This particular morning, we took a later shuttle over to Union Station. Once there, we walked over to the Capitol Building and then back to the Library of Congress. We were hoping for the public tour, but it didn’t start until 10:30 and we were not willing to wait around that long. Still, the areas we could see were just awesome. I love the architecture of that place and the circular, glass-enclosed bookshelves made me jealous!
We took the tunnel to the Capitol and the rest of the family entered (I had everyone’s water so they wouldn’t let me in). While they were inside, I went to the courtyard area and people-watched. It rained just a little, and while others were rushing to get inside, I sat there with an upturned face enjoying the relief. Soon after, my family met up with me and we walked down Capitol Hill to the Grant Memorial. From there, we walked to the Mall area and then headed over toward the Museum of Crime and Punishment. On our way there, my daughter spied a Red Velvet Cupcake shop and just had to stop. Under normal circumstances, I would not pay over $20 for a couple of cupcakes, no matter how tasty they were! But we were on vacation, so why not?
We then walked to the Museum of Crime and Punishment, which is an interesting place. (Previous posts have discussed all the fun stuff to do there.) After walking around and looking through the gift shop, we headed out for our next destination. Again, my daughter spied something that made her want to stop. It was the International Spy Museum Store. After her purchase, we walked over to Madame Tussauds.
I had been to Madame Tussauds a couple of times before, but each time it seems there is something different. They expanded their Hall of Presidents and are now called Presidents Gallery by Madame Tussauds. My kids were game to become part of the exhibits (as you can see for yourself if you check out our Facebook page at www.scholasticatravel.com) and I got a lot of funny shots. I particularly enjoyed the Captain Jack Sparrow exhibit and that resulted in one of the cutest pictures ever!
After we were through there, we walked over to the huge Barnes and Nobles bookstore before taking the metro to Union Station to go back to the hotel. We rested up a bit and then decided to go out for dinner, taking the car this time. My daughter had found a Thai restaurant online, located near DuPont Circle, that she was interested in trying. This was a new experience for me, but I have to say, the food was delicious! It wasn’t the most inexpensive place to eat but well worth it. Then we drove back to the hotel. More swimming…then bed.
Our vacation was nearly over. One more post to go!
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