When we were planning our road trip way back in May and June, we were wondering how we could best see the major sites in DC without having to drive and find parking or take the subway, which would be a hassle and not go to all the places we wanted to go. Shirley found several bus tours, some where we could get on, ride to a historical site, get off, spend all the time we wanted, then catch another bus (of the same tour company) and go to the next location. If the bus stopped at a location that didn't interest us we could just stay on the bus to the next stop. Tickets were not that expensive so that is how we decided to tour the City. The only problem was getting from our hotel to one of the stops on our tour bus route to catch the bus;and how to get back to the hotel. There was a subway stop several blocks away but we would have to walk to and from the station. A taxi would pick us up at our door and drop us there at the end of our day.
No brainier, we took the Taxi. The desk clerk at our hotel called a taxi for us and then asked where we were going. We told her we wanted to go to the visitor's center at the Smithsonian which is also called the "Castle." She said all cab drivers in DC new that location and would get us there with no problem.
Guess again! We got a new driver that had only driven in Arlington and was not familiar with the DC area. As we didn't have an exact street address for the Castle, our bus stop was on the corner of an intersection near the Castle, he couldn't put the location in his GPS. He took a wrong turn on the way and got us into morning traffic. When we finally made it to the Castle (30 minutes to go less than 4 miles) he did say that he would wait for us to make sure we were at the right place. We assured him we were since in planning our trip we had seen pictures of the Castle. The driver didn't charge us for the ride and was not even going to take the tip we gave him; he was so embarrassed.
We chose the Big Bus tour as their route covered all the areas we wanted to see.
The Big Bus tour buses are open top double deck buses. Some buses have a sound system with recorded tourist information available via ear phones; others have driver provided information. The buses travel designated routes (red, yellow, blue, green) and are at the designated stops about every 30 minutes (give or take a few). You just have to make sure your are on the right color route.
One of the seven buildings housing the different exhibits of the Smithsonian Museums is the visitor's center, AKA "The Castle."
Thomas Jefferson's statue in the Jefferson Memorial.
Washington Monument taken from the Jefferson Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln's statue in the Lincoln Memorial. Inscription above Lincoln's head reads, "In this Temple as in the hearts of the people for who he saved the Union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."
Vietnam War Memorial
The Vietnam Memorial Wall with the names of those who gave their lives in that war. The 58,000+ names are listed in chronological order.
We found the name of my friend and school mate John Lynn Powers on the wall.
Ford's Theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
Inside Ford's Theater on the second level. There is a stage level below this and a level above. The box to the right at the top is the one where President Lincoln sat watching the play, "Our American Cousin."
President Lincoln's theater box.
The door to Lincoln's theater box. I was standing in approximately the same spot as Booth when he shot the President who would have been sitting in the chair.
Shirley asked me if I could get closer and get a better picture. I asked her how long she wanted to stay in DC and if she would visit me in jail. We decided this was close enough. Anyway, the Obamas weren't home.
US Capitol building undergoing repair. Notice the reflection in the car window; we couldn't stop to get a better picture.
Big Bus tours start and end at Union Station. We continued our ride back to the Castle where we first began our tour. We ask the attendant at the main desk at the visitor's center about getting a taxi to go back to our hotel in Arlington. She said it would be faster to just go out on the street and hail one. So we did. I can now say I hailed a cab in Washington DC. This cab driver was a pro. He zipped through afternoon rush hour traffic and we were at our hotel in less than 15 minutes. Cost $12.00 plus tip. Well worth it.
Washington D.C. is a great place to visit. We spent less than 2 days and saw most of the things we wanted to see. If we wanted to see all there is to see, it would take months. Tomorrow, we start for Lewisburg, West Virginia.
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