Hats on at the White House

We started today with the temperature in the high 20s in Orlando and ended up with the temperature at 3 degrees in Washington DC.

The flight up and then Metro ride into the centre of DC were very easy. On the way we added layers of clothing until we were fully bundled up in puffy jackets, hats and gloves.

We got the keys to our AirBnB apartment, dropped our bags, and set out for the supermarket up the road past a depressing number of homeless people. The supermarket was a study in excess – we were after the makings for a pasta dinner, but everything is 20-30% bigger than at home and comes with added sugar. Trying to find basic small amounts was an exercise in patience – but then every meal for the last ten days has involved trying to avoid huge plates, sugary, fried stuff.

After a quick late lunch back at the apartment, we walked down to the National Mall – which is five minutes away from the apartment (go me, for good booking). We’re at the Capitol Building end of the Mall, very near the Newseum and the Smithsonian which are our two main targets for the next couple of days. After admiring the Capitol we walked down to the Washington Monument, which looked fine highlighted by the setting Sun, and then turned right toward the White House.

Now for the last ten days we’ve been searching for a “Make America Great Again” cap that Declan asked for as a present; with no luck, and no little embarrassment. We finally found one being sold from a truck near the White House. When we got to the White House Callum modelled it in a photo that we have agreed will now be sealed in a time capsule for 50 years.

We also undertook a small ritual we had been promising ourselves since we embarked on this trip. We stood before the White House and quietly hissed at Donald Trump. Hey, it made us feel good.

As the Sun went down it got progressively colder; Florida’s warmth already a distant memory. So we sped down Pennsylvania Avenue back to the warmth of our apartment and our first home-cooked meal in almost two weeks – vegetables!

And now we’re feeling very relaxed and watching National Treasure on the TV to get us in the mood for tomorrow.