A Tour of D.C.

帰宅しました！
Though we are a few days earlier than we originally thought. It was a good trip, we saw a lot and even if we never go back to Washington D.C. it will be alright. I think this time visiting the capitol city we have seen everything we could have an interest in.
Getting up more or less early last Saturday morning, we headed to Colonial Williamsburg which is in Virginia. It was a ten hour drive, not so long considering other drives we have survived (once we drove 18 hours straight through to Florida). We arrived at our destination in the evening, checking into the hotel and getting the dinner we had packed with us out, settling in for the night.
The next morning we toured ourselves around the village, map in hand. We took a short guided tour of the "Governor's Palace" (not really a palace, but for the times it was huge) and visited several of the other little houses and recreated shops that would have been there two hundred or so years ago. Walking down the streets is like stepping back a couple centuries, if you ignore all of the other visitors like ourselves strolling the brick and dirt roads.

Our second stop was Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Only my mom and I toured the house, as Nick was not feeling well.
The day before I had gotten sick and during the drive from Michigan Eric had gotten it (We thought is was just motion sickness at first). So the three boys abstained from the tour, preferring the outdoors and car.
The house was, just like the last we toured it, very interesting. The guide walked you through the house and explained the life of the third president and giving excerpts from diaries and writings of the man himself as well as his daughters and grandchildren. We couldn't take pictures inside the house I took some of the outside.

Third and final leg of the journey was D.C. Everybody was tired when we arrived at the hotel so we just unpacked the car and found a quick dinner at a restaurant near by. At first we had planned to spend four days there, but after the first day walking at least five miles to a few places, we managed to fit the rest of our trip into one day unintentionally.
It was much hotter than we thought it was going to be, and nobody packed for the warmer weather. It was shorts weather, in the 70's and 80's F ° (21-26 C°). We made it through and saw and enjoyed everything we did.
First stop, the National Cathedral of Washington and the surrounding buildings. We found it easily as we could see it from our window in the hotel, the stone structure towered above the rest.
Then we trekked along Embassy Row, guessing the flags that hang over the door of the embassies and calling out the ones we did now. A lot of the buildings were designed differently, some to stand out and others to blend into the facade of Washington D.C.
The last area for that day was Georgetown. Where Georgetown University is, the downtown area is full of shops restaurants, small businesses and townhouses. It was a place that my mom had wanted to visited form some time, but missed the last trip.
The second day we used the subway to get around the city, stopping at a few museums and looking for the things and places mentioned in the book.
For lunch we took the subway to Alexandria, VA, and walked all around that area, which was quite similar to Georgetown. And then in the evening when it had cooled down a little, we made our way to the cherry blossoms and Jefferson Memorial. The cherry trees were in full bloom, lining the water way, and people with their blankets and coolers enjoying a picnic under the light pink flowers. After walking beneath the blooming canopy we stopped at the Jefferson Memorial and watched the rest of the sunset from the steps. A fitting end to the fast paced day.

We ended up leaving early, yet again. But it might be better this way. Now dad has some time at home before returning to work and we have the weekend to relax a little before jumping back into the usual schedule. This trip was fun and well worth it, we got to see a different side to D.C. walking around Georgetown and Alexandria.
But it is good to be back in our own space, our own beds and cooking our own food. There is something about the home base that no matter where or how comfortable a place is, it cannot compare to the feeling of home. 


>> Pictures One, Pictures Two

じゃね。