Acting like a tour guide at DC

Eduardo and family, Kuen OK and I met around 7am on April 22, 2007 (Sunday) to head towards DC to get the White House Garden Tour tickets, which would be distributed at 8am on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Instead of driving all the way to DC, we tried out the route suggested by BJ since parking would be a problem at DC. We drove along I-95 south to the New Carrollton Metro Station and took the subway to DC.

Since I had taken the metro before, I had to lead them regarding which line to take and at which station to alight. After collecting the tickets from the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, we decided to go to the National Zoo by metro again. You can say that we used the metro a lot for that day where we got ourselves day passes ($6.50).

At the zoo, I saw three panda bears face to face for the first time (instead of on the tv). Surprisingly, they had brownish fur instead of white (wonder why). Most of the exhibits were empty with placards apologizing that they were under construction. Friends who had visited the zoo a few years ago commented that the placards were also there then. After covering half the attractions, we were hungry and had picnic at a resting place where I supplied macaroons, Snickers and Chocolate Chip-A-hoy cookies. Kuen OK prepared the most with sushi, noodle and cucumber kimchi.

After filling our tummies, we toured a bit more before heading back to the White House. As food was not allowed on the tour, Eduardo and Greta decided that they would wait for us with the leftover food at the Washington Monument.

There was a sea of people visiting the White House that day. However, we could only walked on the bitumen road and not even on the lawn. Needless to say, entry into any building was prohibited! At least Eduardo and Greta did not missed much since they could see the building from the fence too.

After our tour, Kuen OK and I met up at the meeting point with Eduardo and his family. Since they had not been to the Lincoln Memorial, I suggested to go in that direction. We rested on the Reflection Pool where Mathias tried to jump in. Luckily, I was holding on to him else he would be drenched. I had a good laugh because he was so spontaneous. Coming to two-year old on May 26, he would not know what is danger.

From Lincoln Memorial, we proceeded to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson Memorials along the Tidal Basin. There, I posed with the brass sculptures, waiting in-line. By the time we reached Jefferson Memorial, we were tired after so much walking and tanned from the relentless sun.

Link to my pictures on that day. Below is a portrait of a soldier engraved onto a marble wall at the Korean War Memorial.