Sunday, October 12, 2008 – Day 3 – Washington DC
Seth and I were up at 5:30 this morning to go on a run. It was Sunday and I needed to get in my long run for the week – at least 6 miles. I had gotten directions for a 6 mile run through downtown Philadelphia but Seth didn’t think it was safe to run in the dark in that area. The turn-around point for this run was the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art a la “Rocky”. We opted, instead, to run by the Delaware River. We ran together for about 4 miles then I ran another 3.1 miles by myself for a total of 7.1 miles in about 1:10. Our Tower of Terror 13 km race was in less than 2 weeks and it was looking good for finishing in under 1:20 – my goal.
I showered and we packed up our things for luggage pick up at 7:30. We were instructed to put our luggage by the door and they would be picked up by Milca and the bellman. We went downstairs for breakfast then met everyone in the lobby at 8:45. I snapped a few pictures of the kids who had planned on a Nintendo-fest while on the bus. Almost every single child in our group had a Nintendo DS and they shared games and made plans to “link up”.
The bus ride (aka “Deluxe Motor Coach”) to Washington DC was very pleasant. Maria and Milca gave us our instructions for the trip in airplane flight attendant fashion and everyone chuckled. After a bit of technical difficulty, the movie National Treasure was played for us. The children were remarkably quiet at the back of the bus where there was a table for them to play on. We stopped at about 10 at a rest stop just after Milca handed out some sweet and savory snacks. We visited the bathroom for a “biological break”, as Milca put it, and then picked up some Starbuck’s coffee. We resumed our bus ride and finished watching National Treasure. Milca was up and down the bus frequently with a garbage bag to pick up trash.
We arrived Washington DC at just before noon and drove by Union Station where we would be having dinner later in the week. Our first stop in DC was the ESPN zone where we had lunch buffet style including 2 kinds of salad, fresh fruit, mini hamburgers, pasta, chicken strips, and dessert.
The kids were particularly excited to learn that they would each get a $10 card to play the games downstairs which were primarily, of course, sport related video games. After a few games of air hockey, basketball, and playing a few rounds of various car driving games, we gathered again in front of the ESPN zone to put away our things on the bus that we would not need for our bike ride.
6 Adventurers, including Ron and Deb, decided to remain on the motor coach for the deluxe coach tour of the monuments. We then walked down the street to the Bike and Roll store where we were each fitted with helmets and a bicycle. They had small sacs to attach to the handlebars to put personal belongings in as well as bottles of water. We posed for pictures then met our tour guide, Dan, who gave us a safety talk and then headed on our way with about 12 Adventurers in our group. We were instructed to ride single file with another Bike and Roll guide bringing up the rear.
The day was perfect for riding – sunny and warm but cool in the shade and once we started riding, the breeze felt wonderful. We rode for a short distance and stopped to look at the White House then rode around to the other side of the park and stopped for Dan to give some history about the area as well as answer questions.
We re-mounted our bikes and rode to the World War II memorial which was Dan’s favorite memorial. A beautiful fountain spouted water in the middle of this memorial and was surrounded by pillars – one for each state.
We then made our way to the Lincoln Memorial and stopped to take pictures of the Reflection Pool on the way to the bathroom. The bicycle ride was very easy but a teensy bit challenging when crossing streets, riding around pedestrians, or negotiating between poles. A couple of girls in our group wiped out on their bikes but were not really injured. Amina and I went up to see the Lincoln memorial and took time to see the inscriptions on either side of the memorial as well.
When we headed back to our group at 3:15 pm, we were told that Milca was at the ice cream cart treating everyone to a cold treat. We walked over and ran into Ron and Deb as well.
We didn’t have time to finish our cherry Italian ice treats when the group was ready to move on. Some of the Adventurers in our group requested to see the Jefferson memorial so we had to move along and get going as this monument was a bit farther away. We stopped briefly in front of the Roosevelt memorial and then biked on.
We spent a little bit of time at the Jefferson memorial then rode back to the Mall and stopped to talk about the Capitol building before riding the rest of the way to the shop. This concluded our bike tour.
We boarded our motor coach again and were taken to our hotel – the Mayflower which had been described as the second best address in DC next to the White House. The lobby of the hotel was gorgeous with chandeliers, ornate railings, gold leaf, and huge fresh flower arrangements.
The kids were a bit disappointed that there was no pool but there was a fitness center on the mezzanine level. After a slight snafu with our room keys, we finally got into our rooms and hung out for a bit unpacking and resting. Maria had given us an envelope with some pictures they had taken made into postcards. We had also been told that our group would be getting a special surprise – dinner on Disney. The kids would have an extra movie night on Tuesday night and the adults were invited to dine at the Café Promenade for dinner either on Monday or Tuesday evening compliments of ABD. At 6 pm, we met downstairs in the lobby to head out for dinner at B Smith’s at Union Station.
Along the way to the restaurant, Greg, our tour guide, pointed out many interesting historical areas, monuments, and told us a lot of historical facts. We reached Union Station and the bus parked in the underground parking lot. We walked through Union Station and out the front entrance around to B Smith’s restaurant.
There was a brief wait out in the lobby of the restaurant, then we were shown into the Cabinet Room.
We were served salad followed by our pre-ordered entrees. I had the salmon which had a maple glaze and was delicious.
The service was a bit off – they kept running out of bread, butter, and didn’t do a very great job filling water glasses and such. Milca and Maria kept having to run out to get things and check up on things. For dessert, we had bread pudding with lots of raisins – yummy.
Rhys and Daniel handed out our pins for the day before we left the restaurant and headed back to the hotel.
On our way back to the hotel, Greg again pointed out more sights and their historical significance. Once we reached the hotel, it was time for lights out immediately. Everyone was asleep in no time.
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