July 31, 2009, Friday FREDERICKSBURG, VA. Today we drove 45 min to the Metro and then took the Metro into the city. This was Ralph and Betty’s first experience on a Metro and it can be a little nerve wracking, but they learned fast and we were off and running (Ha! Like us old people could run!) We were very tired and it was very hot, and we don’t have a lot of time here in Virginia. So we skipped Arlington and Mt. Vernon and just went to DC. While on the Metro, we met a family from Richmond who were going to the Smithsonian. We got to talking and found out they were LDS and we had a really nice visit all the way into town. First we went to see the White house. We took pics and saw the place where they do the press conferences on the lawn. They had photographic light equipment and mic stands, etc. They had part of the sidewalk around the Whitehouse blocked off ‘cause something was going to take place, but we didn’t know what. Then we walked for blocks to get to the National Mall. It is truly a beautiful place. Lots of ponds, a reflection pool (which I wanted to get in, but it is not all that clean with ducks and what not) and of course the Washington Monument. The 2nd World War Monument was beautiful with its pillars and fountains shooting into the air. The most impressive memorial and the one I wanted to see the most was the Lincoln Memorial. When we got there Betty and I had to stand in the shade for quite a while, eat an icy, and rest before we could climb the stairs up to where Lincoln is sitting. It’s so hot! Then we started the long walk to the Metro Station and rode on it 15-20 min and then got in our car and headed out of town on a Friday night in DC traffic and it took us about 3 hrs to get back to the CG which was about 40 miles!