After a very somber walk back to the metro we rode the metro into Smithsonian Station and walked along the edge of the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial. It was a beautiful day, not too cold and no rain. Next trip we will rent a paddle boat for a hour or two and go out on the Basin. We missed the Cherry Blossoms by just two weeks, maybe next time. The walk up the memorial was nice, it was not nearly as crowded as the Lincoln Memorial.
We stopped into the Gift Shop at the Memorial and got Joey a National Park Service Passport book. He can get a date stamp from each National Park he visits. A very neat memento, if you ask me. The memorial to the Third President and author of our Declaration of Independence was very fitting. I'd like to think President Jefferson would enjoy our monument to not just him but to the ideals he represented.
Our next destination was the National Aquarium, although quite by accident. One note, the National Aquarium is not owned by the National Park Service. It does charge admission, 9.95 for adults and 4.95 for children 8-12. Just a though for those expecting a free museum. It was fun but I'm not really sure it was worth the nearly $15 we paid to get in. Surprisingly the National Aquarium had the most detailed bag check of any of the local attractions we have visited. This may have to do with it sharing space with the Department of Commerce...
We did have to say hello to Patrick Star, Nemo and Dory while we where there. I captured the Clown fish quite by accident as it came around. One thing that bothered me about the Aquarium was not the Aquarium or it's exhibits but the callous disregard of visitors towards the fish, amphibians and reptiles. Many people, old and young were tapping on the glass and using flash when signs nearby by or directly on the tank asked them not to. A frog looking "diffent" from what you may be accustomed to gives you absolutely no right to scare the poor creature. I told those people so and apparently my winning smile and generally pleasant demeanor was not enough to get them to calmly see the error of their ways. An elderly woman actually went to the counter and told on me. The look on her face was priceless when the attendant to her we were right and that if she continued to tap on the glass she could kindly leave the exhibit. I think Joey learned a valuable lesson, what he gets from it, only time will tell. But I can assure you, Joey did not ever tap on the glass.
Our next stop was the White House. It was literally just around the corner and west two blocks. The walk was pleasant. We stopped at the General Sherman Monument along the way.
The entire time I was taking these photos I had the feeling General Sherman was watching us.
After a few minutes of walking we made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We got one good picture as close as common folk like us can get to the White House. Lots of people pushing and jostling. My suggestion is that you take really nice photos from the Washington Monument and walk past the White House so you can say you did it. I'll go ahead and repost a picture from yesterday also, it was taken from the Washington Monument.
After working our way to through the seething throngs we headed toward the Federal Triangle Metro and back to our hotel. Today was not quite as hard as yesterday. Tomorrow Joey and I are going to visit the National Zoo and finally the American History Museum, we'll play the rest by ear. Regimenting things on a trip like this tends to bring disappointment. Besides, we have to have stuff to do on our next trip. Here are a few random pictures from so far.
Night all, we'll be back at it tomorrow. -Mike and Joey
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