Experiencing Historic sights

A New Lane should be added to Toll Road booth sections - HNC = Have No Clue which lane to get into. So far, we've chosen correctly!

Visions of Williamsburg play in my head, from multiple visits. One entire area set aside as a historic area, refurbished, reproduced, authentic, preserved. Williamsburg is the standard of excellence, the vision to which I hold historic sights. Monticello reached the mark as did Mt. Vernon.

A surprise about the White House is how dwarfed it is, surrounded by massive government buildings. And, there are barricades and renovation walls. Pictures are not very pretty.
To get a White House tour, one must apply 3-6 months prior to requested date and maybe 10% of the applicants are chosen to tour. Our tour of the US Capitol was wonderful - through Senator Tom Cotton's office.

The monuments were just as beautiful as we expected. The level of security for tours is massive - 30-45 minutes for security. And the Hop on Hop off bus was often unavailable - nothing like the availability and promptness of the same style bus in NYC. We wasted some tour time in line for security and waiting to hop-on a bus.

Got to visit Arlington National Cemetery and see the Changing of the Guard. So glad we are free to adjust our times and go with Plan B when time runs out for tours. The museums close at 5:00 PM.

Philadelphia - "downtown Philly" - "what do you expect?" we were asked. Our SUV is too tall and too wide for all the underground parking. The lots above ground are often full and the valet wants us to hand over our keys and they will park for us. Really. So, we waited and saw someone coming into the lot to move her car and we grabbed her vacated spot. Whew!

Independence Visitor Center, Liberty Bell Center, Independence Hall are small by comparison to the HUGE buildings that surround the Historic portion of Philadelphia. The streets are so narrow, we almost lost our mirrors! Beautiful area - cobble stone sidewalks and beautiful, historic buildings. Tiny by comparison - life (modern) goes on around it all - it's odd to see.

Now, we are in Neptune City on the Jersey Shore!