Adventure by Disney - Day 4 - Washington DC

Monday, October 13, 2008 (Columbus Day) – Day 4 – Washington DC

Breakfast this morning was in the Café Promenade downstairs which was already very crowded by 8 am. We were shown to our tables and jumped right in to the buffet which wasn’t quite as varied as the one at the Hyatt. I had granola with lowfat yogurt and fresh fruit. After breakfast, I went to the concierge for their recommendation regarding dinner reservations. The concierge recommended an Italian restaurant within walking distance of the hotel – Giovanni Trattu and offered to make reservations for the 6 of us.

At 8:45, our group had gathered in the lobby and we boarded our “Super Deluxe A/C Motor Coach” headed to Arlington National Cemetery. The drive was pretty short and we walked from the parking lot to the information center while Greg kept a running commentary about more monuments and sights. He also went into great detail about the relationship between Robert E Lee and George Washington and more about the person who had owned Arlington (George Washington’s step-grandson, George Washington Custis). As we entered the information center, Milca passed out carnations to each of us to place wherever we wanted. We had other tourists asking us where we had purchased our carnations.

We milled around in the info center for a while reading the information on the walls, examining the pictures, the television monitors and the replicas.

Rhys found the computer station that allowed for searches within the cemetery and entered in our last name. Interestingly, about 9 names popped up but neither Ron nor Deb recognized any of them.

Soon, Greg gathered us up at the model of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and explained how the changing of the guard ceremony would be performed.

We then headed out of the information center and boarded a tour bus which took us to the Kennedy gravesite.

Along the way, we marveled at the differences in sizes and shapes of the headstones – some were ornately designed and very large, some were obelisks, others were very small, plain grave markers. Each grave marker or head stone included the soldier’s name, rank, branch, and dates of service. If a soldier had a spouse buried with them, it was noted on the back of the grave marker. There were areas for “special” people including an area where the Supreme Court Justices were born as well as a few movie stars.

We walked from the Kennedy graves to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and arrived just before 11 am when the next guard change ceremony was to be. Gary advised us all to stay as close as possible to the right side of the Tomb where most of the interesting changing of the guard will take place. Within minutes, the inspector came out and, in a very precise and mechanical fashion, checked the new guard’s weapon thoroughly and then his uniform.

Following the changing of the guard, there were also 2 other wreath hanging ceremonies for which we stayed and watched. Milca had told us that it was “off-season” for the cemetery so guard changing was only once an hour instead of every half hour. During the summer months, the Adventurers usually watched the 10:30 am changing but we were the first group to do an 11 am changing which then also included the wreath hanging ceremonies. Apparently, we were the first group to get to see everything.

After the changing of the guard, we explored the nearby grounds and visited the USS Maine memorial as well as the memorial for the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. We left our carnations at these memorials.

Most of the group decided to walk back to the information center rather than try to squeeze on the next shuttle. Along the way, Gary pointed out the gravesites of Lee Marvin and the Brown Bomber.

After reaching the info center and taking a brief “biological break”, we boarded the bus, were given our “National Treasures” pins, and drove a very short distance to the Columbia Island Marina where we were to have lunch.

We were seated under a large white tent outside at a buffet style lunch. Across the way we could see the Pentagon. The day was perfect for a lunch outside. We dined on BBQ chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, cole slaw, and watermelon. The food was delicious and for dessert, we were offered different types of popsicles. The kids got done early with their lunch and played on the grass for a bit.

After finishing lunch, we re-boarded the motor coach and drove past the memorial at the Pentagon located on the side that the United airplane had collided. We also drove by the Navy overflow offices and hotel that the low-flying United airplane almost hit as it descended on the Pentagon. The Air Force memorial was not yet constructed or it would have certainly been hit as well. Next, we were taken to the Iwo Jima memorial which was a real sight to see – the memorial was gigantic – much larger than what I had imagined. We did our typical family pictures in front of the memorial.

We were then taken back to the Mall area and the motor coach made several stops dropping different Adventurers off at different locations. We were dropped off at the Natural History museum where we saw the Hope diamond as well as the dinosaur display but we were running short on time so we left the natural history museum, walked through the nearby sculpture garden stopping for a bit at the unusual optical illusion house and the beautiful fountain then continuing on our way past the Navy memorial and up the street to the International Spy Museum.

Deborah waited in the café while we went through the museum which was actually very interesting showcasing everything from famous spies to essential spy equipment, to bugging devices, etc. Rhys really enjoyed this museum stopping at every single display and reading every single word but we didn’t finish the last 2 areas so that the kids could browse through the museum store. Rhys bought an intruder alarm and secret spy pen while Amina bought a book.

We headed back to the hotel at about 5:30 to make our 6:30 dinner reservation. We walked to the nearby metro station and easily navigated our way back to the Mayflower hotel via the Farragut West metro station taking the red line towards Shady Grove. The fare was only $1.65 per person. We walked back to the hotel, took another bathroom break, and I checked with the concierge about our reservations which had been made at Giovanni Trattu’s just 1 ½ blocks away. It was an Italian restaurant which came highly recommended by the concierge for homemade pasta, unpretentious atmosphere with reasonably priced dinner wine. I had some of Seth’s Kobe beef carpaccio, followed by the Caprese salad, and the Osso Buco. We also had a bottle of Sangiovese wine which was delicious with the Osso Buco.

While we ate dinner, Milca and Maria also came by the restaurant to have dinner – they had been to this restaurant before and really enjoyed it. For dessert, Rhys and I shared the marinated pears with vanilla ice cream which was not nearly as good as Amina’s white truffle ice cream. We walked home and went immediately to bed after a long day.