Day 3: The Tourmobile
After yesterday's exhausting walking day we decided to take it easier on Round 2. My mom had left some souvenirs ("souvies") that she bought, in our Congressman's office so we swung by there and then it was starting to rain while we walked around the Capitol trying to find the pick-up spot for this Tourmobile thing. The Tourmobile is like a giant open-air vehicle not unlike a cross between an accordian bus and the Universal Studios tram. You can board and reboard at any of several locations all day, and they drive you around the city and give you a "tour". It finally came around in front of the Capitol and our tourguide was this old lady so eccentric I didn't know if she was human or not; oh, and as we drove around town, since it was open air (the rain died down) it was fun to take pictures of people, wave at them and do other strange antics. Another fun thing I've done this trip is put my long hair in a ponytail so I resemble George Washington and play Yankee Doodle on my little orange flute.
OK anyway so they have these weird things called DC Ducks and it was funny. It's a boat that can be a car, so this tour drives you around and then goes in the river. What's funny is, on this day they were all wearing yellow ponchos so they actually *looked* like ducks. DC Ducks sounds like a team name so I wanted to shout "DC Ducks...DC Ducks...DC Ducks..." Say it, it's fun! However, the opportunity was missed.
So we rode this Tourmobile all around town, got off at Arlington National Cemetary, and then took their included Cemetary tour which included a stop at Kennedy's grave (eerie) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (guarded 24-7-365 by a soldier, with a ritualistic changing of the guards ceremony/process every half hour....very solemn). The cemetary is HUGE and serves as a reminder the sacrifices of war, and even 9/11.
It's hard to believe that we're so close to the Pentagon, and the airport we landed in (Dulles) is where the doomed airplane took off before it crashed into the Pentagon.
After the cemetary we took the Tourmobile to the White House. We were hungry so we ate at a downtown food court ("Flamer's" Charbroiled Hamburgers - good!) and then discovered the Visitor's Center was closed. Oh well, it was very interesting to at least see the White House and we walked all around to see each side. It's located downtown, which is very awe-inspiring in its architecture. Following this we decided to check out some Smithsonian Museums, only to discover they all closed early for some "event." How stupid!!! Oh well, we rode a Metro to Pentagon City in Arlington and hung out at a huge mall.
Now finally, here are some pics from the past few days.
Best First Vacation Photo EVER!
LA from the heavens
Old Town Alexandria (King Street)
Part of a peculiar fountain in front of the Library of Congress
The Supreme Court (yikes!
Lincoln Memorial
Me in front of the White House!
The subway station looks like Space Mountain...
A reminder of the freedoms that our country allows, even protests across the street from the White House.
OK anyway so they have these weird things called DC Ducks and it was funny. It's a boat that can be a car, so this tour drives you around and then goes in the river. What's funny is, on this day they were all wearing yellow ponchos so they actually *looked* like ducks. DC Ducks sounds like a team name so I wanted to shout "DC Ducks...DC Ducks...DC Ducks..." Say it, it's fun! However, the opportunity was missed.
So we rode this Tourmobile all around town, got off at Arlington National Cemetary, and then took their included Cemetary tour which included a stop at Kennedy's grave (eerie) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (guarded 24-7-365 by a soldier, with a ritualistic changing of the guards ceremony/process every half hour....very solemn). The cemetary is HUGE and serves as a reminder the sacrifices of war, and even 9/11.
It's hard to believe that we're so close to the Pentagon, and the airport we landed in (Dulles) is where the doomed airplane took off before it crashed into the Pentagon.
After the cemetary we took the Tourmobile to the White House. We were hungry so we ate at a downtown food court ("Flamer's" Charbroiled Hamburgers - good!) and then discovered the Visitor's Center was closed. Oh well, it was very interesting to at least see the White House and we walked all around to see each side. It's located downtown, which is very awe-inspiring in its architecture. Following this we decided to check out some Smithsonian Museums, only to discover they all closed early for some "event." How stupid!!! Oh well, we rode a Metro to Pentagon City in Arlington and hung out at a huge mall.
Now finally, here are some pics from the past few days.
Best First Vacation Photo EVER!
LA from the heavens
Old Town Alexandria (King Street)
Part of a peculiar fountain in front of the Library of Congress
The Supreme Court (yikes!
Lincoln Memorial
Me in front of the White House!
The subway station looks like Space Mountain...
A reminder of the freedoms that our country allows, even protests across the street from the White House.