Somerset, PA to Washington, DC
Our stay in Somerset was very pleasant at the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites. We started early this morning and came upon a lot of fog during our travel to Washington, DC.
Here are some pictures I captured during our drive to Washington, DC
I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the scenery because of the fog. A lot of the drive was very heavily wooded area.
After about 4 hours we arrived in Washington, DC...Holy shit...driving around this District is unreal. Even Google was messing up trying to get us to the Westin Hotel. Phew...we made it and our room wasn't ready so we headed out to play golf at the E. Potomac Golf Club. They have 3 - 9 hole courses and 1 - 18 hole course. They offer so much to this community (Club Fitting, Lessons, Club Repair, Happy Hour Driving Range, Foot Golf, etc....) We played the 18 hole Blue Course. It seemed to be rundown. The fairways were ok but patched with to many hard pan areas. The greens had just been punched a week ago and were BIG holes so, it was automatic 2 putt. What cart paths they did have were dirt. When we went to unload our bags, they were covered with dust and so were we. The course nestled on an Island and surrounded by the Tidal Basin, Washington Channel and Potomac River.
After golf we stressed ourselves out getting back to our hotel. Our thought is to get to the hotel, park the car and Uber to wherever we wanted to go. We have a guided tour booked to see Washington DC at Night tonight and a 1/2 Day Guided Tour tomorrow. I decided to put these two days together as some of the pictures were better at night or day. The night tour was amazing. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable with the history of DC I wish I could say that about our 1/2 day Tour guide. He seemed to always being worried about staying on time. He would repeat how important it was to staying on time. It was getting old!!!! I felt like I was on a school bus tour. Our day tour did cover a lot of what we already saw on our night tour and then some. The tour of the Capitol Building was great but we felt the company needs to allow time for a visit to the Gift Shop. We were both disappointed in not being able to do this.
We did think both trips were worth our visit to Washington DC and we would recommend them if you have never been here.
World War II Memorial
Top Left: Archives of the United States of America
Top Center: Organization of American States Top Right: State Capitol
Center Left: The U.S Treasury, Center: Red Cross,
Center Right: EEOB - Eisenhower Executive Office Building,
Bottom: "You Guess"
Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
Johnny served in Vietnam in the 5th Special Forces Group and his headquarters was located in Saigon (Mekong Delta) area. One of his Team Medics (Frank C. Parrish) was sent to a camp because they needed personnel. He only had one month to go before this new assignment. Being sent to this camp which had a high fatality was like being given a death sentence and he knew it. Unfortunately, he did not make it back and was killed. It was very emotional for Johnny to talk about this but, glad he shared this emotional story with me. He was listed as MIA and then years later listed as KIA.
Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial
MLK, Jr a Baptist minister and social activist who led the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1950's. King is remembered for his non-violent protests against segregation.
and the "I have a Dream" speech
(The "I have a dream" inscription is eighteen steps from the top landing of the Lincoln Memorial). The inscription marks the spot where he stood to give this speech in 1963.
A quote from his "I HAVE A DREAM" speech reads: "Out of the Mountain of Despair a Stone of Hope". Meaning: The passage you see through the "Mountain of Despair" represents the "Stone of Hope" which is the memorial of his statue. In this statue, rolled up in his left hand is the speech.
Washington Monument can be seen from just about anywhere in the DC area. This monument was made to memorialize George Washington. It's 555 feet tall and no building in Washington DC is allowed to be taller. The original elevator ride to the top takes 20 minutes. Only men were allowed in the elevator as it was thought to being unsafe. Women & Children had to climb all 897 stairs. The monument elevator has been out of commission since 2016. Unsure if it will ever operate again.
The presidential picture I show is Abraham Lincoln. I put this in the collage because located on the western end of the National Mall, across from the "Reflecting Pool" and "Washington Monument".
Famous Houses in DC
We ended our tour with a cruise on the Potomac Water Taxi down the Tidal Basin, Washington Channel and Potomac River. This was a great way to wind down after our DC day tour.
(Turn up your computer volume)
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