This trip started when Linda saw a program on the tube about the new World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. She mentioned it to her mother, who said she'd like to see the memorial. Lil worked for the Navy Department in DC during the war. Jim's mother, Marion, was also interested in visiting Charles and Amy and seeing DC again.
Labor Day seemed like a good time to go, thereby maximizing the crowds we could expect. We elected to fly to Baltimore and stay in Annapolis.That meant that we had to plan some way to get from Maryland into the District. As Lil was not able to hike from the Metro station, we were looking at driving into the city and trying to find some place to park. Linda and Marion had the same idea independently: Hire a car and driver for the day. So, Jim got on the web and discovered there were many limo services prepared to handle the day trip, especially as Congress was not in session and there were tons of idle limos. Charles thought that was a bit over the line; he's a bit more egalitarian than we. Again, Linda and Marion had the exact same reaction. (This is a bit scary, actually.) "Fortunately," they agreed, "he's not in charge of making the arrangements."
So, ensconced in a stretch limo that easily held all six of us, we toured the memorials on the Mall. First, we went to the WWII Memorial, then walked down to the Korean War Memorial. Our driver met us at the driveway for the Lincoln Memorial. We loaded up while a gaggle of tourists stared and took photos and videos of us, no doubt sure they could identify the celebrities later.
For lunch, we met cousin Sandy Fowler and two generations of his offspring for lunch in Virginia. Our Maryland driver was unfamiliar with the other side of the District and the directions were a bit incomplete. It turned out that we saw our exit as we went past it, with a concrete barrier to discourage any thoughts of moving over quickly. After that oops, we spent 20 minutes or so getting turned around and heading back the other way. Of course, the directions assumed we were going the other way, so...you get the idea. We finally arrived with the help of some quick cell-phone communication for a delicious lunch.
After lunch, we spent some time wandering through the FDR memorial, which neither grandmother had seen, then a quick swing past the site of the boarding house Lil lived in during the War, a short tour of Charles's office at the Carnegie Institute before heading back to Maryland.
Sunday, we toured Annapolis, with part of the afternoon devoted to a ride on Segways, as well as a boat tour of the harbor to see the Naval Academy from the proper vantage point.
Charles and Amy have abandoned the Cold Coast for the more mellifluous climate of California, as explained in their report, so this is probably our last trip to DC until we can go to the inauguration of someone without a baseball league named for him.
Here are some photos of Annapolis and DC.
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