Thursday in D.C.

Annie and I are feeling like D.C. pros. The Metro, busses, shuttles, Express...we've got it all down. I'm not so impressed with the politics here, but they sure have figured out their public transportation. I guess that is one positive thing.

We went to Mt. Vernon today. It was a beautiful ride there. The old homes along the river were quite impressive. It is an interesting thing to stand wherethe first President stood. The grounds are gorgeous, very well kept.

We met a friend of Annie's for lunch. Then we were off to sightsee again. We really didn't have much time. The Smithsonian Museums all close at 5:30! But we did see our first D.C. Rally and a protest, chatted with the Secret Service, saw some important Afghan or Pakistani officer, and watched as many "important" people flooded a hotel amid hordes of m

ore Secret Service. It was all very entertaining. Oh, and we walked by the White House.

This is the most amazing escalator. It has to be more than five stories high. What on earth if you tripped. Yikes.

Went back to Georgetown for the evening. Wandered around, got a bite to eat and headed back, only to miss the train that would get us back to the airport in time for the shuttle to the hotel. We ended up taking a taxi from the airport - $23 dollars later, we were home from another educational day.