WASHINGTON DC Nights of May 20 to May 29 2013

We picked up Dude after the repairs which really were well done. The fight with our insurance company was awful they would only pay for the repairs not the out of pocket expenses as we were not sold that $11 option the people we bought the policy from who despite using the companies name where just brokers, another valuable lesson learnt. We hastily got out of Kentucky and drove straight back to Washington DC.

The rear and front of the White House

Our RV Park was only 10 miles north of the capitol and had a bus stop inside so it was easy getting into town each day. Washington itself is very easy to get around especially with everything in such a small area.

Once in town we walked everywhere from the Capitol at one end of the mall to the Potomac River at the other end and the White House in between. We even drove passed the Pentagon and the CIA headquarters at Langley. The later was surrounded by heavy security so we couldn’t even see any of the buildings behind the lush forest.

The Capitol Building

We visited the impressive Smithsonian Air & Space museum one day and the Natural History museum the next along with some of the other eleven that are all along the Capitol Mall. These were fantastic containing pretty well the best of everything, from the Wright Brothers plane and Apollo 11 command module to the Hope Diamond.

We also went out to the annex near Dulles Airport which has items too large to display in town including the Space Shuttle Colombia, an Air France concord and the Enola Gay. We did a detour to the front of the CIA headquarters at Langley but with its imposing security we only got as far as the gate and couldn't see anything inside the denseley forested compound. All the Smithsonian Museums have FREE entry, what a bargain.

Space Shuttle Discovery

The inside of Library of Congress is spectacular with so much marble and we got a look inside the even more spectacular domed reading room. We toured the Capitol Bldg which was just even grander including the magnificent central domed rotunda. We even got to sit in the Senate and House or Reps chambers despite being advised we would have to speak to our senate rep to get a pass. They were probably just handing them out as neither were actually in session.

                   

               Library of Congress                                    Central Dome of the Capitol building

We also did the self guided tour of the Supreme Court and had lunch in the judges cafeteria underneath. We again got a look inside the main court and had lunch in their cafeteria as the judges were not sitting.

On a nice sunny day we walked the entire length of the 2 mile central mall to visit all the monuments and memorials. Unfortunately the Washington memorial was closed for repair but everything else was open.

                      Lincoln Memorial                                          J Edgar Hoover (FBI) building