After we finished our sandwiches, we made our way to the parade. There was a pretty great July 4th parade with about a zillion high school marching bands, a half-zillion dance troupes and a whole bunch of other attractions and oddities. It was all very wholesome. A strange favorite moment for Cas came when the spyder riders rolled by. These are three-wheeled motorcycles, and one rider had what was probably his grandson on the bike with him. The grandpa stood on the foot pegs. (Or maybe those things have floorboards?) Anyhow, at this exact spot in the parade route, he looked right- the White House was there. He looked left. The Washington Monument was there. What a spot to be! Cas just enjoyed watching that man soak it all in. I really enjoyed the sheer number of high school marching bands. It was like a study on the whole range of teenagers. We saw every kind of kid- short and tall, fat and thin, and about every ethnicity you could conjure up. There were kids who were obviously thrilled to be there and soaking it all in, while others were clearly bored with the whole ordeal and some who were visibly nervous with each step. At one point, we found ourselves standing next to the most enthusiastic band mom I’ve seen. She jumped up and down and cheered, pointing at her child and shouting her encouragement. Like I said, it was very wholesome.
When the parade wrapped up, we had a little cool-down time before our next activity, so we found a spot to duck in and enjoy some air conditioning. Since about half of the people in the DC area were in the main part of the city, we took a Metro ride to a stop just outside the city limits and went to a less-populated spot for a quick drink. It was the perfect crowd-control solution. We also employed our new favorite trick for Metro travel- if you know which way the train is coming from when you arrive at the platform, walk all the way to the space where the first or second car will arrive. The ones at the middle and end are always way more full. Also, while I am at it, if you are planning a visit and want to ride the Metro, know that standing still happens on the right side of the escalator. Lots of folks (mostly locals, I assume) walk up and down the escalators, and they do that on the left side. This concludes your DC public service announcement.
Anyhow, we had a concert to get to that necessitated more of Cas’ confident navigation of train transfers and public transportation. The US Navy Concert Band was doing a show in a beautiful park, and we had tickets. Turns out, nobody checked the tickets, but no matter- the park was reasonably full, but not too crowded. The band was extremely good, though Cas said they were more orchestral and less big band than he had expected.
We listened to them for a while. They had a version of the classic poem Casey at the Bat set to music, then a more patriotic march-like song, then a medley of Disney tunes with some very talented singers, followed by God bless America. It was a good mix.
With that wrapped up, our next event was the thing we’d both been looking forward to- watching the fireworks from a boat on the Potomac. Apparently, any company with any floating thing was selling a similar experience, so boarding was a little chaotic, but when we got on our sightseeing vessel, it was decidedly much more calm. There were tables and chairs, and while we were too far back in line to maintain our spots as up-front-people, we were seated on the starboard side, which we were told would be the correct spot for the best view. I tell you what, it was a good question to ask, because we were kind of parked so that everyone on the port side came over to join us, and while the whole boat tilted a little, it wasn’t bad. We cruised around for a while before the start of the show, watching a beautiful sunset with a heck of a view, then at exactly 9:09 pm, the fireworks started. The people who ran this operation had been playing a mix of older rock and roll songs and very patriotic country songs, but when it was showtime, we got what we all expected, patriotic marches. Lots of John Phillip Sousa. Tons of rousing music that makes you want to stand and salute, although you shouldn’t, lest you block someone else’s view.
It was, hands down, the coolest fireworks display either of us had ever seen. A few years ago, we did a fireworks cruise in Boston, and that was pretty great, but this time, we were closer to the action, and we had the Washington monument in view while the show happened. I don’t think you could ask for a better experience.
With that all wrapped up, we were still a bit hungry. We were hustling to get to the boat a little early- I didn’t know how they organized things, and I wanted a good seat. With Independence Day traffic and a bit of a bus delay, we decided to quickly split a sandwich before departure. We had a place all picked out for after the big show that was open late, and for extra fun, it was one that Cas marked on his area map. When we’re headed somewhere and we get recommendations about restaurants or attractions, my very organized husband pins those places on his Google map. This place was called Tony and Joe’s, and it was one of those map-pinned spots. We split a meal and a little bit of Prosecco before walking to a Metro station in some pretty decent weather. The humidity during this trip has been pretty intolerable, so last night’s walk, though humid by Dallas standards, was almost pleasant.
Today, we have one scheduled thing to do- a trip to the Air and Space Museum. One of our HOHO bus drivers told us that two of the Smithsonian museums are so popular that you need to go online and get timed entry tickets, and those are the Museum of African American History and Culture and the Air and Space Museum. That was a great tip, too, because we instantly got online and booked the first tickets we could get. Those are for 2 pm today. We booked them on Saturday, and today is Wednesday. Popular spot.
We’re thinking of doing a self-guided tour of the Supreme Court in the morning and hitting the line (yes, there is a line, even with timed entry tickets) for the Air and Space Museum at 1:30. I kind of want to have a hot dog from a street vendor for lunch. It feels so American, and that is the whole point of our DC-on-the-4th adventure. Because Cas is exactly who you expect him to be, he researched a little and found that the best reviewed hot dog vendor in the area is actually really close to that museum. Serendipity!
So, that’s our day today. We have a few things tomorrow and absolutely nothing on the schedule for Friday except an evening flight home. Somehow, I suspect we’ll manage to fill the day.
An update on the Washington Monument, by the way- tickets are nearly impossible to get. We were on the website 30 days out, as they promised you could get tickets that way. No dice. They release next-day tickets each day at 10 am. We have tried every morning at 10 am, sharp, and they all go long before we can refresh the page and click the options. It was closed yesterday, open today, closed tomorrow, and open Friday, so Friday is our last chance to go up to the Washington Monument observation deck. If we make it, great, but if we don’t, it’s not for lack of trying. We should know by 10:01 tomorrow morning about our desire to visit Friday. It’s frustrating but at least we saw the view from the old post office tower. That was very cool.
As for now, it’s nearly time to wake up and get moving. Things to do, you know. So here, again, is our photo album, and we’ll get back to you later with airplanes and space stuff: https://photos.app.goo.gl/i5YWxcScDLHgbJqLA
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