What I Did Today

Today I to Washington D.C.. My Bubbe and I went to Washington on the MARC train. When we got off the train we were in Union Station. Union Station is gorgeous. The station has over 87 places to eat. We saw lots of little shops. One shop had all your small travel stuff including Germ-X. Then we went into the Main Hall and bought Old Town Trolley tour tickets. (This trolley lets you get on and off all day long!).After we bought the tickets, we headed outside to wait for the trolley. There was a HUGE line! Everyone was waiting for the same thing, to get on the trolley!!! Eventually we got on the trolley and learned some facts about Washington. Here are some facts about Washington.

1. 3 main senate offices


2. 5 primary office buildings on Independence Ave.


3. the Botanic Gardens has over 8,000 different types of flowers


4. President Garfield was the only member of the House of Representatives to become president. He is also one of four presidents who were assassinated.


5. Francis Perkins was the first female official, appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939. We saw the building named after her.


6. The Smithsonian Institution opened in 1895. There are 16 museums total in the Smithsonian and one of them, the Air and Space Museum, has an IMAX theater and something dedicated to Einstein.


7. The Museum of African Art has one story above ground and three underground.


8. The Castle Building was opened in 1859.


9. Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in 1940-1950 are the oldest and they border the Tidal Basin.


10. Three of of Lincoln's kids died before they were teenagers and one didn't.


11. The Tomb of the Unknown soldier is located in the Arlington Cemetary.


12. Potomac means "trading place" in a Native American language.


13. Alexander Graham Bell taught deaf children in Franklin School (we passed it).


14. The National Geographic has a museum in D.C.


15. Reece Witherspoon's ancestor, George Witherspoon, has a statue near Franklin School.


16. The Beatles first gig in the U.S. was in Washington. We went by the Omni Hotel where they had a whole floor.


17. Baby Ruth candy is named after President Garfield's daughter, Ruth, who was one year old when she died.


18. The National Cathedral is the second largest cathedral in the world. Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan where buried there. Just below the roof of the Cathedral there are gargoyles, that also serve as a drainage system when it rains. (When it rains, it looks like they are spitting water - or "gargoyling").


19. There are LOTS of embassies on Embassy Row. (There are also lots of Ben and Jerry's ice cream stores in Washington D.C.)


20. The highest point in Washington is the National Cathedral. That's partly because it is on a hill. Many rich people in Washington built beautiful mansions on the hill because it was cooler in the summer.


21. The cream of crab soup at Tony and Joe's (at Washington Harbor) is GREAT.


22. We went passed the Watergate (it looks like a ship). The Watergate burglars spied on the Democratic Headquarters from a Howard Johnson Hotel across from the Watergate, but now this hotel is part of George Washington University.

When we were in Union Station once more, we went to Ben and Jerry's ice cream. My Bubbe got a mango ice cream that was refreshing. I got a shake with PURE chocolate. It was soooooooooo good.
On the train back we met 3 nice people. We talked with them and had a nice conversation.
One was from Tallahassee, Florida, one of the girls was from Washington and the other from Baltimore. When we got off the train, a guy was being put in an ambulance because he passed out. Then we called our hotel and we were picked up and taken to the hotel. It was a long bur good day. Gotta Go!!!!!!!!!!! Bye