Sat 4 August – 14157 steps
Song: Lawyers in Love by Jackson Brown
Our first mission was to fix David’s bike. We found the closest cycle shop with the highest rating on Google maps and set off. This involves packing up the RV and driving in traffic, finding parking that is large enough, in other words it is not a simple task. Finally we got there, but they did not have the correct tyre. So I phone the next shop on the list. I had to speak because David often battles to understand the accent. The first couple of shops I tried would have to order them and then finally we found a Trek shop, who were quite amazed that I thought they might not have the tyre. So we set off to Rockville to drop off the bike. Driving on the highway, you come around the bend and in front of you is this vision of the largest temple I have ever seen. Then it disappears. I googled it and found out that it was The Washington D.C. Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in Kensington, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. Absolutely awesome! When we got there, they had only 1 of the required 29inch tubeless tyre in stock. Luckily it was a Maxus that is David’s favorite tyre.
We returned to the campsite and took the Metro to Washington. We did the usual hop on hop off tour. I really liked the wavy stone building which is the Museum of Native American History, the Mountain of Hope for Martin Luther King and the art outside the Holocaust museum which is a broken Swasticker and an overturned schoolroom portraying the disruption to so many children lives. I was not brave enough to go to that museum itself.
A ticket to Madame Tussards was included in the ticket for the bus. The figures at this venue were far better than the ones in San Fransisco. More political, but still fun.
We also had a ticket for a night tour. Well, it started at 7:30pm, which is theoretically still day and thus includes a sunset. We had such a good guide, no sun baking us to a frazzle and no traffic. It was a wonderful opportunity for photos and I fully recommend this over any daytime tour. I think my favorite was the Korean war memorial, with steel soldiers and a granite wall with faces. The statue next to the Vietnam wall was also awesome, but I could not face all the names on the wall. Such a waste of life and for what?
Chuckle of the day: Einstein’s statue has a shiny nose because apparently people believe that if they rub the nose, some of his wisdom will be transferred to them because, according to our tour guide, easiest way to get to the brain is by picking the nose.
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What I learnt: There are many so museums in Washington DC you cannot hope to see them all in a few days. We decided to spend an extra night, because we had only skimmed the surface.
Also, if you are looking for something specific, phone first!
Kim's journey 