Day 3 in DC!!!

Again, we are TOTALLY taking advantage of the multiple day ticket on the double decker tour bus. We did the "red Line" yesterday and the "blue line" today. I think we definitely got our money's worth.





Yesterday, we saw the usual sights from the bus: Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam, Korean, WWII Memorials, White House, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Building (both houses were not in session), and hit Chinatown for lunch. This really wasn't a Chinatown like we know it. It has a fancy "arch" and there are a lot of signs translated into Chinese here...like Chevy's, Hooters, and Fuddruckers...but that's all the Chinese they had!


We stopped at the Lincoln Memorial and tried to take the elevator to the top instead of the stairs to give Mom a break, but then we found out from the guard that the elevator was broken and there were actually people stuck in it at this very moment. GEESH!!! So glad I was not stuck in there, you would have felt my claustrophobia REALLY kick in! "No, really, let me OUT OF THIS PLACE NOW!!!"




































Then, we walked over to the Washington Memorial, passed the Vietnam and WWII memorials, and I think we wiped Mom out. It was a REALLY long walk through the National Mall, where all of these monuments were.























































There are TONS of squirrels here in DC and Betty, the crazy squirrel feeder(=c razy cat lady) fed them some of our trail mix. Let me tell you, they are NOT shy and we have some shots to prove it. Betty even said that one of them (the black one) even put a paw on her coat. They are really chubby too. Betty kept saying that they were "fattening up" for the winter, but we saw some other ones that weren't so fat...the ones at the memorials were even going into the garbage cans and taking potato chip bags out to scavenge out the crumbs, so I'm sure their diet isn't the best.








































There were some HUGE marble benches surrounding the Washington Memorial (which by the way is 555 feet, 5 inches high) and Mom kept commenting how she slept on a marble bed as a kid and loved it. Especially during the summer, "you just roll over onto a really COOL spot and go back to sleep." So we have a shot of her laying down on a marble bench. She said it has been 58 years since she slept on one.

We also hoofed it to the nearest Safeway for some fruit and more snacks. I was a little leary about the neighborhood around Safeway, there were armed guards at the entrance and a lot of the housing/buildings were boarded up.

Unfortunately, Mom caught a cold and is coughing, so while we were in Chinatown, we got her some of that lovely Chinese cough (loquat) medicine, you know, the one that is EXTRA thick and looks like dark brown maple syrup. So we took it easy on her yesterday and pretty much stayed on the bus the whole time.



Hey, Tony! Did we get your attention Now???
Yesterday, when we returned to the hotel, Mom took a nap and Betty and I went a block over and visited the Air and Space Museum to preview it for Mom when we take her tomorrow since it is expected to rain tomorrow. And, we tried to look around for a restaurant and couldn't find one. Duh, we forgot we had Doris' GPS to help us do that. So, we settled for another hotel restaurant meal. Service is HORRIBLE here, we waited for over 30 minutes for a philly cheese steak sandwich, a turkey club sandwich ,and the "special of the day" meatloaf meal.


Oh, and I forgot to tell you that when we returned from our "exploring" the area for a decent restaurant (There are NONE!), we returned to the room and we could hear Mom yelling from outside the door, Betty and I immediately thought she was yelling at someone. We thought, we did leave her sleeping and left her a note, but we didn't know what to expect when we opened the door...She was watching, "Deal or No Deal" and was yelling at the contestant for not making the deal for $39,000.00 and ended up with only $1,000.00


Breakfast today was in a small cafe just a hop, skip and a jump away. We got to eat our most satisfying meal and spent less than $20.00!!! And since we had such a big lunch, we opted for a "snacky" dinner for less than $10!!! I guess we are still reeling from how expensive NYC was.



Today we also stayed on the bus pretty much too except for getting off at Arlington Cemetary and saw JFK, Jackie O's and RFK's gravesite. Then, we ate lunch and refueled enough to stop by Union station and the Postal Museum. Here's Mom mailing a personal post card to herself. We created, printed, mailed, and stamped it all using an automated machine that also showed us how a postcard gets from DC to wherever we send it.


We counted up all the smashed pennies that we have collected so far for my sister Carol and we have 12 and we have 10 from DC so far. I think she may need another smashed penny album.

We left Marina a message, but haven't heard back yet. So, we plan on taking Mom to the Air & Space Museum since it isn't too far from the hotel and it will be a nice break from the rain and thunderstorms expected.

Blog you later,
Sharon, Betty, and Mom