More Washington DC

One of the first sights of DC that I saw were the 3 spires of the Air Force Memorial...made of stainless steel and the tallest spire is 270'. One night we had dinner at an all you can eat buffet........always a hit with the bus tours and seniors! Not only was there seafood, but Chinese, and beef. The crab legs were very difficult to eat because there were not any utensils provided to crack them open. They were tasty though! Our tour guide told us to walk away with 2 plates......and we all listened. To be honest I choose mainly seafood and stayed away from the vegetables, normally I try to eat a somewhat well balanced meal...but hey, I am on vacation!

We stayed at 2 different hotels, each providing breakfast for us. The first on served us a delicious breakfast (fresh fruit, hash browns, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, danish, waffles, etc) YUMMY!!! The one we spent most of our time at had lousy food (in my opinion- and I seldom complain about the food). On our first night we had chicken, red potatoes, rolls, corn, and some noodles with hamburger stroganoff (I presume), stale rolls. We all agreed that hamburger helper would have been an improvement over what they served, it was greasy and tasteless. Every morning the bread products were dry. Breakfast consisted of only carbohydrates: breads and oatmeal or cold cereal, not even peanut butter for protein, and some apples or oranges. The person in charge of our tour complained loudly and we had eggs the 2nd morning............they were the worst thing I have ever tasted, so we went back to the oatmeal.

I was so hungry for a real egg that one day for lunch I ate the purple egg from the picked beets.

I am not sure what this building is, but I love the beautiful architecture. We saw such beautiful old and new buildings.

Doesn't it look like this would be a fun way to tour DC? We encountered rain on the way there and on the way home, but were blessed not to have any rain on the days we had to walk around

Have you ever gone on a bus trip? This was my first and I learned:

• bring a pillow


• if you are not wearing long pants you might need a small blanket (the a/c can be cold in some areas of the bus)


• dress in layers so you can add or remove


• bring snacks


• if you get carsick take Dramamine


• bring something to do


• earplugs and an eye mask might come in handy if you want to sleep


• move your feet & legs every once in a while


• be prepared to stand in line, A LOT


• you are going to get up early every day and go, go, go (most of those 'old people' can)


• you will get to see a lot of things, but not for very long


• you get to make lots of new acquaintances


• expect the unexpected-something could break down, the itinerary might change


• a prepaid cell phone acts differently than that of your friends who have a regular calling plan (mine kept telling me I wasn't authorized to call that number {my home} and to call customer service {whom I was not authorized to call either}. Thank goodness my friend let me use hers to call customer service. I was told to remove my battery and then put it back. It worked like a charm after that. Just thought you'd want to know.


• bring a map of the area you'll be driving through


• turn off your cell phone alarm or it will revert to snooze every 10 minutes for at least an hour (I finally turned it off)

Yes, I'll go on anther bus trip. The bus is cramped and driving can be boring, but the driver can take me many places that I won't get to otherwise. I had my Nook color along and finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet Nest by Stieg Larsson. It was good, I liked all 3 of the trilogy. Lisbeth (the main character is very unusual and intriguing). I read almost all of the first day. I am a quiet person (got that from hubby who never talks and didn't even ask about my trip) and can not talk constantly.

Monument photos coming up next.................