i-eye Day 34:- Another memorial

This time the Jefferson Memorial, a somewhat controversial monument, not least because Jefferson owned slaves. This was taken from a pedalo on the tidal basin between Jefferson and the Washington Monument (which is NOT a memorial; the difference is very important to DC taxi drivers it seems). My knees are aghast at the exertions on the pedalo.

Last night we wandered from the Washington MONUMENT to the Lincoln Memorial and caught a spectacular sunset. I've put a shot in extras. The flight path for the airport just across the Potomac takes the planes right over the monuments/memorials and it's a tad disconcerting. Plus the planes bank sharply right before landing, I guess to avoid flying over the city, and that explains the terrible landing we had yesterday,

DC is like Las Vegas in that everything looks near enough to walk but the longer you walk toward something the further away it gets. Our walk back to the hotel, although initially amusing as we passed thousands of fireflies along the way, turned into a real slog, and all the cafes etc seem to shut early. Never in my life was I happier to see a Subway! I slept like a baby.

This morning we took the pedaloes out, and the boys unwisely went out too far; nearly killed themselves pedalling back as by this time it was outrageously hot. The sun wasn't even out.

We walked to The Smithsonian, which was a mistake - the sun came out so we kept zig-zagging across the road when we could see a small bit of shade under a tree. I swear this is the hottest I have ever been. Anyway, the Smithsonian had excellent air con, and as we walked in we saw Al Worden from Apollo 15 giving an interview in front of the Apollo 11 capsule. For an Apollo space geek like me, this was paradise. Nirvana. Ecstasy. The thing about the astronauts is that apart from a couple of them nobody recognises them so he just walked off without attracting any attention. I was too scared to approach him, just took a few pictures. We went upstairs to the Apollo exhibition, where there are photos of all the astronauts; I pointed Al out to David and said "that's the guy from downstairs" and David said "no, he's behind you". And there he was, behind me. I managed to contain myself enough to shake his hand and mutter some nonsense. Talk about beside myself!

So I calmed down enough to visit another museum, wander past The Capitol (covered in scaffolding), nearly expire from the heat again, and hail a cab back to the hotel. My arms and shoulders are fried and my face is doing a good lobster impression. All despite the factor 30.

Hotter tomorrow!

Breakfast was fruit and toast; really must try harder tomorrow.

Not sure I mentioned about it being hot. It is.