Washington

Day 60 & 61

Today we flew to Washington and our coach took us to the Museum of the American Indian for a look around and lunch.  There was a special display by the Choctaw tribe some of whom were involved in the Code Talking in the second world war. 

This is definitely the way to see the country.  Flying between towns saves so much time allowing so much more time for leisurely sightseeing.  The hotels have been really good (generally the Hilton) with breakfasts and dinners included.

From there we went to the US Capitol for an organized tour beginning with a short film, "Out of Many, One," which depicts the country's struggle to establish the world's first representative democracy and introduce the magnificent building that houses Congress.  We then visited the Crypt, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall with its statues and brilliant art work.

Day 2

We started the day with a visit to Mount Vernon the plantation home of the first President of the United States – George Washington.   It is an idyllic location overlooking the Potomac River.  We also visited his original tomb and then where he now lies in a new tomb besides Martha, the memorial to the slaves, the education centre, museum, gift shop and had lunch in the restaurant.

We then moved on to visit the White House, the Washington Monument and reflecting pool, Lincoln Memorial, Korean and Vietnam Memorials. 

The Vietnam memorial was very moving with the realistic statues and more than fifty eight thousand names of those who died on the wall. 

The Korean Memorial consists of 19 stainless steel statues of the squads on patrol. 

We had been really looking forward to this part of the trip and we weren’t disappointed.  Tomorrow will be the highlight visiting Arlington.