We drove ourselves to DC the last two days, but this time we took the train.  That’s a much better idea.  The roads in DC are a mess.

The Train Station

The first thing we saw when we got off the train was the US Navy Memorial.  There was a formal ceremony to lay a wreath at the memorial.  I don’t think it was President Obama that did it or there would have been more people around and more security… and I didn’t see him.

Navy Memorial

The building down the street with the columns is the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery.  We went inside to have a look.  The museum is free, as are almost all the many museums in Washington DC.  They do have security at the entrance to all the museums, so we are getting used to emptying our pockets and walking thru the scanners.  I don’t carry a purse any more or I would have had to hand it over to the security people so they can dig thru it.

George Washington

On a corner across the street from the American Art Museum & Portrait Gallery is the Spy Museum.  We did not go in the museum at this time, it is not one of the Smithsonian Museums and was not free.  We’re sticking to the free stuff as much as we can on this trip.  But we did go in the gift shop, that was pretty cool. (“Deny Everything”)

Spy Museum

And across from that is the Museum of Crime and Punishment.  Also, not one of the Smithsonian free museums, but it looks very interesting.  We’re putting both of these museums on our “to see” list once we’ve finished with the free Smithsonian ones.

Museum and Crime and Punishment

We walked past the Internal Revenue Service building and past the J Edgar Hoover FBI building and past the National Archives and past the Environmental Protection Agency building on our way to the National Museum of American History which is one of the Smithsonian museums.

National Museum of American History

1986 Dodge Caravan

Toasters!

Restaurants in the DC area are very expensive.  We went back to the Old Post Office for lunch again.  Even though it is a food court experience, the food is good and more affordable.

Old Post Office