mybigadventures.com

So today is our last proper day in Washington, we fly home tomorrow. We had some breakfast and headed out just before 10. We had decided to start at the Licoln memorial as there were a few other memorials nerby that we hadn't seen the other day. We caught the free circulator bus to Union Station and then changed to the circulator to Lincoln Memorial. We got off a stop earlier to have a look at the Martin Luther King Jnr memorial a 30 foot statue emerging from the mountains of dispair, represented as two large boulders in the background. Many of the words from his speeches and sermons are etched into the surrounding inscription wall, with the words "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" taken from his 'I have a dream' speech carved directly into the side of the statue itself.

We moved on visiting the Korean war memorial which is represented by a series of statues of soldiers wading through undergrowth. The memorial is really poingnant with each of the statues looking out in a different direction just as the troops would move in a platoon. The statues are surrounded by a polished mural wall with pictures taken from the archives of other forces that suppored the Korean war including Army, Navy Marine corps and Air Force etched into the surface. We continued on past the Lincoln memorial but not stopping this time and instead continuing to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This consisted of the names of over 58000 men that gave their lives engraved in the memorial wall. The wall is sunk into the ground rather than have a raised profile, so it's difficult to see until you reach it. 

We continued on past the reflecting pool that sits between the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument, and stopping at the WWII memorial. Dani had a paddle in the water and we sat for a while before moving on. Our last two stops of the day were at the American museum where we grabbed some lunch but didn't stay long and then at the African American museum which had some really interesting exhibits. Feeling a bit tired we headed back to the hotel for a break as we were planning to head out later for photos. We ended up going to a place between the hotel and the National Mall for tea called Matchbox - we went to another Matchbox restaurant last time we were in Washington, part of the same chain. Tea was very nice with us both having pizza and sharing cheescake for dessert. We left the restaurant and headed down to the mall to take few night photos of the Capitol Building and the Monument. Got back to the hotel quite late and packed up ready for tomorrow.  

Woke up just before we were due to land. It was getting lighter and, for us, it was still about 3:50 AM, although in local time, it was getting on for 6:30 AM. We had been woken up at a couple of points to get a drink, but we haven’t had anything else to eat, so it was a good job we had eaten beforehand. Ben watched a bit of TV and I half-watched and half-dozed. I woke up properly as we started to land. We bombed off the plane at superspeed as we haven’t put anything into the overhead locker; a few people tried to get in front of us, but we weren’t having any of it! We got off the plane, walked down the corridor and walked through a door - which turned out to be a door onto a bus! It was so weird! The door just shut and we drove away from the terminal, towards another terminal. It was like the Indiana Jones film, when they accidentally drive into a lorry which drives off! Wicked!

Made use of the facilities, as we went towards baggage reclaim, and then went to collect our stuff. We didn’t have to wait for long as our bags came off early. From there, came to a bit of a halt, as we weren’t really sure where to go. We hadn’t planned our route from the airport into DC. We had assumed that we could get a bus or something, so followed the signs for the flyer bus into DC. We went past the ticket office, which was empty - it was coming up to 7:30 AM, and the bus was due at about 7:32 AM. So we hovered outside, near other people who seemed to be waiting. A short while later, a coach turned up and the bus driver told us we had to buy tickets inside - apparently, someone should be there now -a bit irritating! So, I loaded our stuff into the coach luggage locker and Ben went into the office to buy tickets. It seemed a bit pricey at $10 each, but we didn’t have many options. After sitting stationary for a while, the woman from the ticket office came on board - to check the ticket we just bought - taking them off as again - how pointless!

Anyway, the coach got underway. It was a fair way, into the city, and we were glad we hadn’t gone for the taxi option, as it would have been expensive. We had expected to be going to one station - Rosalind, I think - but we didn’t get that far and the coach stopped instead at West Church Metro station. Possibly, this is the reduced Sunday service? Made our way into the Metro station and stood in front of the ticket machines. It was a bit like our experience in San Fran - you have to use the list to check the fare, according to your destination, and then reduce the default fee from $20 - a little bizarre! It took a couple of goes to work it out, but we got there. Made our way to the only platform and waited about for 5 minutes, then got onto a virtually empty train. I guess Sundays in DC start later!

An easy journey - only a few stops - and then we made our way out. Got stopped by the exit machines - apparently our fare was lacking! Went to the machine and we were one dollar down each. Apparently, you have to pay one dollar for each paper ticket (obligatory) and we should have added it manually - it doesn’t default. A tad ridiculous! Also, slightly awkward as we only had $20 bills and the machine only gave change up to 4 dollars. So we asked the man in the booth, who, generously, although very half-heartedly, just let us through.

We had used the free Internet at the airport to track our way to our hotel, but we had accidentally turned it off on the train, so we had to use a combination of memory and street maps to make our way to the hotel. Found it, with a bit of luck, and went to see if we could check in early. We couldn’t, unfortunately, so we left our luggage in their storage and got directions to somewhere to eat. Along ‘P’ Street (originally, the names were alphabetized), we found a Starbucks and went in, for a panini and orange juice each (about $20).

We had a few hours to kill before we could check in at about 2 PM-ish, so we thought we’d go for a wander. We went back to the hotel to get some stuff out of our bags, only to discover the shampoo had leaked in Ben’s bag. It hadn’t done too much damage, as it was outside the waterproof bag, but everything was a bit gunky in the toilet bag. Sorted ourselves out and then headed off. Walked down 14th Street towards the main sites, although we were feeling increasingly tired. It was incredibly humid, which didn’t help - hot, but damp and it just made us feel sweaty and tired. Passed in front of the White House, which looked suitably white and imposing and took some pictures, but were too tired to hang about. Decided to head to the National Aquarium, in search of air-conditioning. It cost us $10 each, which seemed a little steep. It turned out to be very steep, given the quantity of things to see. They had various tanks of fish, snakes, a couple of alligators and some turtles, but otherwise, nothing very exciting. We did take advantage of the sitting opportunities however, but, due to the low lighting and increasing levels of exhaustion, Ben nodded off on my shoulder for a few minutes. Although only about 1 PM, feeling absolutely shattered, we headed back to the hotel, squinting against the brightness of the sun, which essentially meant we were walking with our eyes closed. Not ideal. Stopped, for an air-conditioning break and a drink. We went into a CVS pharmacy and I got a gallon bottle of water and Ben got a 2L bottle of Sprite, in an effort to wake up. Sat on a bench for a few minutes and then went on.

Got to the hotel and, fortunately, they had a room available, on the 10th floor. It seemed quite a trendy-looking hotel and we went up, albeit in a slow and rather cranky lift to our room. It was very nice - bathroom to the left and the bedroom part was in an alcove, leaving the main part of the room to be a sort of sitting area. Very spacious and clean. Zonked out on the bed and slept until about 6:30 PM.

Dragged ourselves out of bed, showered and went in search of food. Ben had seen a recommendation for a place called ‘Matchbox’ down 14th Street, so we thought we’d try it. After walking fruitlessly for about 30 minutes, and having seen a few places to eat (only rather expensive hotel restaurants) we turned back.

We stopped at somewhere called Birch/Barley/Churchkey, which was still serving food upstairs in the bar. It turned out to be a place where they specialised in many different beers. Slightly baffled by the choice, we asked the barman to bring a selection of tasters to share, each containing about a third of a pint - some more like blondes, a couple of light lagers and a darker one. Some smelt lovely - like elderflower and ginger, and we both preferred different ones - which was quite handy. We had food too - Ben had a ‘brat’ burger with chips and I had chicken flatbread with fries. The fries were amazing! We were pretty pleased to have found somewhere and we went back to the hotel, still fairly shattered and turned in.

I got up to the alarm, while Ben ignored it. I went down to Starbucks to get breakfast - they were particularly busy, so I had to amend our order. We had tea and I had a yoghurt granola pot and Ben had a classic sausage sandwich. While drinking our tea, Ben had a bit of a chat with Audrey on Skype and I got ourselves organised to leave.

We headed down to check out, posting our postcards on the way, at about 11:15 AM. Checked out, paying $125 (for parking). In the garage, we had to get a valet to move the car blocking us in, and then we were off!

On the way out of LA, we stopped to get petrol at the 7-Eleven and we also got some drinks and chocolate chip cookies for the journey. About 90 minutes in, we stopped at an out-of-town shopping centre for lunch. There was a Walmart, which we went in as we wanted to compare the prices. It was quite an odd place - food seemed to be very minimal - it clearly prioritised other items, from fishing rods to TVs. We had a look at the Lego - a bit disappointed to see the Lego set we had bought for less, but nevermind. We were going to buy some more, but decided against it. Bought some other bits and then went to the in-store McDonald’s for lunch. We were served by a teenager who seemed new, and consequently the service was a little slow… Ben had a Big Mac meal and I had a bacon cheeseburger. The regular size came with large drinks by UK standards, and, it has to be said, most of the other customers were quite large... We had to wait for our number to come up to get our food - slightly unusual for ‘fast-food’! Took our food out to the car to eat as the actual McDonald’s was a bit quiet and depressing.

Got back on the road again and almost immediately got stuck in a huge traffic jam. The SatNav kept telling us the road ahead was closed and suggested a diversion that would take an additional three hours. Despite this, we persevered on the original route and stayed in the slow moving traffic for about an hour before we hit the cause of the delay. There were a number of fire engines and helicopters carrying water, that seemed to be dealing with a smouldering hill. Traffic gradually picked up speed again and we cracked on for another hour, stopping for a break at another McDonald’s before we tackled the desert stretch. It was already very hot, so we had an ice-cream each (an Oreo McFlurry) and enjoyed the air conditioning in McDonald’s.

Set off again, planning on diverting off the interstate to go up Death Valley Road for a bit, to see the ‘infinite road’ (the road that seems to go nowhere!). However, about 30 minutes on from leaving McDonald’s - having gone in the wrong direction for a junction - we slowed to a stop. We were on a dual carriageway, with no alternative route, as we were going through the Mojave Desert. We crawled for over an hour, covering about 10 miles. It was nearly 6 PM and we still had about 170 miles to go. It was quite frustrating, not to mention hot. We had to keep turning the air conditioning off to prevent overheating. But we did manage to take some fun photos of Bruggers ‘driving’ the car. Eventually, we got going. Even once we got going, cars kept weaving in and out, which kept slowing everyone down, so we didn’t get up to speed for ages. We decided against going up Death Valley as we were already much later than planned.

The final stretch seemed very long, but we finally saw the lights of Vegas emerging. Followed the signs to the car rental return, which was so easy! Remarkable, in fact. ‘Checked in’ with the car rental, as it were, got our stuff and left, with a little receipt. Got into a taxi, and $17 later we were at our hotel.

Joined the substantial queue at check-in, but didn’t have to wait too long. We were disappointed to not be staying in the pyramid itself, as it is on a first-come, first-served basis. We instead got an ‘upgrade’ to the tower; a few extra feet and a bath. Whilst checking in, we tried to reserve a pyramid room for the night after Grand Canyon, and although the receptionist put us down for it, it is not guaranteed. Headed up to the room and dumped our stuff, a little underwhelmed. We have to pay $18 a day for services - which we can’t really use, as the Internet is wired. We went downstairs to get something to eat, heading to the food court. We had chicken and chips and then had a wander around the casino. We won a few dollars on blackjack and had a drink in the bar. We were appalled to find our 2 pints of lager cost nearly $20!! A little staggered, we decided to venture out, to explore some of the Strip. We walked through to the adjoining Excalibur hotel and casino, which looks a lot like a Disney Palace. We had a go on some fruit machines and roulette with mixed success. Went to bed about 2 AM, a few dollars down, I think.