Everyone slept hard our first and only night in Frederick, Maryland. Today we we’re heading into Washington DC to the Hop On Hop Off Bus to take in the monuments and Arlington Cemetery. The drive down wasn’t too bad, but the driving was interesting. This would be our last road trip in the Acura, and as always, she did great! Google drove us in along the Potomac and we were able to find a lot cheaper than valet at the hotel and really right up the street. The bus stop was about 3 blocks away so we sunscreened up, grabbed the backpack and camera, and headed out on our adventure!
We headed towards the Mall to start taking in the monuments. Now the humidity was high, and it was hot. So we ducked into the Natural History museum to look around, eat some lunch, and what the heck, buy a car. Yes, you read that correctly, I bought a car while eating lunch. Thanks to Jill and her salesman Matt, we pulled together a deal over texts! Crazy!!
Next, because it is next door, we ventured into the American History Museum to see some exhibits on war. We didn’t make it to the Dorothy shoes from The Wizard of Oz or other icons, but we did learn quite a bit and had the chance to learn some cool facts. Then we were off to the monuments up the Mall! Lots of walking for sure!
Now we were heading into the Washington Monument area and the WW2 Memorial, which I had not been to before. It was overwhelming and beautiful. The weather was very muggy and the skies threatened rain, but we made it through without any drops falling on us!
After visiting the Washington and WW2 sites, we found ourselves at the Korean Memorial. This one is so striking and realistic, and so different from the others; it just really stands apart from the rest. The faces are what get me every time.
Off to the bus stop we went to make our way across the bridge into Arlington. Now we knew the afternoon was passing quickly, but we had no idea of the adventure we were about to endure! We made it to the Changing of the Guard, which was amazing, but the journey back is where things become interesting!
Now the fun begins. We were told the last bus was at 4:30 back across the bridge. After taking the tram back, we arrived at the stop at 4:35. No bus. So, against Max’s better judgment, we start trekking across the bridge back into DC. It was hot. And muggy. About a mile in length, and then, the damn bus passes us about halfway across the bridge. Now Max has decided to jog the bridge at this point and we all knew a big “I told you so!” was coming, but we did manage a few laughs after this trip. And, once we made it back to the Lincoln, we hailed a cab to the hotel because we were beat!!
Our hotel was the Embassy Suites near the Convention Center. The location was perfect and we found a parking lot that was much more economical and safe than the valet. We ended up parking next to the Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores! After retrieving our bags and getting to the room, we rested up a bit before dinner at the hotel and then off to the Treasury Building to embark on our ghost walk through DC!
Finally we were ready to head for the hotel and catch some sleep but not before grabbing ice cream at a McDonald’s where the ice cream machine actually worked!!!
Kennedy Family Travels 