Tourists

We have settled in enough that we decided to go see the town and be tourists for the day. We took off from the apartment with Dex and Mo and headed the 10 blocks to the Capitol. We took a stroll around the Capitol grounds and checked out where we stood during the 2009 inauguration. It was strange to see the Capitol grounds so empty. It was such a contrast to the millions of people that were standing on the same grounds just 2 ½ years ago. From the Capitol, we headed down the Mall to the Washington Monument and then onto the new WWII Memorial. It was a beautiful memorial, however it quickly fell to the bottom of our list because of their ban on dogs. Next on the tour was the Lincoln Memorial.

The reflecting pond along the way to the memorial was under construction. It was disappointing because the pond always seems to tie the mall together. Apparently the concrete bottom was crumbling and needed renovation. We made the quick walk to the Vietnam memorial and found Kelly’s relative, Roger D. Partington’s name listed on the memorial. It was lunch time, so we made a quick stop at the White House and then grabbed a fantastic sandwich at Potbelly’s. While the dogs couldn’t have a sandwich, they did get an ice cream cone at McDonalds. Mo and Dex drew a crowd as they wolfed down their ice cream. As we headed back to the apartment, we passed the FBI, DOJ, Capitol (again) and the Supreme Court building. After about six hours of walking and approximately 12 miles and 47 tourist attractions, the two exhausted dogs and two exhausted humans were happy to be home.

Ben is cooking for the first time in the new apartment. He is making his famous eggplant dish. Hopefully we will get a movie and stay at the apartment this evening.