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The day started off very early in order to catch the last commuter bus from Annapolis into Washington D.C. The trip is only 30 miles, but most transit options out of Annapolis go to Baltimore. A taxi was discussed, although it would have been a $75 fare.
After a quick hot breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express, we had to (again) traverse several blocks without paved sidewalks in order to possibly catch the 7:00 am bus. To our dismay, the bus driver never stopped. A frantic call to the transit center ensured that the last 7:30 am bus would stop for us.
The ride itself was very comfortable and we took the opportunity to have Grace work on a few of her school activities. After 15 minutes, I recognized the signs of motion sickness and began eying the trash can near the driver. Sure enough, she gave a 3 second warning, just enough to reach for the can and make the save. I got a few 'wow's from some passengers behind, and we were ok for the rest of the ride.
The driver let us know about the best stop to get to a Metro subway, and we
headed down into the system. The DC system near the National Mall is a bit more complex than most, but it is also very clean, organized, and busy. A few stops later brought us back above ground within a few blocks of the Four Points by Sheraton, where we dropped our luggage and began our journey.
After a few stops at various parks and statues, we found ourselves crossing the National Mall with the Capital on our left and the Washington Monument on our right. It was a very breathtaking moment and seemed very surreal as if we were in a movie. The mall was much busier than I thought it would be on a Thursday morning, and the crowds grew even larger when we got to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and Air & Space Museum and had to fight through about 10 different school field trips. The Natural History Museum was a bit more crowded due to very cozy walkways and exhibit spaces while the Air & Space Museum was still very open and enjoyable. Overall, the kids enjoyed the exhibits and we got to learn a lot about geology, anthropology, space travel, air travel, and
that Brecklyn prefers Cosmonauts over Astronauts.
By now it was afternoon and the two younger ones fell asleep in the stroller, so we took our time walking around the capital avoiding the policed travelcades and political demonstrations and talking with Grace about how our government works. We flew by the visitor's center due to long lines and Supreme Court due to inaccessibility with a stroller.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a while at the National Postal Museum until Mom and Dad began crashing from dragging three kids 3 1/2 miles on foot with another mile to go. Back at our hotel, we checked in, dropped off luggage and ate dinner at a nearby sandwich chop, Cosi, and then picked up some sundaes for dessert at good ol' McDonalds.
Day 1 in D.C. is in the books, and we have so much more on our agenda for the next two days. It is nice to not be the only tourists around for a change and the areas we are in are very well policed. Tomorrow we plan to finish up our tour of the National Mall and maybe even make it to Arlington
if time permits.
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Jeanie
non-member comment
I wouldn't be able to keep up your pace. Sounds like you are enjoying yourselves. Thanks for keeping us posted.