Washington, D.C. - Day 1

Since neither Grant nor myself have ever been to Washington, D.C., and because we were only a few hours drive away, we thought now would be a good time to visit before we move to the other side of the U.S.! We left this morning, after dropping Wizzo off at the vet for boarding. The drive went pretty well and was easy. You basically take the same interstate highway all the way there. I think it took us about 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

We had planned to check into our hotel in Alexandria, Virginia first (more on that later); however, since it was getting to be later in the afternoon, and because it would take us some time to ride the Metro train back into the city, we thought we would head straight for Arlington National Cemetery while we had some daylight, nice weather, and it was still open. Our thoughts? HUGE!! It is absolutely unbelievable to see how many gravesites are located there. I never knew how much space they have. According to the pamphlet we picked up, "over 320,000 servicemen and their family members rest on the 624 acres." It was very cool to be there and realize how many people have fought (and died) for our country and our freedom.

We also made it there in time to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony at The Tomb of the Unknowns. These guards are very disciplined, and it was amazing to see the detail that goes into their routine as they change. The guards change every hour or half-hour depending on time of year, and they stand there 24/7. It must be awful in the winter and summer! I took a couple of videos, but they didn't turn out very well. Bummer.

We then walked around to see other famous gravesites, including President Kennedy's and President Taft's. Oh the history and stories that lie on those grounds!

By this time, we were getting hungry and decided to head for our hotel. We are staying at The Comfort Inn Alexandria, which is not too bad. We got a pretty good rate, and it's located close to a Metro stop. When we walked in, we were surprised to see construction and renovations going on, which they never mentioned in my reservation (although I booked over the internet), but it has been fine so far. They are replacing the front desk and tile/carpet in the lobby right now. We have been pleased with our room, too...clean and sufficient for a place to sleep. When I was searching for places to stay, one of the factors was distance to the Metro and if they offered transportation to and from. Ours had a shuttle that ran bac and forth, so that is convenient. However, the clerk who checked us in also told us that they were short on a driver tonight, so we could call a cab and the hotel would reimburse us for the fare. Excellent customer service, in my opinion. :) The shuttle should be going tomorrow, and apparently, all we have to do is tell the front desk that we are ready to go to the Metro and then call when we are ready to be picked up from the station. Hopefully it works out well.

So anyways, we checked in quickly, called for our cab (that was interesting...), and took the Metro to Old Town Alexandria to explore and grab dinner. We walked up and down King Street to see all the restaurants and shops. I loved this part of town! Very old and historic, yet cute. Kinda reminded me of Oxford, only better. :) Eventually, my feet were killing me (wrong shoes!) and we settled on a restaurant called Joe Theismann's Restaurant, a kind of classy sports bar and grill. We each enjoyed our meal and then headed back toward the Metro station for our ride home, only about 5 minutes on the train. Although, let me say that we had some issues trying to figure out how to get tickets and all. I guess we're not experienced city-goers!

Tomorrow we are planning to see all of the outdoor monuments and things like that since the forecast is calling for rain on Friday and Saturday. I hope the rain holds out!