Sightseeing in and Around DC - Day One

After spending my first day visiting Moore geneoligical sites, Nelda and I ventured out on Friday to explore The National Mall via the Metro system. The Metro bus from Cherry Hill begins in the campground and took us to College Station on the Green line for 60 cents each. Having bought two Senior Fare Passes for $10 each we entered the turnstiles for the subway and were soon on our way to the Metro station behind the National Archives building. Our first visit was to the Smithonian Air & Space Museum which was impressive if a bit tedious. From there we walked over to the Capitol steps and saw an openinng ceremony for the National Crime Investigators Runathon. A military honor guard, a solo rendition of the National Anthem and a welcome by Miss America provided a captivating show. Then we made the long trek back to the National Museum of Natural History where we had lunch at the Atrium before visiting the dinosaur boneyard and tributes to evolutionary theory explaining all ancient and historical lifeforms, compete with Neanderthals, charts and graphs as needed to support the presuppositions of modern science. Upstairs the star attraction was the Hope Diamond on display in a rotating glass case. Fortunately next door was the American History museum, afterwhich we dragged our aching feet back to the Metro station for transportation back to camp. With a transfer and as seniors there was no charge for the return bus ride so our total transportation cost was $2.90 apiece including the intial fee for the bus. Not bad when gas around DC is $3.11 a gallon.