Planes, Tranes, Buses and Trucks!
Easy trip by truck and Rv from Lancaster, Pa to our next destination - Cherry Hill RV Resort in College Park, Maryland. They advertise as the closest RV Park to DC. The bus actually comes into the park on its route in this University of Maryland's town. This fact in itself was interesting as the fall semester was about to begin.
We found our Rv spot and this was a back in which we made with about 3 tries. A nice dog walking area was close by which T n T need when they are cooped in the truck while we drive. A beautiful area to walk only to walk up a hill and see 4 major freeways down below. Yes, we are close to the action.
We reviewed the transportation process (thanks to our trips to Paris and London - we can figure these things out easily). Also I had loaded an app called NPS-the Mall (National Park Service) which once we were in the Mall area of DC, it had maps, information, etc. Cool Man!!
We loaded onto the bus after purchasing our "senior" pass which looks like a credit card. We just passed it over the disk on the bus and didn't have to worry about $. After a 20 minute trip, we landed at the Metro station (Green Line). Green line let us off about a block from the mall and all the Smithsonians. Of course, Air and Space, was the first one. Pictures are in this blog with details. We moved onto the Museum of American History and the National Archives. We remarked how we never get tired of seeing the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Seeing the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and was the inspiration of F. S. Key's Star Spangled Banner is always phenomenal. The pictures and story of how it was made, stored and documented is a lot of foresight on some people's part.
The next day was Friday and we went back and continued viewing more artifacts. That evening we met Lindsay Lamb at the "Hill Country Bar B Q" on 7th Street about 6 blocks from the Mall. We had a great time and was so nice to see someone we knew especially family. She invited us to her home in Alexandria, VA the next night.
Saturday, we spent by the pool, did laundry and just rested! That evening, we joined Lindsey at her townhouse where we had tacos on the patio. She and James bought the townhome in May I believe. James left for a job assignment in Hawaii before the move in date so he had never seen the townhouse with their "stuff" in it. She has done a great job of decorating. This townhouse is 2 story with a basement that is finished and serves as a family room. The top story has 3 bedrooms. Looking our their bedroom window, one can see the capitol building. How neat is this.
What an ordeal we had just getting there. The signage was so poor and with construction we ended up getting off the freeways, turning around and getting in unknown neighborhoods so Lindsay obliged us with a detail map on how to return. Thank goodness and thanks, Linds!
Sunday, we attended church services at the National Cathedral. It is beautiful and the service was, of course, Episcopalian. The ministers were very good and had a good message.
Later, we headed out to the Capitol where we had a tour. You will see Sam Houston's statue in a picture as each state can send two statues of their choice to the capitol bldg. The old Supreme Court room was in the basement and can be seen in this picture. The Supreme Court decided it needed to separate itself from the legislature so of course, it now is in its own bldg.
DC 3
one of the newest drones
First plane to go non stop over the Atlantic piloted by Charles Linbergh
August is vacation/recess so touring was easy but alas, no congressmen were present. They must get reelected, you know. National Art Gallery was next. Wonderful paintings from a variety of artists from all over the world. Natural History museum was last where we did get to see the Hope Diamond, mammals, etc. Lot of interactive things for kids to enjoy. Since we had been to DC before, we didn't go by monuments and memorials but maybe you family members would like to make a trip of it soon!
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