...And Then We Overslept!

Of course this would happen today! We woke when the alarm went off at 5:45...but fell back asleep and then it was 6:27! We all jumped up and in the most amazing feat of this trip we made it to our pick up location by 6:45. I want you all to know that Gary had a shower and I did my hair and make-up. Can't believe we did that.

We took the Grey Line bus into DC on a route I have never done before. We came through major sections of row houses. This drive was suppose to take 1 hr but in 35 minutes we were suddenly beside The Heritage Foundation and I knew we were in the city and near Union Station.

We had about an hour and a half before our tour began and planned to get our breakfast at Union Station and plan strategy. This is Taryn's first time in DC and there is so much I want to show her. One day is not enough but will have to do. Gary has never been in Union Station and it was fun to show it to him.

At 9 AM we boarded our double-decker open top tour bus. This is an on/off tour which gives the flexibility we wanted. The audio part of the tour was recorded and would have been fine but they added these comments of what sounded like a crabby old woman and that got annoying.

Our first "must see" stop was the National Archives. After all our reading we just had to see the founding documents of our Nation. It was truly emotional to look at George Washington's working draft of the U.S. Constitution with his personal notations.

It was so striking to me that there are tall pillars on each side of the U.S. Constitution and on each one is an eagle, as if proudly protecting it. I have never noticed them there before. That was very special and personal to me.

Our next stop was the White House. From there we walked a very long time to all the various monuments and memorials. It was such a beautiful day - hot but with a refreshing breeze. We are so thankful it's not humid. We also saw the Capitol, Ford Theater, Supreme Court, Arlington Cemetery, Library of Congress. There are preparations for the 4th of July celebration happening everywhere.

We ended our tour back at Union Station where we had dinner at America! and then boarded the bus back to the "resort". What an amazing day!

It just felt like a s'more nite, so after two games of miniature golf Gary started a fire and we had s'mores together. Taryn was in the mood for "when you were young" stories so Gary told about the nite their barn burned down and I told about the nite Dad found drunk indians up in our hay mow. What a way to end our day.