Day 3 - A Capitol Idea

We travelled from Penn Station, New York to Union Station, Washington via Amtrak, and I have to say it was a positive experience. The train was clean, comfortable and not very full, so we got a double seat each to spread out on and relax. Got to DC just after 10:30, then caught the red line to the hotel. The only problem we had is that Lisa's large suitcase is... well, it's busted, badly. One of the wheels has been broken off (rough handling by airlines?), and that's led to further damage on the base. As a result, it's no longer able to be wheeled, and we're going to have to replace it at some stage. It should be OK for the trip to New Orleans, since we don't have to take it far, but we'll have to either replace it or get it repaired in NO.

So, Washington DC.

By the time we checked in and showered and so on, it was after 12:30. We had tickets for the "trolley tour", which is one of those hop-on/hop-off things, with stops all over the city. Unfortunately, they stop running at 5:30, so we had to choose where to go to fit in as much as possible before then. We looked at the map, and decided that it was going to be monuments. Unfortunately, there was no time for any museums or anything else, but that's OK, we're more than happy with what we've done in the short time available.

We caught the trolley right near the hotel, travelled around through the north-west, including Georgetown, then back down to Pennsylvania Avenue, where we got off and started walking.

On Pennsylvania Avenue, we found this quaint little cottage thing, which was sort-of cute, so we decided to take a photo. Maybe someone can tell us what it is:

Some kind of white house. Probably nothing important.

We then spent around 3 hours wandering around and taking snapshots of various monuments, including Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, World War II, Vietnam, Korea etc. Might as well share some here, since there's not a lot else to tell.

And then there were the squirrels. These little fluffy guys are everywhere and they're disgracefully cute. The one in the second photo apparently decided that, if he made himself flat enough, he was invisible. Heh.

Finally, one of the most overdone and yet strangely hilarious (and completely juvenile) shots ever! Poor Lisa was a tiny bit embarrassed taking this shot, but come on... guys, you know you'd have done it too.

Impressive, no?

Right now, it's just after 9am on Wednesday and we're sitting in bed, counting down the time until we leave for the airport to head off to New Orleans and nursing our various injuries. Nothing major, but we're both tired and sore and just enjoying the rest.