if I only had a map...

Good morning! and greetings from our nation's capital!

I have lots to share with you! Let's start with Wednesday. We got to the Washington Marina around noonish. I immediately found a Starbucks and then got lost. not the bad kind of lost, just the I-know-where-I-came-from-and-how-to-get-back, I-just-want-to-find-another-way-kind-of-lost... Here's a tip for you, if you should come to DC anytime soon: NO ONE knows where the Washington Marina is. Apparently, the marina has been around forever, but because it's under a bridge and utterly useless to the natives, it doesn't exist.

Here's what happened. I left Starbucks and headed for the mall. I wandered around under the Washington Monument, then to the Smithsonian Castle.
From there, I knew there had to be a better way to get back to the Washington Marina than the way I came. so I asked. The hot dog vendor looked at me like I had 2 heads.
"Near Phillips Seafood?" I asked.
"Oh!!! yeah! just down that way... you'll find it!"
So I started "that way."
After heading "that way" for a while, I stopped and asked a cop- "Can you tell me how to get to Washington Marina?"
Blank stare.
"Phillips Seafood?" I clarified.
"Oh!! yeah! just down that hill!"
So I started walking "down that hill." People around here give crappy directions. Once I got to the top of that hill and realized you could go one of 2 ways "down that hill," I stopped a security guard outside of the Post Office Headquarters... and got a blank stare.
I'm telling you- NO ONE knows where the Washington Marina is.
But I made it back to the boat and promptly told the Capt that we should probably go to Phillip's Seafood at some point...

Yesterday, because we couldn't count on the weather, we decided to plan some indoor activities. So we headed to the Smithsonian- Natural History and Art!

I found a badger for dad:


and an otter (also for dad):





This piece is called "Electronic Superhighway" and was created by Nam June Paik. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but I'm only about as tall as, say, the border between Carolina and VA. It was huge.


and this chandelier is AWESOME! There are Barbie heads on the very top and little plush frogs holding on at the very bottom... I'd like one for Christmas, please. oh! and those are cupcake holders under the lightbulbs. :)


After the art museum, we jumped on a tour bus and got a 2-day ticket. The bus took us ALL OVER!! It was great! and by that time, it had rained, so it had cooled off significantly. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the sights! and it gave me a chance to decide on a plan for today!







I'm excited for today! The Plan: The Capitol Building, the Nat'l Cathedral, Georgetown, then The Lincoln Memorial.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading- ya'll are the best! hugs!