Day 3: The Grand Tour

With me as our fearless tourguide, our group set out to downtown Washington, DC via the Metro Blue Line. In all my previous visits downtown, including when Mike and the kids came with me on business trips, I never knew you could buy a day pass for the Metro. It's a good thing we ponied up the $6.50, because we were all over that train today. First stop was Farragut West, where Mike and Aly ran to the street vendor for a hot dog, and Mom, Zak and I hit Starbucks. We walked down Eye Street ("I" Street for the tourists) past the VA's Chief Business Office, where I often have meetings and then up to K Street to see the PwC office. We went down to 1600 Pennsylvania for pictures in front of the North Lawn, but the street was closed in front of the South Lawn ... someone important must have been exiting.

Our tour of the Monuments and Memorials began at the Washington Monument. It was a gorgeous day for our walk. We also visited the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. We breezed by the World War I Memorial, though now that I've looked at that web page, maybe we shouldn't have. This memorial is actually the only local District memorial on the Mall. We walked along the Tidal Basin with about a bazillion other tourists who had come to the National Cherry Blossom Festival, until we finally got to the Smithsonian Metro station --one of the busiest in the whole system.

We rode to Metro Center and trekked to ESPN Zone for an early dinner. Even though it was only 2:30 in the afternoon, there was a 90-minute wait for a table. We went up the street to see Ford's Theatre, but the line was down the block and around the corner. We picked up some souvenirs, and went back to Harry's, the little bar at the Hotel Harrington for dinner. Back near Metro Center, we found some purse vendors and Mom got a great Coach knockoff. At the Metro, we split into two groups. Since it was rush hour, Dad, Mike and the kids headed for the Nationals game, while Mom and I went to Union Station. She and I went around the Mall on the Red and Blue lines to see the Capitol. We went home and sat on the patio for a while till the weather turned cooler. By the time I went back to the Metro to pick up everyone else, it was pretty cold. Today was the last warm day, for sure.