A Trip in Pictures, Part II (Washington, D.C.)

We started off our trip to Washington, D.C. with a one-hour train ride aboard Amtrak from Fredericksburg, VA. This was our first trip aboard a modern day passenger train. Our conductor looked, talked and acted like the conductor in "The Polar Express".





Although Leyden was at first "not fond of the train,", she discovered that it is actually a fun way to travel. Here we are on the platform in Washington, D.C. (Leyden kept telling me we were getting off at the wrong stop... we couldn't possibly be in Washington, because she couldn't see the Washington Monument. I had to explain to her - several times - that we couldn't see the Monument because we were down on the tracks, below street level.)

We took a tour bus (Tourmobile) through the city, and we could get off at whichever stops we wanted and catch another bus when we finished at that stop. We only had 6 or 7 hours in the city, so we rode by most of the sites and took pictures from the bus. Here is a shot of the Capitol.



The first site we got off to see up close was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.



I did not include my photo of the Hope Diamond, as the photo really does not do it justice. However, if you've never seen it in person, it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!


After we saw the Hope Diamond, Dad retreated outside (probably trying to get away from the throngs of loud, obnoxious schoolchildren who were EVERYWHERE) and Leyden and I went through the Butterfly Exhibit. It is much smaller than the Butterfly House at Callaway Gardens, but its small size creates an intimacy that you don't find at Callaway. Because of the close quarters, the butterflies flutter right in front of your face and sometimes land on you, as happened to Leyden:



There were many types of butterflies, and without looking at the "cheat sheet" Leyden knew most of them by name. There were some gorgeous ones, and one really big one. This one is an "owl eye" or something like that, and I thought it was cool.

Leyden and Mom and I hit the Dinosaur exhibit on our way out the door. Due to the large crowds, we walked in, took a few pictures, and left. But we saw the cool dinosaurs that I've only seen in movies!

The next stop was the Lincoln Memorial. Leyden studied American History this year in school, and the Lincoln Memorial was the one thing that she wanted to see up close. So, Mom and Leyden and I walked up all those steps to see President Lincoln up close...

Boy is he big!

We got some cool pictures of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.

Leyden's creativity never ceases...

Another site where we didn't stop was the Jefferson Memorial. I will DEFINITELY make this stop next time. My boss said it is very serene inside. It is my favorite structure because of the architecture.

After our Tourmobile tour was over, we decided that we just HAD to go to Hard Rock Cafe in Washington, D.C. (We love to visit Hard Rock Cafes... it's a sickness!) So, we took a cab from Union Station to Hard Rock, and Leyden was terrified by the whole experience. First of all, the cabbie didn't speak much English, and Leyden didn't want any of us to speak in the cab. Next, Leyden looked out the window and saw homeless people sleeping on the street. Last, the cabbie's driving is nothing like Leyden has ever experienced, except maybe on an amusement park ride. So, after we got to Hard Rock, Leyden was asking about other ways to get back to Union Station. And she was too scared to eat.

Leyden loosened up after a little bit, but she didn't want me to take any pictures of the Ford Theatre (2 doors down from Hard Rock) because it was scary for me to walk around in this strange place. I tried to explain to her the importance of the theatre and it's place in history. How can you love the Lincoln Memorial and pass up a chance to see Ford's Theatre?

Mom took our picture outside Hard Rock, while we were waiting for the Evil Cab to come take us back to Union Station.

And since Leyden didn't eat at Hard Rock, she was hungry on the train. So, we tried their cheese pizza, and it was actually very good.

Since there are already so many pictures on this post, I'll write a separate post about our tour of Arlington National Cemetery. It was a very moving experience.