Virginia to DC and Back

Rainy and I got up early this morning as we had arranged to meet Jerry at 7:30, drive to the train station in downtown Fredericksburg, and catch the 7:50 VRE train into Washington DC.  Jerry works for the US Environmental Protection Agency under the Energy Star program and has an office in DC which he travels to once or twice a week.  It worked out wonderfully to have Jerry as a guide in catching the train, he told us about the different things that we could see out the train window on the 1 hour and 15 minute ride into DC.  We passed a tall Masonic Temple, passed over the Patomic River a number of times, and could even see some of the monuments in DC as our train was pulling into Union Station.  Jerry left us at Union Station, we agreed to meet back there at 5 pm to catch the 5:15 VRE train back to Fredericksburg at 5:15.

We bought two tickets to ride the Old Town Trolley, this way we could get a tour of the city while hopping on and off the trolley as we pleased.  It was 9:30 am and already sweltering outside.  The trolley was not air conditioned so se sat by an open window to catch the breeze.  The trolley took us past many of the federal buildings, the U.S. Capital, many of the Smithsonian Museums including the American Indian Museum and the Air & Space Museum.  We rode past the Smithsonian Castle and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.  From the trolley we could see the Washington Monument, The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial.

  

We got off the trolley at the Museum of Natural History.  We thought we would be able to see a few of the Smithsonian museums, but we ended up spending our entire time here.  We started in the Dinosaur Hall, moved into the Life of the Ancient Seas hall and then into the Early Life Hall.  We took a break to have hot dogs in the cafe.  Rainy ordered the State Fair Dog which was topped with BBQ pork and coleslaw.  It was excellent.  Julie had the bratwurst with sour kraut and grilled onions which had too many onions and not enough sour kraut.   After lunch we saw an IMAX film on Dinosaurs of the Patagonia, a region in Argentina which holds an abundance of dinosaur fossils.

Once we were satisfied, we went into the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals where we saw the Hope Diamond as well as other gem stones that were both mounted into beautiful settings and in their raw state, or polished yet unmounted.  We also viewed the extensive meteorite collection.  

Next we went into the Bones Hall, The Hall of Western Culture, the O. Orkin Insect Zoo, the Forensic Anthropology Hall, and the Mammal Hall.  By now it was 4:00 pm, time to catch the trolley back to Union Station.  We met up with Jerry with plenty of time to catch the 5:15 VRE train back to Fredericksburg.  It was nice to have the time on the train with Jerry, we talked the entire time finding out more about each others lives over the past 20 some years.  

Once back in Fredericksburg, we parted ways.  Rainy and I were checking into a new Inn closer to downtown.  We didn't have to drive very far to get to the Inn at the Olde Silk Mill.  It is a larger Inn with all the rooms on the second floor.  You enter through the lobby and climb a winding staircase.  The bed in our room is a very beautiful, huge, 4 poster bed.  For dinner we went to Tru Luv's American Bistro with a dining room overlooking the Rappahannock River.  For starters, we shared a very hearty bowl of French Onion Soup and a Garden Salad.  Rainy ordered the Shrimp and Sausage over Grits which was absolutely fabulous.  I ordered the July special of Fish and Chips.  The fish was battered and fried, a bit overdone and much too greasy; that was okay, I helped Rainy eat some of her dinner and went away full.  Back at the Inn, we got into our lovely 4 poster bed and immediately a slat under the bed broke and our mattress and box springs fell to the floor!  We managed to prop the bed up on the frame and gently got back into bed, trying not to move very much so that the bed wouldn't fall off the frame.  It worked and we went to sleep.