Washington DC - Day 1

Eric and I were in Washington DC May 27 - 31. Unlike our usual rushing around to make our flight, we got to KCI with time to spare. Wow!! We arrived in DC around 3:00 Wednesday afternoon. We took a cab to our hotel, located near Dupont Circle. I was starving since we hadn't had lunch yet, so after we got checked in we wandered around to find a place to eat. We came upon a bookstore that had a table set up outside with piles of of cool, old hardcover books for sale. We picked out some to buy, but decided we would come back later since we didn't want to have to take them back to the hotel or carry them around. So we set back out to find some food. After much walking around and a stop at Dupont Circle, we chose Eli's Restaurant, a New York Style deli. We made the wrong decision. Our sandwiches were not very good and also were over-priced.
Following our late lunch, we headed towards the Lincoln Memorial. Even though by the end of the day my feet were tired, and Eric's were blistered, I was happy we walked. We got to see several parks and neat architecture that we might otherwise have missed. The Lincoln Memorial was amazing. The statue of Lincoln was remarkable. On the walls to the sides of the statue were Lincoln's famous speeches. I enjoyed experiencing first-hand the grandeur I had seen on movies. The only thing that damped our experience were the throngs of tour groups full of annoying teenagers. We sat on the steps in front of the memorial for a while and took in the view. From the Lincoln Memorial we walked along the reflecting pool towards the Washington Monument. We stopped several times so I could watch the ducks and take pictures of them. I wished that I had something so I could feed them. Between the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument was the the WWII Memorial. The grassy area surrounding the Washington Monument was full of people playing co-ed softball. Being encircled by the monuments and White House, it looked like a cool place to play. We took a break and sat on the benches facing the monument for a few minutes before heading over to get a view of the White House. I was surprised to find out how far back the White House sat from the surrounding fence. When I had seen it on TV, it never seemed that far. By that time, it was getting late and we were ready to head back to clean up for dinner and drinks. On the walk back to the hotel we walked through the George Washington University area. I could not believe the number of blocks the college and housing spanned. That night we went to dinner a few blocks from the hotel at The Front Page. The menu was full of tasty choices, but we both decided on sandwiches. I had a French Dip and Eric had the Bully Cheese Steak. Both were outstanding. Before heading back to our hotel to crash, we had a few beers.