The day at our nation's capitol.

Tim and I had grand plans for today to be out the door early, catch the Metro, and hit at least two museums or more. We were doing good, headed out the door at 8, went to the car... or where the car was. Oh yes, we got towed. There is not very much parking at our friends' condo community, but we parked in what appeared to be a very legal spot. We were there after 7 and would be out before 9:30. You read the sign. You tell me where we went wrong. After much waiting for the tow company's manager, I hear from the man that you must have a permit to park there and that we should have gotten one from the community, or Dan and Amanda should have known we couldn't park there. Well, Dan nearly flipped when he heard that, as apparently they have inquired into the permit situation before with no concrete answers ever given. Dan was so kind to drive us to get our car and bail us out with the promise that, in the end, this will not come from his pocketbook. I believe he already has the wheels in motion on this one after a stern email he sent today.

Well, this situation was a minor setback, but we were still bound and determined to see the sights. We parked at the Metro lot in Vienna and hopped aboard for a short ride into town. We got off and made our way to the Holocaust Museum. When I was in 8th grade, my class went to Washington D.C. for a field trip. I distinctly remember the Holocaust Museum and how sobering the experience was. I think it is good to revisit the event every now and then to remember what people are capable of and so we don't ever get fooled into thinking that all is well in the world. I guess that sounds depressing, but I don't want to neglect injustice in the world, and something like the Holocaust should certainly never be forgotten or ignored. Tim had never been before and we both felt it was a lot to take in all at once. We are both glad to have gone though.

From the museum, we walked around a bit, and I gave my old college roommate Rachel a call. She is living in DC right now completing her masters in physical therapy. Rachel is always a smiling face I love to see and is a great conversationalist and listener. She picked us up and took us over to the Eastern Market. We ate across the street at a place called Marvelous Market. It was a quaint little cafe with ready-made sandwiches and salads. I was feeling brave, so we sat outside. It was a very windy day with weather in the 60's. Had it not been for the wind, I think I would have made a good choice to sit outside - oh well. We had a great time catching up, eating our sandwiches and salads, and drinking our root beers. Rachel then gave us a mini driving tour of the DC sites, then dropped us off near the Smithsonian museums. We walked through this beautiful garden at the Castle. I decided I'm going to have a garden like it at my next house:).

After the garden, we made our way back to the Metro and then back to Dan and Amanda's. Amanda had bought a turkey recently because it was a good deal and then offered to cook it up for us tonight. Well let me tell you... it was wonderful! I only get turkey twice a year, so this was a real treat. A turkey dinner is truly my favorite. We enjoyed the meal and then had some pumpkin bread from Trader Joe's and some very tasty port to accompany it. After dessert, we retired to the TV room where we watched an episode of Raising the Bar, a show they are hooked on and really is pretty good. And it stars good ol' Zach Morris - can't beat that:). An Extreme Home Makeover and The Office episode later, we have journeyed back to bed. Tomorrow we hit the road for Shenandoah National Park.

Distance to Texas: 1,410 miles