urgent care facility in Arlington. Larry woke up that morning with a painful, red, and swollen big toe. He hadn't injured it, and we had no idea what might have caused it. The short version of the adventure is that he had his foot examined, they took an x-ray (nothing broken), and drew blood to do a test to determine if it might be gout arthritis, which can have a sudden and painful onset. He got a call today from the urgent care facility, confirming the diagnosis, so he'll be checking further into it soon.

Since walking any distance was out of the question on Friday, we took a cab back to the hotel, then rode the hotel shuttle to Cosi, a little lunch place down the road. We were disappointed that we had to cancel our planned lunch at a restaurant in Union Station with GranMarge, who was going to take the train into DC from Baltimore.  We will have to reschedule with her!

Washington, D.C., was relatively easy to negotiate on the Metro, once we figured out a few things. There's a whole other city under the city because of the Metro, just as there is in Boston, New York, and other large cities. I wonder what's hidden under St. Peter??