Category Archives: District of Columbia (Washington DC)

Welcome to Washington DC (District of Columbia)

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Saturday, Sept 20 — We didn’t have to do as many miles today as we did the previous two days, but still wanted to leave early since the current would worsen as the day progressed. It was an overcast morning and a cloud mostly blocked the sunrise, so we waited to leave until 0650 so that there was enough light to see those very small crab traps. The sun did peek out briefly before being swallowed up by the clouds again.

Like yesterday, the anchor chain was very muddy and needed copious amounts of washing. The little tributary that we were in had a lot of crab traps around. We had to do a lot of swerving to avoid crab traps until we got back to the main channel of the Potomac, which was clear of traps.

All in all the trip was fine. There was 15-knots of wind, so it was ever so slightly bumpy from wind chop, but not bad. The wind was cool, and with the temperatures in the low 70s, it was a little chilly outside in the wind. We had 1.5 knots of current against us, so we were only doing about 5.5 – 6 knots at 1750 RPM.  The scenery along the shore was mostly trees. Traffic was light until we got to the suburbs of DC. Then there was a a lot of boat traffic and the ride became more uncomfortable from all the wakes. But not bad, just not exactly good.

Here were some photos as we neared DC. The first one (we believe) was Mount Vernon, which was George Washington’s home and where he was buried. Mount Vernon had its own dock. We could have anchored nearby and taken the dinghy over there, but we decided it was too much of a hassle to do today. If we really wanted to go, we could take the ferry (pictured below) from DC, take a tour bus, or stop by with Kosmos on our way back south.

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Keith’s Perspective on Baltimore and DC Museums and Memorials/Le point de vue de Keith sur les musées et les mémoriaux de Baltimore et Washington DC

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This week has been fun. On Saturday, we went to the marina pool. 

Cette semaine était amusante. Samedi nous sommes allés à la aupiscine de marina. 

On Sunday, we went to Washington DC by car just for the day. We saw a few of the monuments, and they were kind of boring. I learned that The Jefferson Monument is pretty far from the most popular monuments. We didn’t see the whole loop because dad and I were hungry and it was a long walk. After the monuments, we ate at a Shake Shack close to the marina that we’re going to stay in while we’re in DC. 

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The Wharf in Washington DC

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continued… At this point, we were all hungry. Eric checked the map app and saw there was nothing other than snack stands in close walking distance. We continued on the loop, which became muddy and overgrown.

Near where we’d parked, the walking trail had been a little uneven, indicating that the sea wall had settled. Near the George Mason Memorial, the walking trail had actually been fenced off, with construction equipment behind the fence. A sign had said that the Tidal Basin and Potomac parks were created in the 1880s as part of a land reclamation project. The sea wall had deteriorated, and they were in the process of restoring the wall. There were quite a few geese on this side.

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The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC

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continued… Next, we crossed a footbridge over to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial. We apparently were doing the loop backwards, as we entered through the exit. Eric had been before, but Christi and Keith had not. Christi had been expecting a single structure. She was not prepared for how extensive it was.

The section we entered into was called Room 4 and covered Roosevelt’s fourth term in office. It definitely wasn’t a room in the sense that it was enclosed. The “rooms” were separated by artistic sculptures. The sign said the goal was to create the feeling of a secluded garden with quiet alcoves.

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Bethesda, Stinky Dead Fish, and DC Memorials

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Friday, August 22 continued… Since it was rush hour, we decided to avoid highway traffic and take the scenic route back to Baltimore. The areas we drove through were high-end and beautiful. When we mentioned stopping for dinner, we were not far from downtown Bethesda, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC), so we decided to go there for dinner. It seemed like a good idea because the map showed a large concentration of restaurants. But when we arrived, we realized it was “the” place to be on a Friday night and was packed.

We did a lot of driving around before we found a parking spot. We didn’t write down how much the parking was, but if we recall correctly, it was about $2.50 an hour and was limited to one hour. Given the time constraints, we started jogging up and down the streets to find a place where we could get a fast meal that wasn’t fast food. We did see a parking garage and considered moving the car so we had more time for dinner, but we decided that, since it was getting late, it was probably best to just get a quick meal.

We settled on a place called Luke’s Lobster that was inside an interesting mixed use complex. We suspected that they took two blocks of old buildings, joined them, and turned what used to be the street between them into a pedestrian mall.

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