Monday, April 29, 2013

Maryland & D.C. - April 16th-19th

We arrived at Cherry Hill RV Park & Campground midday on April 16th. What a great park! First of all, it's the closet one to D.C., plus it has all kinds of amenities. Golf carts, camp store, swimming pools, large screen T.V. lounge with fireplace, sparkling clean bathrooms and showers (although we used our own), bus transportation from Cherry Hill to D.C and much more. Check out their website! 



Our Site-99
As usual, we got home base set up then hit the ground running. We drove into historic Georgetown, home of Georgetown University. It is in northwest Washington D.C. We did not have much time to explore as it was a much larger area than we expected! There are tons of trendy shops and restaurants tucked into the wonderful historic buildings which are interspersed with gorgeous row homes. I took a few random photos of the fantastic architecture:



We parked and walked a bit and stopped for a late lunch at Cafe La Ruche, a quaint little French restaurant on the Potomac. The Coq au Vin was delicious!





Dave checking the gps and traffic reports for our drive into Baltimore later that night for a Tampa Bay Ray's baseball game at Camden Yards Stadium. We are waiting on our food.

Cute restaurant and good service! Well, we were the only ones in there at the time but  it was like 3:30 in the afternoon.

This is called Georgetown Waterfront Park with shopping and dining on the Potomac

Watergate building on left and Kennedy Center on right. Taken from the Georgetown Waterfront Park.



Georgetown University

Inside Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University






                                              The architecture in Georgetown is stunning.
                             We shall have to come back sometime and do much more exploring.
                                                  Onward to Camden Yards Stadium!
We actually arrived early--I think that's a first for a baseball game!




Evan Longoria...all the players were wearing number 42 jerseys in honor of Jackie Robinson. Well, Ray's lost but it was fun!
We are in search of Poe's grave!

Here it is-Edgar Allen Poe's grave just down the street from Camden Yards Stadium

It was a full day....we headed back for a good night's sleep so we could be ready for a packed day of exploring in D.C.
Our first sight of the Capitol Building


Union Station--Just an FYI, park in their parking garage instead of driving all over creation!

The U.S. Capitol Building



Inside the Capitol Building we got passes to sit in the Senate Visitor Gallery while they were in Session.
Next we checked out the Smithsonian. We did  not have tons of time so we just checked out the highlights at  the Air and Space Museum and then the Natural History Museum.



























Ok, back outside for more trolly riding to points of interest. Below is Washington Monument.

Lincoln Memorial 



Jefferson Memorial

We hopped back on the trolley and took it into downtown to see where Ford's Theater was since we were going for a show the next night. We walked around town a fair bit and stopped into Old Ebbitt Grill for a light dinner in their bar area. It is just steps from the White House. Established in 1856, it was a favorite of several presidents: Grant, Cleveland, Harding and Theodore Roosevelt. it is still popular with political figures, journalists, celebrities and theater-goers.



Bellies satisfied, we headed back out and walked to the White House...well as close as we could. Security was pretty tight because of the Boston Marathon explosion just two days before. And actually the Ricin scare happened the day we arrived in D.C.! Good grief! 



I think the police car and police tape add a lovely touch to the photos, lol!





I just thought this tree was so cool with the blooms all over it!
This photo and the two below are of the Eisenhower Administration Building. It is so beautiful!
I lost count of how many columns are on this building!

The White House with a search helicopter overhead.


Washington Monument at night.
My feet were so tired and sore by this point, Dave actually hailed a cab for us that took us back to Union Station. Thank you, Sweetie! I think we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows once we were back home that night!

Thursday morning we took our time a bit...I think we slept in a little....then we headed into D.C. again and to the Capitol Building for our noon tour. It was fascinating to learn some of the history and to see all of the amazing statues and artwork inside!












John Boehner-Republican Speaker of the House



This area is called The Crypt because it was supposed to be where Washington would be buried (beneath this floor) but his family decided to bury him at his home in  Mount Vernon.
The white stone in the photo here is marks the intersection of Washington D.C.'s four quadrants.

Before leaving the Capitol Building we ate lunch at their cafeteria and of course tried the Senate Bean Soup!


We took a tour of Ford's Theater and the photo below shows the Presidential box where Lincoln was assassinated. Very Surreal!




Ford's Theater has a great museum throughout and the tour was very informative. Next we headed across the street to the house where President Lincoln was taken after being shot...and where he died the next morning.



The bed where President Lincoln passed away.






This crazy book 'column' is made up of books all pertaining to Abraham Lincoln!  It  towers to the top of the stairwell  in the house (museum) where President Lincoln passed away.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway then headed back to Ford's Theater to see 'Hello Dolly'.


What a spectacular show! A must-see!
It was quite a day! we headed back home to crash! You can maybe see why I sometimes don't get my blog posts written while on the trip! Our days are cram-packed!

We hated to leave Maryland and D.C. but we will be back. We barely scratched the surface of things to explore! Onward to Delaware!

Blessings~
Misi and Dave