Ramblings From A Full-time RVer: Summer 2013 - July 15 & 16

We drove into Washington D.C. on July 16th from Joint Base Andrews, MD (Andrews Air Force Base) about 13 miles. We were looking at the different possibilities for transportation to be able to spend some time in the city. We decided to tour the St Andrew’s Cathedral. This time of the year the parking lot was almost empty and after talking to a security person, it was also free. This is a beautiful building both inside and out.

And then since there was a shady parking spot right in front of St Matthew’s Cathedral, we spent some time here. This is a much smaller building, but no less impressive.

It was obvious from my photos that the Washington Monument was under repair while we were there.

On July 17th we were going to take the Metrorail from Andrews to DC, however at the last minute W decided we would take our chances parking. We toured the Smithsonian American History Museum. We were able to park about one block away in a Federal Building parking garage. I was interested to see the quilt exhibit, but it was already gone. Instead one of the things we saw was;the Doll’s House.

Surprised we found a parking place on the street right in front of Old Ebbitt’s Grill. According to http://www.ebbitt.com/about/history the Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington's oldest saloon, was founded in 1856 when, according to legend, innkeeper William E. Ebbitt bought a boarding house. Today, no one can pinpoint the house’s exact location, but it was most likely on the edge of present-day Chinatown.

As a boarding house, the Ebbitt guest list read like a Who's Who of American History. President McKinley is said to have lived there during his tenure in Congress, and Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Warren Harding supposedly refreshed themselves at its stand-around bar.