This day started with a quest for bicycles. We were going to get a pair of rental bikes and ride the trail that takes folks to Roosevelt Island, which is in the Potomac River. After some searching, we were able to locate a pair of eBikes to rent, and after the not-too-steep learning curve, we were off. Fun fact- you can’t ride a bike onto Roosevelt Island. You can ride one up to the entrance. Next fun fact: eBike rentals have certain spaces where you aren’t allowed to park their bikes. This company had the whole trail area leading up to Rosevelt Island marked. So our morning was dominated by a very nice technology-assisted bike ride along a nice, wooded trail. It was still very cool, but perhaps Roosevelt Island will have wait for our next visit to DC.
From there, we made our way back to the room for a moment. It is very humid in the area today- more than it has been I think the whole time we’ve been here- and that makes the air very sticky. It was so miserable that we wanted a moment in the hotel room air conditioning to regain our composure. From there, it was getting on toward lunch time, so we ventured out to the Foggy Bottom/GWU area. We found a very nice restaurant where we split an appetizer and a sandwich before moving on to the next stop in our adventure. We had scoped out the Old Post Office tower as a great place to get a view from the top. It was constructed before there were height restrictions placed on buildings in Washington DC, so its status as the third-tallest thing is pretty great for those of us who want to go up and look out. And we did- here we are with the Capitol in the background
The tower is attached to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel that occupies the old post office building. That had previously been a Trump property, but when he left town, his company sold off the remaining years of their lease to the Waldorf people.
After the clock tower (which later became a bell tower- what a useful tower!), our next mission was to get to the pedal boats in the tidal basin. We have done foot-powered boat rides before, but this one was a first. We had never pedaled through humidity that bad, then through the rain, all while surrounded by stunning, historical things. The view of the Jefferson Monument from the pedal boat was spectacular. It did start to rain a bit about 30 minutes into our prepaid hour, though, so we headed back, missing out on about fifteen minutes of pedal time. So be it. It was fun while it lasted, but Cas was more than just a little concerned, as the weather forecast said there may be lightning headed our way. Perhaps a storm is not the best time to be on a pedal boat. Fine. We got out to hoof it. We were partially wet because it was rainy, which was a good cover for how we were also very sweaty. The guy with the ice chest full of Gatorade made a few dollars off of us today, that’s for sure.
Our next stop was the Korean War Memorial. It had a wall similar in style to the Vietnam Memorial, but it also had statues of soldiers and a fountain. It kind of felt like they were trying to combine too many elements. Still, it was a very nice memorial. That was on the way to the Lincoln Monument. We had both been there before, but certainly, you need to see that when you visit, right? What I hadn’t known about the last time I was around these parts was the type-o. Or was it a chisel-o? On the right when you walk up, there is a chiseling of his second inaugural address, and the word FUTURE was originally chiseled as EUTURE. Someone had to come in and fill the bottom leg of the E with something to make it an F. Hey- we all make mistakes, right. Just when I make them, they aren’t literally carved in stone.
The monument was very full of people, and when we left, we walked away just as a very energetic young woman started a protest chant advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment. At least that’s what I think she was talking about. It was ERA, All the way! She could have been a baseball fan who thought pitchers should be judged solely on their Earned Run Average and nothing else. Either way, she was energetic.
Our final stop before we succumbed to the heat and the dampness of the air was the Vietnam War Memorial. We had both been there before, but this time, we came with the knowledge of what happens when people leave objects and artifacts at the base of the wall. One of our HOHO bus drivers yesterday told us that the National Park Service collects and catalogues all the left items at the end of each day. People leave medals, letters, trinkets and other artifacts as remembrances of the fallen soldier. I am glad these things are picked up and catalogued. I’d hate for them to get stolen or blown away.
That started us on our path back to a Metro station. There were way too many humans at the National Mall today. I think all of them flew in this weekend for the holiday. Cas and I agreed we’re both glad to have passage booked on a fireworks-watching Potomac River cruise for the fourth. Space on a boat is finite, after all.
We did swing past the Albert Einstein statue on the way to the Metro station, and Cas needed to photograph the statue, as well as the formulas on the statue’s notepad. Raise your hand if you’re surprised.
From there, we took a train back to the hotel, cleaned up a little, and headed out to a very nice dinner. It’s time to turn in early, as tomorrow will take us to Mount Vernon, and we need to get started a little more quickly than we did today.
For now, though, enjoy our many, many photos. It was another great day! https://photos.app.goo.gl/i5YWxcScDLHgbJqLA
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