day 6

breakfast at the hotel was the first order of business today.  then we made our way on foot to the white house visitor center, a logical stop before our 10:00am scheduled white house tour. gorgeous weather in the 60s made for a pleasant 1.5 mile walk.

after making it past the canine team and through two ID checks, we were in!  the tour entered from the back of the house.  we had a timed entry but were able to roam freely with our a guide at our own pace.

the tour exit was at the front doors, oddly enough.

we made our way to the front of the house after the tour to take more photos, along with all the other tourists.

with rain unexpectedly in the forecast for tomorrow, we decided to walk the mall today in an attempt to see all the monuments and attractions.  because of the tight security at the white house, we were not able to carry any backpacks or bags with us that morning.  that mean no snacks or drinks or really much of anything at all, just what fit in our pockets.

we kept getting glimpses of the capitol building as we traversed the streets towards the open mall area.

the washington monument is a 555-foot-tall obelisk on the national mall in washington, d.c., built to honor the first u.s. president, george washington.  completed in 1884, it was once the world's tallest building but now holds the title of the world's tallest stone structure and obelisk.

the jefferson memorial from across the tidal basin

it was around 12:45pm when we wrapped up our mall explorations at the lincoln memorial.  we headed back to the hotel to get our car, with a mini-road trip in mind for this afternoon.  we headed to baltimore (about 1 hour away) to grab some sweet treats from charm city cakes! (of course, we grabbed some lunch first on the way...)  although we did not get to see duff, we still enjoyed the experience.

rather than head back the way we came from d.c., we made a slight detour west until we arrived in state #7 of the trip: west virginia!

we stopped in harper's ferry at bolivar heights scenic overlook and played among the artillery.

we made it back to d.c. by 7:00pm.  in order to park our car at the hotel, we had to pull up the the garage door, call on a phone on the wall, tell them our room number, and then they would open the garage door.  we made little sister get out and make the call and she was so confused how to use a "phone" with a cord.....hanging on a wall.  what, like we made her travel back in time??!

miles driven: 173