Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Washington DC

March 26 and 27

Diving day today - we headed up to Washington DC stopping for the night in Fayetteville, North Carolina. We made it to Fredericksburg, Virginia on the 27th and ready to go into DC to meet Ann and Allison tomorrow.

March 28

Yea! We met Ann and Allison at their hotel in the Courthouse area of Arlington, Virginia. Meeting them and taking part in the National Walk for Epilepsy was our whole reason for coming to DC. Seeing some of the sites is the frosting on the cake. Allison’s cousin Natalie lives in a condo right behind the hotel so they were staying in a perfect location to get in visits with her. We were able to use Ann’s parking space at the hotel, lucky us. After hugs and catching up a bit, we walked to a restaurant close by for lunch. Allison opted for a rest after the long flight and late night. The rest of us figured out the metro and went to Dupont Circle. It is such a lovely area and interesting with many of the embassies in the neighborhood. Chris and I had read a book titled “Luncheon of the Boating Party” years ago. It tells the fascinating story of Renior painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” outside Paris. While I was reading the book, I did some research online to see the painting and found out that it was in the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. It has been on my “bucket list” ever since. What a wonderful painting, so full of life and vibrant colors! It is a huge painting and has a wall of its own in the museum. After gazing at that piece up close and from a distance, we walked through the lovely museum enjoying our visit. Natalie met us at the hotel and suggested a wonderful Thai restaurant for dinner within walking distance. It is a real walking neighborhood with lots of people on the streets. It was fun to catch up with her. After dinner we walked round the corner to see her condo. She was talking about it being so small but it has a bedroom and everything she needs along with a balcony. It’s in a great location, safe and close to the metro. She usually rides her bike to her office a block from the White House.

Chris & Ann in DuPont Circle

Phillips Collection in DuPont Circle

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renior

March 29
We are staying about an hour and fifteen minutes south of DC but it was an easy drive with the work traffic over before we hit the road. Allie and Ann were ready for a metro trip into the National Mall area to go to the National Museum of American History. We saw first hand how DC looks during Spring Break with thousands of 8th graders everywhere you looked, the place was crawling with them. We managed to see the Presidents and the First Ladies exhibits. We also walked through the exhibit on the Revolutionary and Civil Wars before having lunch. Allison really seemed to enjoy it. We were disappointed that the exhibit with the retro Americana items like Archie Bunkers chair and Dorothy’s red slippers was closed for renovation. I was here in 1968 for a wonderful week of exploring. Then I had such a good visit a couple of years ago when I came with Suzanne for a week when she was here for work. I wandered the museums and took tours everyday while she worked. It was great to be here again. I must say it is a little easier to get around and see things without the swarms of 8th graders. Allie and Ann went back for a rest and we went to the National Gallery of Art and enjoyed a quick walk through mainly hitting the impressionists and American artists. We met up with Allie and Ann at Union Station for a night tour of the city and the monuments. It got a little chilly sitting on the top of the double decker bus but the views were terrific. Ralph, our guide, had lived in DC almost all his 62 years and was full stories and information. I don’t know how he could name off all the buildings as we were driving down the avenues and tell interesting stories without getting mixed up along the way. Plus he added some humor in the mix. One more great guide! We got out at the Capitol, the White House, Lincoln Memorial and the new Martin Luther King Memorial. I have never seen so many tour buses and sooooo many 8th graders in all my life! Never the less, we all loved the tour and I think we must have had the best guide in town. The three hours went by so quickly. It was almost midnight by the time we drove over an hour back to the Manor. We were tuckered out but had a great day.

On the national mall ready to go into the National American History Musem.

 Michelle Obama's beautiful dress on display.

In front of Union Station ready for our tour.

Allison at our first stop on our bus tour.

All of us with Ralph, our tour guide.

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