Blogs from Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 6

Oct. 15 We woke up to a little misting of rain, and unfortunately it was the best weather we would see the rest of the week. The first spot of the day was our reserved tour of the US Capitol building. We started off with a healthy breakfast of McDonalds before jumping on the subway and making our way to the east side of the National Mall. One thing we quickly realized about touring DC is that you have to be prepared and leave time for security. The US capitol doesn't allow any food, water, large backpacks, guns, knives, RPG launchers, ect ect... After queing to get through security, we were able to check our coats and check in for our tour. While waiting for our time to start, we saw a couple congressman come ... read more

We feared it would be raining all day long yet again, especially since it was drizzling when we left the house, but Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous, albeit hot, clear day in DC. As we now know we won't be living in this area for much longer, my husband and I took a day off from packing and moving preparations to explore a few places in Washington, DC that we had yet to visit, such as the National Archives. We did take a quick stroll through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, which is across the street from the Archives, so that we could enjoy the outdoor exhibit while the sun was shining, though the weather never did get wet again. Then we excitedly passed through the basement entry into the exhibit area ... read more

After the four and a half hour bus journey from New York City, we scoffed down some lunch, checked in to our excellent hostel and made our way to the White House. After taking the obligatory photo, we noticed that there were security cameras hidden amongst the low lying bushes - and there I was thinking what a lovely garden and lawn it was, but it's just a cover for the security! We resisted testing out whether they were actually watching us, deciding to walk towards the Washington Monument instead of scaling the fence. The Washington Monument is the enormous obelisk that seems to be visible from all parts of the city. Whilst the obelisks I saw in Egypt were more impressive as they are a single piece of cut stone, the Washington Monmument is still ... read more

September 25th 2009 Homesick I was in two minds about leaving North Carolina. Part of me loved the beach, the fresh air, the solitude. The rest of me was eager to be moving on and rejoining society. It didn't take long to make the transition. Just a couple hours after leaving the Outer Banks I had already arrived at my next destination, namely Virginia's Historic Triangle (Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg). When did everything get so close together? I'm used to driving for at least six hours between overnight stops... Montana this ain't! On the advice of a North Carolinian friend who is a complete history buff, I stopped in Yorktown, Va, to check out the old-for-America Grace Episcopal church. The town's historic centre is somewhat peculiar, with the buildings restored to their 17th century glory. Meaning ... read more

I was reminded by a good friend of funny video about an adventure..."its an adventure, Charlie" Anyway, I hope our evening does not end like this one. I highly doubt it will. For fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus ... read more