08/12/11
38 53.38 N 78 00.85 W
We didn't want to leave the east coast without seeing the nation's capital so Don and I jumped on the greyhound bus at 6am to spend a weekend in Washington DC. We got a great hotel deal – staying at a 5 star hotel for the price of a cheap motel. Being the country's political and administrative center the city becomes practically deserted on the weekend when all the government offices are closed which makes` it the ideal time to visit as a tourist.
What an amazing place – The White House, The Mall with The Capitol (Congress) on the hill at one end, The Washington Monument in the middle, The Lincoln Memorial at the far end near the Potomac River and the Smithsonian and other museums and art galleries along the sides. Shopping was forgotten, we spent every spare moment in museums. We had great weather for our visit in fact it was quite hot walking out in the parks and it was nice to be in the cool of the museums. Of course the disadvantage of the weekend (and school summer holidays) is that the museums and the Capitol are immensely popular and get very crowded. It is great to see that entrance to all these institutions is totally free.
We killed our feet with all the walking trying to get in as much as we could in 1 weekend – of course it is not possible to do such an important city justice in such as short time but glad to achieve some of the highlights. We did not get to visit were the White House or the Pentagon - they both require advance applications - probably so they can check you out.
We though we would try a different mode of transport for the return trip – the train (AmTrack) not having used train travel in the USA before. Although more comfortable and spacious than the bus it took much longer and the condition and cleanliness of the carriages left a lot to be desired. It felt like the US train system was in a past century compared to train travel in Europe.
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