Washington DC - It's never enough

I have been to DC many times over the years, but it never seems to get old or boring.  I always see something new.

On this particular road trip my friends and I had decided this would be our first stop. We drove from New Jersey south at about 3 am to make sure we were in DC as early as possible (I'll tell you why later). I am a huge fan of Diners Drive ins and Dives, so I decided that we would start our morning by going to the Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore. I had read before that the line began quite early and that it was often a long wait. We made it there about 30 minutes before opening and found no line. We were the first ones in (it was a week day which helped) and we barely waited. We each ordered a plate of "Captain Crunch French Toast" (these orders are huge two of us could have eaten from one, a lot was left over), the sugar in the cereal caramelized and created an unexpected flavor for french toast. It was amazing to say the least.

 

We left as soon as we were done eating because the reason we wanted to make it hear so early was to get into the Holocaust Museum. The line starts super early and wraps around the building. They hand out a limited number of tickets. It was worth the wait and the line and the heat!! The museum has an amazing way of telling the story in an almost "first hand" sort of way. At the beginning  of the tour you are handed a passport. They have done an amazing job at recreating the areas where the prisoners where and their lives. At the end of the tour you can scan you passport and see if the person survived.

Across from the museum is the Washington Monument. We did not climb to the top because this is another monument where you need to wait for a ticket and they run out quite early. So we chose to see it from the bottom.

We proceeded to the Lincoln Memorial which never seizes to take my breath away. After I am at the top of the stairs, looking across the water I imagine all of the historical moments that took place at these very steps. I try to imagine how Martin Luther King felt as he gave his speech looking across the lake, and how the audience watched from the bottom. 

Once inside you are faced with the large white statue of Abraham Lincoln and numerous scriptures on the walls that tell stories of another time. Washington never seems to get old. I never pass up a chance to go back and feel the history all around me.