July 27, 2006
We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Rhode Island Avenue. We had a nice size room and I had to talk to the concierge to have them fix the thermometer. Once the room cooled down to 65, I was happy. My mom and I waited for my sister and her family to check into the hotel. After all the stuff about have both parties in each room having a AAA card, my sister was able to get the same discount rate that I received. Once we got settled in, my nephew saw that the hotel buffet for the evening was shrimp and his eyes went big. It seems he likes seafood.

So we had dinner, I had catfish, southern style with mash potato, broccoli, and an assortment of melons. After dinner and when the temps were a little cooler, we walked the six blocks to the White House. After checking out the area, we found a place to have breakfast for the next day and headed back to the hotel. Temperature: Hot, Hazy and Humid. Because of the heat, we tried our best to be at the hotel between 2 and 4pm. There was a threat of rain.

July 28, 2006
Went to pick up breakfast before heading out on our bus tour, The Old Town Trolley. My BIL and nephew didn't take the bus tour, instead going to ESPN Zone for their recreational activity. We got a shuttle that took us to the welcome center and then boarded the trolley to begin our tour. We decided we'll take the whole tour on the bus (approximately 90 minutes). Some of the sights we saw were The Capitol, The White House, The Willard Hotel, The Smithsonian museums, Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument.

We decided to get off at the Lincoln Memorial and immediately quenched our thirst with lemonade and/or ice cream. We went inside the Lincoln Memorial (my favorite tourist spot in DC) and enjoyed the many views that you can see from that vantage point. We then strolled to the Vietnam Veteran Memorial and then the Nurse monument before heading back to catch the trolley back to the welcome center.

The Welcome Center was down the block from the Ford's Theater where President Lincoln died. It was time for lunch so off we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe where we dined on homemade nachos to start, pink lemonade, pulled-pork sandwiches, blackened chicken pasta and hamburger and fries. We were too full for dessert. We took the trolley back to the White House with the idea that we would walk back to the hotel. The heat got to us so we hailed a cab in front of the Washington Hotel for the trip back to the Holiday Inn.

The kids went to the pool which was on the roof of the hotel and after the temp cooled down, we got Chinese food for dinner. Temperature: Hot, Hazy and Humid. Again, because of the heat, we tried our best to be at the hotel between 2 and 4pm

July 29, 2006
Today was the day we were going to see more of the Smithsonian museums. First stop was the National Aquarium in Washington DC. I was not impressed. They could learn some lessons from the Coney Island Aquarium. Next stop theNational Museum of American History. It will be closed for renovation in September, so many of the displays that I remembered were not there. I did get to see Julia Child's kitchen.

The kids participated in the Hands On Science Center. Then we saw the doll house, the star spangled banner and others that I can't recall. We dined at the Main Street Cafe located on the lower level. We had fish & chips, chicken fingers and other food. Again, because of the heat and caught a cab back to the hotel and got back around 2pm.

When we got back to the hotel we relaxed before our evening out with friends who live in the DC area. Again, we could have walked, but that darn hot, hazy and humid weather dictated that we catch a cab to the Legal Seafood Restaurant. We started with fried calamari, fried popcorn shrimp and shrimp cocktail. Our entree was Louisiana catfish matrimony, 1/2 pound lobster, one pound lobster, fish and chips and others I can't remember. We had dessert of bon bons, ice cream and some peanut butter-type cake. All in all, it was a good day. Temperature: Hot, Hazy and Humid.

July 30, 2006
We went out to the diner and got breakfast. Since we were already up, I called Amtrak and got an earlier train and was back home in before 1pm. Temperature: Hot, Hazy and Humid.