mini vacation - part two

On our second day in Washington DC, we booked a hop on/ hop off trolley. First, we just rode the entire route to listen to the tour guide narration and decide which stops to "hop off" at.  The trolleys run about every half hour, so you can "hop on" one when you are finished at each attraction.

We got off at the National Archives building. Inside we saw the real and original Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and other original important documents. They are on display behind glass in a low light, monstrous room, watched over by guards.

Here is the United States Capitol building. Unfortunately the visitor's center was closed because it was Sunday, so we didn't go inside. 

Nearby was the National Botanical Gardens. Free admittance and the only place that we didn't have to pass through a security checkpoint and metal detectors to see.

It wasn't real big, and it was a nice break from the museums and monuments.

It was partly under a glass roof...

...and partly outside.

Back on the trolley, we passed by the Smithsonian "Castle". This is where their offices are now. Such a pretty building in contrast to all the huge marble and granite structures.

And we rode past many of the other monuments that we saw on the evening tour last night.

We would have liked to have visited another Smithsonian museum, and we had enough time, but not enough energy, and so we got off the trolley at the stop closest to our hotel.

A little later, we walked about a block from our hotel and had dinner at Joe's Seafood and Steak.

It turned out to be fine dining and we were dressed in more casual clothing, but they didn't mind.

They weren't crowded yet anyway.

Look at that cute little fork on the left. It's for crab claws, which we didn't order, so they removed it. They had a really nice bread basket. Four different kinds of rolls in there.

And here is what we were looking forward to...nice Filet Mignons!  They were so good we talked about it for days afterward.

We shared a baked potato and a salad, which our waiter divided up for us. It was a really nice meal, perfect  for our last night in DC.