What an awesome day! We got up early, had our breakfast (cereal and coffee) and then left at around 8:30 AM. The drive today was from Williamsburg, Virginia to Washington, DC – about 150 miles. I was a little afraid of traffic but the road was clear and, other than a few short construction slow downs, it went fast and only took 2-1/2 hours. The weather concerned us a little at first as it was raining, but by the time we got into DC, the skies were blue and the temperature was in the 60’s.
Last night I had gone on line (spothere) and gotten a parking spot for $12.00 for the day. Parking in Washington, DC is quite expensive (something like $40.00 for the day). We found the parking lot (Patriot’s Plaza), parked, and walked the almost mile to the Library of Congress (close to the Capitol) – after stopping for a quick bite and potty break. We had gone on line a few days earlier and gotten a General tour at the Capitol for 2:40 PM but wanted to get there earlier and try to see the Library of Congress.
We went inside and asked about a guided tour and were told one started in about 15 minutes. We walked around and looked on in awe at all the beauty around.
After a few minutes we went downstairs and waited for the tour to start. At first there was a short informative video, then our tour guide, Ed, took us around. What an absolutely stunning building. Ed gave us so much information and Michael and I loved it all. We have been to Washington, DC many times but have never taken a tour. So glad we decided to this time. We got so much history and fun facts. Ed even decided to go off the regular tour and took us into another part that showed Jefferson’s library, with some of his actual books. LOVED IT!
When the tour was over we walked through the tunnel from the Library of Congress to the Capitol, through security, and then to the tour station.
We walked up and the guy asked if we wanted to take an earlier tour, to which we said YES! We immediately went to a large stadium to watch a short history of the Capitol, and then were broken up into groups.
Our tour guide was Scottish and was great! We got to walk into the assembly room, walk past Speaker Ryan’s office, go into the rotunda, and just learn a whole bunch. Lovely building but our favorite is still the Library of Congress.
We started walking back to the garage where our car was parked, but along the way we got to see some more lovely statues, another reflecting type pond near the Capitol, and then we walked into the United States Botanical Garden at Bartholdi Park. So beautiful. Would be fun to go there on a hot day and just sit and read.
We found the garage, got the car, and headed out to Annapolis. We were a little concerned about the traffic but it wasn’t bad at all. We got to see some beautiful areas of Washington, DC. We think it was Georgetown. Lovely red brick homes stacked side by side.
We got into Annapolis and were hungry. We found our “home” for the next two nights, Crown Plaza, and noticed that there were several restaurants nearby from which to choose our dinner. We finally decided on Red Lobster (love their rolls). We both got the four course dinner, and both of us could not eat it all. We ate before we checked in.
We are now full to the gunnels and in our lovely room (Priceline for about $70.00 per night). That was our totally awesome day. Hope yours was great!