Day 250 Washington DC 5/20

Tom at Iwo Jima Memorial






View of reflecting pool from Lincoln Memorial







Lincoln Memorial








Tom & Ed (Both are Viet Nam Veterans) standing at Viet Nam Wall Memorial







Looking at Viet Nam Wall Memorial







The Potomic River





World War II Memorial






Diann & Ed standing at Lafayette Park overlooking the back side of the White House






Back side of The "White House"






Ed Skinner, Tom & Andrew Newton






BJ Skinner and Sally Ann Newton





Today is an absolutely perfect weather day. We woke to clear skies, no wind and a predicted high of 78. Actually it turned out to be 82. This is a day we have been looking forward to. Our good friend Ed Skinner picked us up at dockside 9:30 this morning for our scheduled car trip to Washington DC. What a spectacular experience. Tom has never had the pleasure of visiting the nations capitol. Ed so patiently worked our way through busy traffic, providing us with a detailed narrated tour through some of the most interesting, educational, beautiful sites that this City has to offer. We were truly awestruck by the history, the architecture, the beautiful park like setting of the whole City. We snapped about 100 images trying to capture all we could. We knew this visit would be a quick overview and we really need a week to adequately visit sites of interest. The number of tourists is overwhelming. There are so many interesting sites it is hard to indentify the most interesting. However for Tom, he really wanted to see the War Memorials, especially the Viet Nam Memorial. This is truly a sobering experience. The number of names on the wall puts into perspective. The Iwo Jima and the World War II Memorials were no less awesome. The Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington monuments were breathtaking. The entire City is just like a huge park or garden. Everything is so well groomed, sculptured art work strategically placed, complementing the spectacular architecture. It really makes you proud to live in freedom in such a wonderful country.

Words cannot express our gratitude to Ed Skinner for taking time out of his busy schedule to share with us this introduction to our Country’s Capitol. Thank you Ed for your generosity. We truly enjoyed sharing the day with you.


This evening we were invited to dinner along with fellow loopers Andrew and Sally Ann Newton (Freedom) to Ed and BJ Skinners home for a great night of camaraderie and dining. Ed & BJ’s beautiful home is located about six blocks from the Annapolis City Docks. Tonight was a wonderful dining experience with some really great friends we have had the pleasure of meeting along the way of this incredible journey. Ed and BJ are the most gracious hosts and we want to extend a huge thank you for a wonderful day and evening entertaining us.