The Nation's Capital
(Part 2)

After lunch we had a full itinerary of top priorities to visit.

Our first stop:  The White House Visitor's Center
It is run by the park service and was full of information
about the White House.
Most importantly...it was nicely air conditioned.

We didn't even try to visit the White House itself.
It's a many months process full of paperwork just to apply
and then people are often turned down.

We were content with a group shot from fairly far away.
They keep moving the fence farther away from the White House
due to people who try to gain unauthorized access.

Then we turned around and took this shot.
I can only explain their expressions as ones being overcome by heat(and I doubt that it was excessively hot or humid for D.C.).

A hike across the park took us to the Washington Monument
but our destination was the bus stop.
My cousin had found this recently opened bus route by
The Circulator which had one route around The Mall

and another around The Monuments.
It was just what we needed plus was very affordable.

We rode the bus to The Capitol.
We were very thankful we were not walking
and just as thankful that we were not the ones driving in all that traffic.

Some of the group hiked around the Capitol to the Library of Congress

while a few of us chose to stay under the shade trees in The Mall

 to hit up the ice cream truck for water and ice cream.

When the rest of the group returned, shade, ice cream and cold drinks

were highly appreciated.

It was back on the bus for a trip around the memorials.
Our one stop was The Lincoln Memorial.
It was impressive and afforded grand views back to the Capitol.

We sat for awhile on the back side and looked across the Potomac River
to Arlington National Cemetery.  

Our very capable tour guides.

We made quite the group at the bus stop.

Thanks to our smart phones, we were able to look up eating establishments
near our parking garage while we rode the bus back around The Mall to a stop
fairly near to where we parked.
We finished out the day in D.C. with delicious burgers and shakes at
The Shake Shack.

Also, thanks to our phone's maps, we were able to make it back to our host's
despite a few wrong turns.
After a quick stop at KMart for some supplies that were forgotten at home,
we were soon showered and in bed.
It had been a very busy yet fulfilling day.