Veronica and I spent our morning in Washington D.C. while Lori was doing her ALA pre-conference stuff. Since nothing in DC opens before 10 am, we spent our morning touring monuments. We went to the convention center to register for the ALA vendor show (Google and DC Comics will be there); then we walked through Chinatown and passed the Spy Museum, which wasn't open. We're going back this weekend. We walked passed the sculpture garden, which also didn't open until 10, on our way to the National Mall. Veronica herded pigeons, enjoyed herself immensely walking on the gravel path on the way to the Capital, and then snapped my headphones like twigs when I let her play with them.
From there, we walked to the Washington Monument, where all the tickets for the day had already been distributed, so we just looked up at it from outside. Veronica then had a ball walking around the World War II memorial, because she loves fountains. A GW photojournalism student asked to take our picture, and then we walked along the tidal basin to the Lincoln Memorial.
An aside: there is a sidewalk, with a fence between it and the tidal basin, that goes from the WWII Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. There's also a dirt path right next to the basin. What I learned is this: the fence isn't there for people, it's there to keep the damn ducks from pooping all over the sidewalk. Because, holy frijoles, the tidal basin belongs to the ducks and their poop. I felt like I needed a passport.
The stairs at the Lincoln Memorial are scary-looking when you've got a stroller. We finally found the 'alternative access' path, which led us to the most antique elevator in the world. This elevator was installed before Thomas Edison worked out that electric light issue, because it has no lights inside. And it's loud, and jittery. Lincoln evidently didn't free anyone from claustrophobia. Inside the temple, though, it's even more gorgeous and awe-inspiring than I remember from my trip when I was in high school. Since it was now 10 am, we tried to go to the gift shop, so I could start my "Veronica in the gift shops of our nation's capital" series of photos, but there was no way to fit the stroller in the tiny room. Can you believe that the gift shop was an afterthought?
By the time we exited the temple, Veronica had fallen asleep, so we made our quiet way back to the hotel for some lunch and a rest before the second part of our day.
