Washington DC Trip: Day 5

Today was our last full day in DC, and it was a good one. We began by going to Caribou Coffee, a place we’ve never been to before. The coffee was ridiculously hot, but it wasn’t bad. Sharon remarked that the interior looked a little like Montana’s. So true.

Our first major stop was supposed to be the Jefferson Memorial, but we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at a large fish market! It was actually pretty cool to see – so many varieties of fish, shrimp, and other seafood, including some absolutely massive crab legs! We looked around for a bit, then started walking in the general direction of the Jefferson.

It wasn’t too much longer before we arrived! There were far less people there than at the Lincoln, and thankfully, only one or two tour buses full of kids. It was fairly impressive, but perhaps less so than if we had seen it before all the other memorials. We walked around but our eye was drawn by the paddleboats (or pedal-boats) out on Tidal Basin. We decided to walk over to the rental desk and join them. It turned out to be a good decision – the paddleboats were only $10 for an hour! While we were out on the water, President Obama’s helicopter flew overhead, as did a couple of Marine choppers.

After a quick ice cream after our hour was up, we set off for U Street to visit the famed Ben’s Chili Bowl. It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and was visited by President Obama himself! In fact, there’s a sign inside that lists the people who eat for free: Bill Cosby and The Obamas. Sharon and I each ordered a chili dog, and we shared chili cheese fries. While eating, a local came over and pointed out that I was sitting in the exact spot that President Obama did when he visited the restaurant! So cool and the food was great!

After lunch, we came back to the hotel to change into some fancier clothes, and then went to Georgetown to do some shopping. It was ridiculously hot, but we trudged on (well I did, Sharon was fine). We didn’t buy too much, but I got some Dean & Deluca mugs that I had been wanting, and Sharon bought a new purse.

Our dinner reservation was at Hook, a high-end seafood restaurant in the heart of Georgetown at M Street and 32nd Street (you can follow them on Twitter: @HookGeorgetown). It was definitely the fanciest eatery we visited this trip! We had to ask about some of the kinds of fish, but that didn’t really help in the end – Sharon’s Lingcod was quite tasty, but my Moonfish was mostly raw. When the waiter said “pink” I thought he meant like Salmon! Ah well, I ate most of it, and now I know. Everything else was great though.

We walked back along the waterfront, which was really busy. Been relaxing mostly since then, trying not to think about the fact that we are going home tomorrow! I’ll be posting all our photos once we’re back.