Wednesday, September 29, 2010 – Washington Channel, Washington, DC

According to the weather report, we thought we had better take advantage of this day for any sightseeing we wanted to do. It sounded like the wind and rain was going to settle in tonight and not let go for several days. Jim and Deb called earlier in the morning and offered their bicycles if we wanted to use them for our tour and also asked if we would like to meet for happy hour tonight. We declined the bicycle offer but said we would try to get back by 5 pm in time for cocktails.
 
We came to shore around noon and walked over to the Fish Market where several vendors had their fish, crabs, oysters, etc., on ice and nicely displayed. One vendor, Jimmie, was giving out free samples of cream of crab soup, strawberry surprise dessert and Philly sandwiches. We probably could have stood there long enough to get our fill of free samples, but we ended up getting two small bowls of the crab soup and took it with us over to a nearby park where we could sit and view the Jefferson monument. We also picked up some pre-packaged chocolate chip cookies which Gale shared with a very healthy looking and very bold mallard.
 
 
 
 
 
 
After our lunch, we walked over to the Washington Monument and received a ticket to go to the top. Gale is not too keen on heights, but it was actually his idea to make the trip! We had a grand view of the White House, the Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial and all the others. After our trip to the top, we wandered around the Mall and visited several of the buildings and monuments. It was a drizzly day to be sightseeing, but not so bad to keep the tourists away.
  

We were back at the marina right at 5 pm and met Jim and Deb at Phillips, a restaurant right next door to the marina. We enjoyed catching up with them as we shared some appetizers and drank some wine.