22/9/15 : Washington DC

We landed back in the US of A on Saturday 19th and have been exploring the sights of the city mostly on foot. Several miles later, we have visited various memorials, the Smithsonian Museums, The Library of Congress, The Capitol, The White House (from the bottom of the garden) and the National Archives. Probably the highlight for me was seeing the actual Declaration of Independence, even if it was mostly illegible!  The Air and Space Museum came a close second, whilst Debra enjoyed seeing the incredible jewels in the Natural History Museum, including the actual Hope Diamond.

We've both been astounded at the sheer size (and cleanliness) of the buildings, not to mention the quality of the exhibits.  The interior of the Library of Congress was amazing - beautiful paintings, mosaics and sculptures.

We've been staying in a really nice boutique hotel near Dupont Circle (the embassy region but a real neighbourhood with a great farmers market on Sunday morning) which has been very convenient with a Metro station within a two minute walk.  Whilst the weather hasn't been as warm as we'd expected, and it even rained quite heavily last night, it's been ideal sight-seeing weather.

Later today we're catching the train to Williamsburg where we'll stay for 3 nights to explore this first official European settlement, together with neighbouring Jamestown.  We also plan on visiting the Shenandoah Valley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Friday is splash-in day and Tumi will be put back in the water at 7:30 am. An early start for us if we are to be there in time for the launch. All for now ....