Washington DC - Day One

This morning I decided to look for a yarn shop.  So I flagged a taxi, (I love how that sounds so I'm going to say it again.) 

I flagged a taxi.  
And who knew there is a yarn shop on Capitol Hill?  Maybe Laura can go to a yarn shop after all.
Unfortunately it was 9 am and the yarn shop doesn't open on Mondays until noon.  I could have flagged another taxi, but the day was beautiful and I decided I could find my own way back to the hotel.  So I took off down Constitution Avenue and here are some of the sights I saw:

Not your typical Monday morning walk.

I met my sister for lunch and we took the metro to downtown DC and ate lunch at The Hardrock Cafe. We shared a plate of fajitas that was to die for. In fact, we have decided that we will be going there again this week. We parted ways since she had to get back to her conference. I found the Ford Theatre, although I was disappointed to discover it was closed for renovations. However, the house across the street where President Lincoln died was open. It truly amazes me how such strong emotion is evoked when I see these places where people lived and died so many years ago. Of course I never knew this man, but I felt such sadness and loss when I viewed the room he died in. A true American hero.

After that I took the blue line and went to Arlington Cemetery.

I was five years old the day President Kennedy died. I lived in Florida. And I distinctly remember it happening. I remember sitting on my grandfather's lap as we watched the funeral procession. I remember him explaining to me what the empty boot on the horse meant. I remember seeing the horse drawn caisson proceed. I remember seeing Mrs. Kennedy grieve so bravely and I clearly remember watching Caroline Kennedy because she was so close to my age and she had just lost her daddy. I remember seeing the grave at Arlington Cemetery and the vision of the eternal flame fascinated me.

Today I saw that eternal flame in person. And it was moving. So very moving.


For a moment today I was five years old again, sitting on my grandpa's lap.

Back to the hotel where I met my sister. We went to Union Station to have dinner. Union Station is where the Amtrak train is of course, so we were on the lookout for Mr. Biden because he takes the train back and forth to work everyday. We didn't find him. But if I would have seen him I would have told him he ought to consider taking the metro because those train prices - well, they ain't cheap! I figure he pays about $200 a day for transportation.

So off we went to view the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and The Vietnam Memorial.




This city. It's something else.