Capital City

* Washington DC *

– Occoquan, VA to Washington, DC to Colonial Beach, VA – 101.8 miles –

Holy Cow! What an incredible, fun, busy week!

Heading upriver to our nation’s capital, Mount Vernon, George Washington’s homestead is located on the west bank of the Potomac River about 16 miles from the city. The crew had been investigating a visit to this historic site. A telephone call to the Mount Vernon Wharf had us thinking it may not be possible as they advised us of skinny waters near the wharf. The captain is a bit more cautious after our rebuild of the props, and we discussed maybe to anchor and dinghy in. As we approached the homestead on the hill with a magnificent view of the river, we spotted a commercial ferry at the wharf. After checking our automatic identification transponder (AIS) and viewing the specs of the commercial vessel contained within, we learned they draft the same as us.

The captain was game to follow their tracks in and see if we could get the Now or Never to the starboard side of the wharf, opposite of the ferry. We motored through the marked channel towards George Washington’s Wharf very slowly following the ferry trail until we had to go further towards land on the starboard side. We inched along even slower and made it to the dock. One skinny area and then we were sitting with 7’ below the keel at the dock! We just cruised up the Potomac to the first President of the United States house and docked at his wharf. How cool! Pleasure boats may dock for free on first come basis. We purchased our tickets online and we were off exploring Washington’s homestead.

Mount Vernon was President Washington’s home for almost 45 years. Washington’s father built Mount Vernon in 1734, it would be 1761 when he gained full ownership of Mount Vernon. He was sworn in as the first President of the United States in 1789 and stepped down after two terms in 1797. He died in 1799 at age 69.

The estate sits high on the ridge on its 500 acres overlooking the Potomac. Mount Vernon occupied close to 8000 acres in the 18^th century. President Washington, as well as Martha and other family members are buried at the Mount Vernon Tomb.

We toured the grounds and home. What a beautiful place it was, can’t imagine the grandeur of the 1700’s and this property! It was a very cool experience to arrive and visit by water. Something we’ll never forget.

After a couple hours at Mount Vernon, we eased back out the way we came leaving the props and the bottom of the boat unscathed and continued our way to the District of Columbia. The river narrowed, the houses got bigger, the airport was busy with the runway running alongside the Potomac, and the monuments were in sight.

We headed to the Capital Yacht Club in the heart of the Wharf District along the Potomac. It is a busy place! It has been years since either of us have visited DC, Tasha 10 years, and David more than 20 years. A lot has changed.

We loved the location of the Capital Yacht Club, nestled in the midst of the new Wharf district, reinvented in 2017. Tons of activity, restaurants, entertainment, and people. The Yacht Club building looked tiny with all large buildings.

It was home to many vessels including one owned by a US Senator with the name of Almost Heaven. You might be able to guess who it belongs to.

They offer transient docks with access to the club and facilities. We couldn’t have been at a more convenient, accessible, friendly place. The monuments, museums, and the mall were all so close to our riverside location. And the attractions at the Wharf made it a fun place to be.

Our days were filled with being the ultimate tourists. We packed a lot in during our 4-night stay. Tasha’s cousin Matt and family had just visited DC and gave us some good intel on planning a visit, something we don’t always do so well. Thankful for the info, we were able to include a few things by having tickets early and we missed a few things because we didn’t plan early enough, nor could we have.

Our first adventure took us to Ford’s Theatre. Neither of us had ever been. We were able to visit the museum, theatre, and the Peterson boarding house across the street that Lincoln was taken to after he was shot and died 9 hours later. We sat in the balcony while the park ranger gave a one-man narration from Boston Corbett’s view. Corbett was the police officer who killed John Wilkes Booth, 12 days after Lincoln’s assassination. It was a surreal feeling to be in the theatre that our President was shot in so many years ago. The theatre is used by a local theatre company, it would be quite the place to see a show.

Tasha’s love of books had her mesmerized by the book stack that stood 4 stories tall and held 15,000 books, all about our revered 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln.

We spent hours in the Smithsonian, including the Museum of Natural History, Museum of American History, and the Air and Space Museum. We have both been to them before, but can you ever really get enough?

The Neil Armstrong exhibit and space is always a favorite. Neil is from the same small town as Tasha’s Dad, Wapakoneta, OH and graduated from the same high school, Blume High School. Albeit Neil was older, it was a small town, and everyone knew each other. The summer of 1969 was quite memorable for all but especially the residents from that small town of Wapak.

If you’re ever near Wapak, OH, The Neil Armstrong Museum is a must see. You can’t miss it on I-75, with the moon rising from the earth. Tasha made many trips to the museum as a kid with her cousin Matt and their families.

We spent a couple hours each day on our bikes just riding, stopping at different destinations on the mall, the many memorials, and anything that caught our fancy. Approaching the Washington Monument, we were overcome with pride with all the American Flags flying high, waving in wind. The WW II as well as other war memorials were a very somber experience. David’s Dad, Nick, fought in WW II as a young kid from Tennessee. The number of names on the Vietnam and Korean memorials were gut wrenching. Frankly, any number of names are too many. We shall always remember that some gave all, all gave some.

An early morning ride to Arlington National Cemetery had us winding on the bike paths through the Mall amongst the memorials for Washington and Lincoln, across the Washington Channel to the Jefferson Memorial and then across the Potomac River by way of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. A few miles later and we were approaching the grand entrance down Memorial Ave. We stowed the bikes at the entrance and walked the cemetery. The Tomb of the Unknow Soldier is a good hike from the visitor center, we had less than 15 minutes to make it for the top of the hour ceremony. We made it with just a few minutes to spare. It was hot. We were hot. We can’t imagine our service in full formal dress guarding the Tomb in all kinds of weather. Their commitment and valor to those who gave all did not go unnoticed.

We were able to witness the honorable changing of the guard, a close to 10 minute ceremony. So moving, the respect, dignity, honor, for those who sacrificed it all for our freedom.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier includes the remains of unknown service members from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Soldiers from the 3d US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) keep a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year vigil at the Tomb, with an elaborate ritual to change the guard every hour during the winter half, and every half hour the summer half of the year.

The cemetery is the final resting place for over 400,000 active duty service members, veterans, and their families covering 1,000 acres. More than 3,000 ceremonies and memorial services take place at Arlington National Cemetery each year. The first burial took place in May of 1864 for Private William Christman.

We meandered a different path when leaving, walking through vast hills and amongst the white granite headstones as far as the eye could see. Heart wrenching, there was so much beauty in such a solemn space.

We had a little time to kill and rode up to get a glimpse of the White House and glimpse is all we got. Saddened and maddened with the state of Peoples House. Understandable the need for fence and security, but since our last visits, there are five barriers including the original fence. Five. There were police and secret service everywhere, and places we didn’t know of. The People’s House is not the peoples house any longer. A visit inside takes weeks of pre-planning and background checks and there was no way we could have predicted days we would be able to be there, so we had to settle for a glimpse of the outside. Way outside from hundreds of yards away. They have even corded off some of the bike paths on the streets around the White House now. There are more than 2,300 Captial Police Officers assigned to police an area of about one square mile and 3,600 secret service agents. Yet, there are no closed borders, adequate fencing, or adequate law enforecement and border patrol officers to prevent non-residents from entering our country. Shouldn’t we all be protected? Enough of the soap box, you know where we stand. Disappointed.

We spent an afternoon learning more of the gut wrenching horror of the genocide of European Jews during World War II at the Holocaust Museum. The dark, cold museum led you through lives of victims and their horrifying death. There was a beautiful 4 walled walkway memorial for thousands of the Holocaust victims, poignantly recalled through their family photographs. These were the only photographs we took here.

Our forty plus year career law enforcement officer, now Captain, couldn’t leave the city without a visit to the Spy Museum.

Reopened at a new location and all new exhibits in 2019, this is a memorable stop. Tons of exhibits from real life spies and other pieces from James Bond and real live Q, we found this a fun, entertaining museum. Each visitor was given an identity and checked in at different kiosks to prove their spy skills. 

The career LEO found it a bit juvenile, but the first mate went along with it all. So sophisticated are spies of today, you never know where they may be lurking or who they are. They are living amongst us like it a favorite FX series The Americans.

Returning from a day of museums and monuments, the dock staff said, “you’re just in time”. We weren’t quite sure what that meant, but felt they were welcoming us back. Tasha then received a text from Diane aboard Wilma May who was in upstate NY near Lake Ontario. Diane was asking if we were safe from the storms? The weather was beautiful, sunny, a light breeze, what was she referring to? Tasha started investigating and the weather predicters were predicting a BIG one. Severe storms headed our way. Many reports said DC was bracing for a derecho. What in the heck is a derecho? A derecho is a storm with hurricane speed winds but flat lines instead of cyclonic. The feds had closed down the city, sending all workers home early. Forecasters were predicting high wind speeds, large hail, and the potential for multiple tornadoes in the area, bringing the region its first National Weather Service-declared Level 4 storm in more than a decade. The marina came alive, and people were adding lines, adding fenders, stowing gear. Weather reports indicated this storm was a magnitude of a storm they hadn’t seen in ten years.

And here we are. Again, in another storm. We felt a little defeated. The east coast has been nothing but weather issues for us. We came over a hundred miles up the Potomac and here we are, more bad weather.

We talked with our dock mates and the rear commodore to get a feel for what we should expect at the Yacht Club, should we leave the boat, or stay. We added lines, fenders, then decided to tie to the center of dock, took everything off the deck and opted to stay aboard like our neighbors. Then we waited. And waited. And then a few dark clouds rolled in. A little rain. A bit of wind but nothing like we’ve been in other places. Tasha sat at the helm to get the best view. And then it was over. What? All the hype, the closing of the government, learning a new weather term derecho, and then nothing. Don’t get us wrong, happy that we weren’t in a severe storm, no one was hurt, no damage, but a little bit of a letdown and a lot of prep for nothing. The evening was beautiful, the temperature dropped, the town was quiet, and sitting on our back deck, we heard TAPS. A beautiful serenade to the end of the day. God is nigh.

Each evening we were exhausted and each night we were out when we hit the pillow. Our DC adventure sadly came to an end, so much more we could have seen and done, but we were so tired. What a whirlwind packing in as much as we could. A grand adventure, an experience we’ll never forget. We are proud Americans and seeing our Capital City from the water, cruising in on our boat, and biking to all the monuments and museums is something few are lucky enough to experience. Another great chapter in our Great Loop journey.

We applaud the city for the dedicated bikes lanes and many shared paths. DC is definitely a biker friendly place, and we were able to see, do, and conquer so much more due to having our bikes to cover miles of the district.

We ran 71 miles back to Colonial Beach, VA. It was a cool, rainy, windy day. Tasha bundled up just a little!

The captain pushed it a bit harder than normal, and we were in dock in eight and half hours. A long day. We will spend a few days in Colonial Beach resting, planning the next leg, and routine maintenance.

We had such a great week! Ready for a little rest and another adventure!

Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                  & Remy forever in our hearts!

 

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