DC - August 2017 - Days 1 & 2

August 30, 2017

Washington Monument

Mr. President, we are headed your way!  We had an evening flight out to Reagan Airport. It was only about an hour long flight and we hardly had time to finish the on flight snacks before we had to prepare to land! We took the Metro to the area of our hotel. The Metro was easy to navigate and for sure an excellent way to get around.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn – Capital location.  The room was really nice. The only downfall was that the train tracks were right outside our window – the trains did not run all night so it really was not that big of a deal. The location was good in terms of proximity to nearby attractions – the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was only a couple of blocks away, as was the L’Enfant Metro Station.

World War II Memorial

August 31, 2017

Mike and I started the day with a walk over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to get tickets to go on a tour. It took us a bit to figure out where to get tickets – the opposite side of the tour entrance. Tickets are free and are available on a first come first serve basis, starting at 8am. The tour starts with a dated video about how money is made. After the video, you are able to follow a guide and see the machines making money.  It is really interesting and worth a visit if you are in the area. The tour takes about 40 minutes.

Bureau of Engraving
and Printing

After getting the tour tickets, but before the scheduled tour time, we had a little time to spare, so we headed to check out the Washington Monument and World War II Memorial. We were also able to stop by the Washington Monument Lodge (right next to the Washington Monument) to get the National Park Stamps for the DC area sites. There were over 20 stamps located there!! I just got stamps for everything and will discard the sites we did not visit – it made it nice to not have to carry the book around everywhere! The Washington Monument remains closed due to elevator replacement and earthquake repairs.  The World War II Memorial was new since the last time I visited DC and a very beautiful memorial.

We decided to sign up for the Big Red Bus (online price of $62.10 for a two-day pass with a night tour included).  The first time to get on the bus the bus drive prints out your pass. You simply show the pass when getting on the bus. After the Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour, we hopped on the bus for a ride over to Arlington National Cemetery. There was a person on the bus giving commentary about stuff to see along the way and what to expect to see at each stop. The bus provided earbuds and you could plug in at your seat, making it easy to hear the guide. The bus also had maps and ponchos available. Also, included with the pass was a coupon to get into the wax museum for free and a few coupons for a certain thing free with purchase at a few locations.

Changing of the Guard - Arlington National Cemetery

While at Arlington, we visited the Kennedy gravesites and of course we observed the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Lucky us, by the time we got back down to the bus pick up area there was a bus just getting ready to pull away that waited for us!

We got dropped off by the Lincoln Memorial and grabbed a quick lunch from a booth in the park. It was a bit pricey, but it was the closest food around besides vendor trucks. The memorial was not too busy so we were able to enjoy the visit.  Since we were in the area we visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial, which was new since my last visit to DC, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.   We also walked by the Constitution Gardens, which appeared to be in desperate need of attention.

Ford's Theater

There was not a line at the National Archives, so we decided to pop in for a visit. The National Archives is home to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  The ink is very faded on the documents.

We hopped back on the bus and headed to Ford’s Theater National Historical Site. Free tickets are available or you can reserve online for a fee ($3).  We were able to walk up and get tickets immediately.  At the site, you are able to look into the balcony that Lincoln was shot in. After the tour, you are able to show your ticket and view the home that he died in – the Petersen House which is directly across the street. We were able to get out of both sites in an hour or so, but there were not many people at the sites during our visit. 

The Hard Rock Café was near Ford’s Theater so Mike popped in to add to his zippo collection!

White House

We had received a dinner recommendation for The Old Ebbitt Grill.  It was good – we both had sandwiches with fries. The fries were really good and sandwiches were okay.  The dessert was super yummy – we shared the blackberry peach cobbler!

After the early dinner, we took a stroll by the White House. There was lots of security and you had to stay really far away.

We spent the remainder of the evening on the night time bus tour.  During our visit, the line-up started at 7pm with the bus leaving at 7:30. Our tour guide was okay – not as good as the ones we had earlier in the day. The bus made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial and from there we walked to the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. The night time tour lasted about two hours.

It was about a half and hour walk back to the hotel.

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

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