April 18th to April 26th Portsmouth, Virginia to Washington DC

Portsmouth , Virginia

At port

Today was a busy day with some sightseeing and some errands. Jean and I have both visited Portsmouth before and like this historic city. The Old Historic District is filled with cobblestone streets and old, beautiful houses. It's a city that needs some attention in that part of it seems very vibrant and yet another part seems tired and run down. It's positioned perfectly on the water, over at Norfolk , Va. We very much like downtown Portsmouth —with good restaurants, good shops and even a movie theater which is on the National Historic Register. We've identified two favorite shops in town—a kitchen store that has absolutely everything and a garden shop that has the largest and best selection of yard accessories that I've ever seen. On the way back from town, we walked along the water and came across this beautiful Fresnel Lens on display as part of the town's devotion to its maritime history.

We're taking a ‘detour' from the official Great Circle Route and are heading up the Potomac and into the downtown waters of Washington , DC . We'll need to spend two days to get there but we both think it's well worth the time and the detour.

The seas today are absolutely perfect—like glass. We've encountered no other boats and the skies are bright blue. The scenery is lovely in that we've got Maryland on one side of us and Virginia on the other. There's many interesting markers in these waters—especially those that look like small lighthouses. They're about 45-50 feet high and painted a pretty rich red color. In Jean's GPS systems, these markers are noted as ‘conspicuously visible'!!!!!

Friday, April 21 st

Colonial Beach , VA. to Washington , DC .

We were off the fuel dock at 0735 and heading for Washington , DC . Once again, the conditions were perfect—calm seas with overcast and grey skies. The winds were pleasant—easterly at 10-15mph. The route was very interesting with land and beautiful homes in sight on both sides of the Potomac . It started to rain at about 0010 and stayed raining or misty for the rest of the day. Our route took us past Quantico Army base with the usual security precautions and patrol boats. We also took a short detour to get a better view of Mt Vernon—but the rain prevented us from seeing Washington 's home as clearly as we would have liked.

We passed under the Interstate 95 Bridge which seemed really strange. We've driven on that road so many times—it was definitely weird to be under it!!!!!

We entered the Washington Channel at about 1210 and were busy taking in the enormity and the significance of the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial which were both in sight. It was truly spectacular to see these monuments from the water!!!! The route took us right past Reagan Airport and a variety of government buildings. It was a great way to enter Washington .

We tied up at Capital Yacht Club at about 1330 after a quick stop for some fuel (this is a thirsty boat). This Yacht Club, established in 1862, is Washington 's oldest and is situated within walking distance to the National Mall and many of the Smithsonian museums. What fun!!!!

We had dinner on board—chicken, salad and vegetables!!!!!

Saturday, April 22 nd

At port

What a day!!!! The weather would prove to be our biggest challenge—it poured rain the entire day—I'm very glad that we weren't at sea. We had planned to spend the entire day walking and touring around Washington . But….we managed to do some walking, especially through the Museum of American History . We started the morning with a stop at the Smithsonian Visitors Center which is housed in the Smithsonian Castle . This building itself was quite beautiful and interesting and surrounded by rich gardens. This was a useful stop in that we could get a good overview of all of the museums that make up the Smithsonian. From this point it was easier to plan out our day and the days ahead.

We decided to head directly to the Museum of American History . We went through each of the three floors of exhibits and loved just about all of it. The Presidency exhibit was very interesting although you can really understand why each president needs his own Library. There was a relatively new exhibit “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” which was extremely informative. This exhibit takes you from the Revolutionary War all the way to Operation Desert Storm.

We saw the First Ladies exhibit including quite a few of their dresses, gowns and other accessories. This Museum had some of Jackie O's accessories that were auctioned at the Sotheby's Jackie O auction at which Priscilla and Jean and Priscilla's sister Carla attended in the mid-nineties. Carla's still lamenting her slight underbid of the pots-du-crème!!! We also visited an exact replica of Julia Child's kitchen complete with a continual running of the early Julia Child's TV shows. Towards the end of our visit we went through an entire exhibit of “ America on the Move”. This exhibit took us through the history of the United States as shaped by transportation—very interesting—this section was one of our favorites.

Later in the day we attended a concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The concert was really wonderful—The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra was performing with a guest pianist. The entire concert was engaging—we both loved it. We found our way home on the Metro—which we felt great about. Tomorrow's another day of sightseeing. What a life!!!!!

Sunday April 23 rd

At port

Today was just a perfect day in every way. Although the weather was overcast as we left the boat in the morning, by noon the skies were bright blue and the temperature was in the low seventies. We started the day with a guided walking tour of Georgetown . This quaint village is extremely interesting and the houses and history are fascinating. We spent two hours learning about the ‘birth' of Georgetown and its many contributions to the history of the United States . We walked through many of its winding streets where the guide pointed out different parks, houses and other points of interest. We went by Georgetown University whose campus is just gorgeous. We also saw the homes of the ‘rich and famous' and also got to see the first two Georgetown homes of John and Jackie Kennedy.

There were many parts of Georgetown which reminded me of Boston —especially Back Bay. The architecture of the streets and homes is very similar—especially the homes built in the federal style.

We finally made it back to the boat and met my brother-in-law Spence (Connie's husband). Spence is on active duty with the Army Reserves stationed just outside of Washington near Alexandria , Virginia . Spence came by to see the boat and then the three of us were heading out to dinner and then on to RFK Stadium to see the Washington Nationals play the Atlanta Braves. We left the waterfront expecting to eat dinner at some restaurant close to the stadium. Well, we quickly found out that the stadium is in a residential neighborhood without ANY restaurants. Since we didn't' want just hotdogs and peanuts for dinner we got back on the Metro—went two stops to the Eastern Market area of Washington and found a great restaurant for dinner. We all had great appetizers and entrees and were back at the game just as the National Anthem was being sung!!!!!

We cheered for the Nationals, not really caring about either National League team. The Nationals have only been a team for a few years which makes it hard when playing a team as experienced as the Braves. We had no trouble getting good tickets—what a nice change from trying to get Red Sox tickets. The Nationals scored one run in the first inning and kept the one run lead until the seventh inning. Then, the Braves got serious and started hitting the ball all over the place. They scored three runs easily and went on to win the game with the 3 to 1 victory. One quick note—we were all surprised at the number of Red Sox fans that we saw at the game. We saw a lot of people with t-shirts and hats emblazoned with the Red Sox name—how nice!!!!! We all had a good time and Jean and I were back on the boat before midnight . (Sorry, Spence—we forgot to get a picture of you for this website—next time!)

Monday, April 24 th

At port

Today was a day of presidents and war memorials. We started out early and have the aching feet to prove it!!!! We walked around the Tidal Basin and made our way to the Jefferson Memorial. This is a spectacular monument—with a standing Jefferson looking out onto the Tidal Basin . He's positioned in a rotunda with several of his famous quotes carved into the walls around him—rather impressive. This memorial was dedicated in April, 1943 by President Roosevelt on the 200 th anniversary of Jefferson 's birth.

 We kept walking and found our way to the FDR memorial. This memorial is very interesting and relatively recent (May,1997). The memorial is divided into four outdoor galleries, or rooms, one for each of FDR's term in office. The rooms are made up of walls of South Dakota granite and different plantings. Within each section there is also a magnificent waterfall, some of FDR's famous quotes and some commemorative sculpture. There is a “Breadline” sculpture which was particularly compelling. Throughout much of the entire memorial is the quote—“I HATE WAR”. This quote is seen on walls as well as on the huge stones which surround the different sections. Jean and I have included this phrase in one of the pictures we took. It was quite interesting to keep going around corners and to see something new in each section. There were separate sculptures of FDR and Eleanor which were each very life-like. We both liked this memorial a lot.

Our Log to April 26th CONTINUED