Annapolis and Washington DC

Elona Typing

Our trip to Washington DC was an easy drive – we stopped in at a lovely little town called Annapolis – it is a port town with a Naval Cadets Academy: so lots of two year olds walking around in lovely uniforms, ok ok I know they’re not two but my god they look young!! We shared a fabulous dinner – I ordered Snow Crab which I had never experienced before and managed to make a huge mess of myself and my sister Michele will be very disappointed that I don’t have her prowess of navigating my way round a crab and it’s legs to ensure every bit of meat is eaten!! Meg’s enjoyed her burger and we then spent the night at a hotel with the plan to head to DC in the morning, as it was late.

Getting up in the morning, we managed well – I know shocking!!! We are definitely getting better at the driving on the other side of the road stuff too. We did however have great difficulty in finding our hotel in DC – this almost took as long as it did to drive from Annapolis – but hey we eventually found it. Hhhhhmmm not the classiest joint, in fact there were 2 pimped up individuals; one with a pink fur and the other a kind of yellowish fur at the check in– too late we had already paid the deposit – oh well let’s do it!!

The room was very nice really – clean enough lets say. We decided to head off walking into town hhhhmmmm again. If anyone has seen the TV series The Wire – yeah like that. We decided on this very walk to ensure we walk home in daylight or catch a cab!! Makes for an exciting walk really!

Once we found Union Station and the following Site Seeing bus we went on a two hour long tour around DC which was a great way to get our bearings and work out the places we wanted to explore in more depth. Some fabulous sites: Capitol Hill, The White House, Galleries, Georgetown, George Washington’s obelisk – it’s big! And many other places like the Spy Museum – very cool, the FBI and the big favourite the Smithsonian (we just love Bones!!) oh and the narrowest house in the USA apparently! – it was 19 feet wide! It didn’t even look that – that and it was pink – see photo.

We decided the next day to see the art gallery – the Dutch Galleries mainly to see what I call REAL art as MOMA in New York was a little disappointing as you probably guessed from our comments from New York post. This gallery was absolutely stunning – we thoroughly enjoyed the audio tour and time just flew and we found ourselves running out of time and starving!!! We had a wonderful lunch in what we first thought was an Irish Pub (they are everywhere!!!) but it turned out to be an American pub called Clydes and was fabulous. We got on a bus to head back to union station due to the time just flying by.

DC although cleaner than New York has even more homeless and they are a little tricky hence more money spent – I need to get better at walking away. Oh on our last afternoon both Megs and I were propositioned for sex. A nice young man – mid twenties, black, not bad looking but a little offended when we declined!!! Very funny and a little bit scarey – we caught a cab back to the hotel!!!

We woke up the next morning to ice on the car and a big drop in temperature. Welcome back winter and off we go to hhhmmmm I’m not sure whether we actually decided at this point where we were going to stop – aaahhhh freedom!

Annapolis

The road trip begins

Leaving Manhattan and heading to New Jersey

Brooklyn Bridge

Goodbye New York State - Hello Delaware

Annapolis looks like a nice place to stop for the night

Cadets from the Academy out and about for Presidents Weekend

Elona with the Snow Crabs

Annapolis is a very pretty town

and very busy 

Fudge shop already preparing for Easter display

Main Street Annapolis

Local Gallery Window

Like all good seaside towns - you need your own Yacht Company

Washington DC

Gwen (Miss GPS) lead us to this address initially - Sorry Gwen we think you are lost.

Gwen now completely befuddled, we are trying to navigate from a map in the Lonely Planet.

Using all our resources, we use the camera zoom to read street signs.

Washington DC neighbourhoods (we did stay in a dodgy area)

The bell at Union Station - short walk from Dodgy accommodation

Columbus in front of Union Station

Capital Hill

Elona on double deck tour bus

This is the other tour company - our bus was better!!

View of Capital Hill from the bus

Some man on this tour told us that if the horses hooves were all on the 

foundation then the rider died of natural causes. If the horse has one hoof raised then he was

injured in battle, if two hooves are raised then he died in battle. We thought this was pretty

darn clever UNTIL we saw an Andrew Jackson Statue with two hooves raised and for those

of you who don't know your American Presidents - he was one - the 7th in fact and he died of natural causes at his home; the Hermitage in Tennessee - stupid man!!!! Not the President - he was quite nice in fact but the silly man on the bus is  just stupid!!

Portraits Gallery

Hhhhmmmm can't remember!! Anyone?

There are bad drivers wherever you go!!

Hah - the IRS!!!

this their building

This is another building - not theirs but pretty none the less.

National Archives

Ok just remembered not the name but the bells in this building are the same as the

bells in Westminster Abbey - well I remembered something!

China Town

Art Gallery - Dutch Galleries

Madame Tassauds

Thats the FBI - that's where Seeley Booth works!!

This is George's Monument - he apparently has the biggest one - but it was actually unfinished

for a number of years and then finished with different bricks - so you can actually see the difference... closer to the base.

This is the white house which we chose not to get out of the bus to see

but cameras and zoom are a wonderful thing!

Most of the time!

Nurses Hospital - we think training centre - not sure though.

This is the first green grass we had seen in such a long time!!!!

It's at the back of  the Washington National Cathedral

Gorgeous building

This is one of four that lead to the bridge over the Virginia border towards Arlington 

Memorial park.

Arlington

Opposite the White House - nice area really

Ok this is where Lincoln sits or for us hides because we didn't get a view from the bus

and ran out of time the following day to go back and see it.

Jefferson Memorial

Smithsonian - well some of

George again

Better shot of Capitol Hill

Ah this is from the Dutch galleries

We see and smell flowers for the first time in a very long time.

This is one of the most beautiful galleries!

Look.. real paintings !

Museum

Back to the art gallery - again lovely

Union Station on the inside

The bell outside Union Station and Megs

There were about 12 of these outside Union Station- they are K9 Vehicles

Lots of police dogs at the station!

This is that bloody building I can't remember the name of that has those bells.

Us on bus!!

Lincoln Memorial

Aaahhh Art!!

Even the students of the masters like Rembrandt can paint oh so 

much better than those in MoMA.

Rembrandt himself

We thought we had found yet another Irish Pub but surprise surprise this was

a Yanky one! Clydes.

They are located in China Town so has a combination of both cultures; interesting.

Spy City Cafe attached to the museum.

The lovely boy who propositioned us at Union Station - Bless Him!