Day of Walking and Driving – We’re Tired! October 14, 2014

Yesterday we decided to go into D.C. on our own and do some things we wanted to see that are not included in the tour we are taking on Thursday.  The drive was a little over 2 hours and we went straight to the Reagan Building Underground Parking Garage.  As an added benefit, they had Valet Parking in the Garage which made the parking issue a no-brainer.  On the way up to the ground floor, we stopped for a restroom break and discovered a huge food court and since it was lunch time, that issue was taken care of as well.  We found a place called Bassett’s Turkey where they baked fresh turkey breasts for all their lunch offerings.  Carol and I had Turkey Caesar Salads and Jim had turkey soup and a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich.  We were saving our appetite for something special we had planned for dinner.

About a month ago, they opened a new White House Visitors Center showing background stories on many of the First Family’s stories.

It was well worth the extra trip into D.C..  Did you know that President Grant had a special table made for his Cabinet that had eight locking drawers so that each Cabinet Member could store some of their papers securely.  We  also found out one of the Presidents’ favorite foods was squirrel soup.  I’m not going to tell which one so I don’t spoil the surprise for you when you come to see for yourself.  Pictures below of inside the visitors center.

From there we walked to the National Air and Space museum.

 When we were here in March, this was one of the Smithsonian buildings we didn’t have time to go into.  There was everything from Wilbur and Orville Wright to the most current space flights with details and facts interesting to every flying enthusiast.

Then the long walk back to the Parking Garage.  I can tell you we were bushed!  Unfortunately, we were leaving D.C. right at Rush Hour(s) and what should have taken us 50 minutes took over two hours.  You see we were not headed back to Williamsburg, but heading north to Baltimore to a restaurant owned by the nephew of one of our friends.  The restaurant called “Clementine” has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I can tell you that I would go back without any hesitation!  A very eclectic menu that changes daily telling a different story with food each day.

We started our story with a Pickle Plate Appetizer that included Bread and Butter pickles, pickled okra, cucumbers pickled in sea salt, pickled tomatoes and pickled cabbage.

Each one was delicious and just the right amount of pickle and crispness.  When our entree’s arrived, they looked so good, we almost forgot to take the pictures.  So please forgive any teeth marks you see on the food.  Jim had a fabulous trout dish, I had lamb chops with spinach and Carol had the best meatloaf I have ever tasted.  I kid you not, it tasted like steak!

After dinner we started the 3 1/2 hour drive back to Williamsburg getting to our Villa around 12:30 a.m.  I assure you we are staying close to home on Wednesday and sitting around drinking coffee for a long time in the morning.