Friday (1/11)
The annual Double Nickels trip to Washington began early (5:45 a.m.) but Gretchen and I didn't break our retirement pledge since we said we will rise that early to catch a train or plane! Amtrak delivered us to DC in time to eat lunch at the Capitol City Brewery before the Helms headed to the Holocaust Museum and the rest of us to the Organization of American States Museum. The small art museum is in a building behind the OAS Headquarters and highlights artists who live in the OAS region. The piece below is literally a "swords into plow shares" conceptual piece as the shovels were made from metal gleaned in a gun collection drive.
A walk by the MLK National Mounment and the Boy Scout Memorial (who knew) ended our afternoon before joining the Helms again for dinner. Laurie asked a gentleman on the street if he could recommend a restaurant in the area. Turns out he works for Genworth in their DC government office and knows Lynchburg well! He suggested Chef Geoff's Downtown, a delectable choice, where we all thoroughly enjoyed our entrees. After dinner we headed to the Kennedy Center to see Shear Madness, a play none of our group had ever heard of but is in year 32 of a continuous run in DC (33 in Boston)! We all can see why. We laughed out loud until tears streamed from our eyes! If you have not seen this audience participation play, do see it soon!
"We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King
Saturday
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| Lincoln Cottage |
Laurie's son-in-law has an uncle who donated a carousel to the National Zoo so we wandered on a downhill jaunt according to our tour guide for an afternoon visit to the Zoo. Pandas, zebras, gazelles, seals, elephants, orangutans and a myriad of other exotic animals are all present; a wonderful free adventure for families in the DC area and visitors like us. The carousel is very beautiful with endangered animals for kids to sit on. What a nice gift!
Did I mention that the carousel was at the bottom of the hill in the Zoo. We had to ascend, yes climb back up to the entrance, to continue our downhill afternoon jaunt! A quick subway ride took us back downtown to Jaleo, a tapas restaurant for dinner. It was marveous, simply marvelous! After two very long days with lots of walking, we were all glad for an early return to our hotel, the Washington Court. Rumor has it that several people were in bed between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m.
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| Dinner at Jaleo |
Sunday
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| U.S. Capitol |
On our way to the National Mall, we heard music waffing through the air and shortly discovered the dress rehearsal for President Obama's second term inauguration was underway at the Capitol. It was a neat scene on a cool, foggy winter morning and the patriotic music was a real treat! We went to National Museum of the American Indian, a building of great architecture, housing well done exhibits on Indian cultures of the Western Hemisphere. You can even sample foods from a range of Indian cultures in Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe. Next, the Helms and Morgans headed to the Botanical Gardens while the Foot/Nero duo checked out the Air and Space Museum. A quick tour of Postal Museum completed our trip before heading to Union Station to catch the Northeast Regional back to Lynchburg.
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| National Museum of the American Indian |
Our annual trips to DC are always fun with new sights, cultural experiences, culinary delights and of course, great friends! This year a nice surprise was the Red Velvet Cupcake Shop across the street from Jaleo where we got a sweeeeet dessert after dinner. City folks do have to walk more than suburbanites; we racked up 57,300 steps during our three day adventure. We all appreciate Gary for his superb job in planning our trip each year! We all look forward to next year, especially since Gary has offered to pay for us to stay at the Willard........if he wins the lottery!
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