Snippets of Washington D.C. (05-02-13)

Every day at 4 pm, the RV park we are staying in has a seminar for new visitors.  They explain how the Metro works, give out maps, explain what there is to see around DC, give opinions on the best tours, hand out brochures, and answer any questions.  It sure made it easier and less overwhelming for us!  Since Washington D.C. is not a dually friendly town, it was great to learn that bus stops in front of the RV Park.

We wanted to get our feet wet, so to speak, so our first day, we ventured in on the Metro and went to the International Spy Museum. Walking around the city was fun in and of itself, looking at all the buildings, the architecture, and enjoying the hustle bustle of the crowds (made more enjoyable by not needing to find a parking space).

The Spy Museum is dedicated to all things espionage related. It was fun but would maybe be more fun for kids. You pick an identity when you first enter,  and have to memorize some basic information, which you are asked about later.

The first main room is Spy School, where you learn how to act like a spy.  This photo was about signals- there are 4 signals in the picture that could be used by spies to communicate that a task had been completed: the book in the back dash of the car, the white mark on the mail box, the pack of cigarettes on the ground and….I forget the 4th one.

In the “Hall of Fame” of spies, we learned about Juan Pujal Garcia (code name Garbo). He worked for the British during WWII, as one of the most effective double agents in history. He fabricated an entire network of make believe agents and contacts and convinced the Germans they were real. He played a large role in the invasion of Normandy, a hugely successful piece of trickery on the part of the Allies. Garbo helped convince the Germans that the invasion would take place at Pas De Calais.  If you google this guys name, his story is really interesting reading!

One entire floor of the museum is dedicated to James Bond.  I did not know that the author,  Ian Fleming, was a British Intelligence agent. One of the quotes from him essentially said that although fun to write, the life of James Bond is much more exciting than a real secret agent’s life!

Doing some basic planning based on the weather forecast, we had to focus on outdoor activities for a few days because the weather is going to take a turn for the worse.  We met up with my friend Steve, who I have been friends with since high school. Yikes! That’s 40 years that we’ve been friends!

 

Steve found a great hike for us at the nearby Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.  The canal isn’t maintained anymore, but there is a museum about the history of the area. The trail was pretty rocky, which meant we had to watch our step, and we ended up turning around at the sign that warns that the trail is about to get a whole lot more difficult.  We weren’t prepared for that challenging a hike that day.

The Potomac River flows through the park, and there were great views of the waterfalls along the way.

After that workout, we decided we deserved Margaritas even though it was the 4th of May, not the 5th.  We went back to Steve’s place for Margaritas and tacos.  Yummy!

Paul and I also took a bike ride the other day.  There’s a bike path very close to the RV park (with tennis courts too, but I haven’t been able to convince him to play). We rode about 4 miles towards the city, and passed about 4 parks along the way.  One of them had a great set up with several workout stations, right along the bike path.

 

This pretty Cardinal keeps trying to fly into our living room, and of course, smacks into the window.

If nothing else, it sure does serve to entertain Dozer, who hopes in vain that the bird makes it into the room.