The alarm clock was set for an early start.  I hate strange alarm clocks.  I'm never confident that they're set properly, so I usually do a trial run, I'll set it for 2 or 3 minutes in the future and make sure it goes off, then I'll set it for the real time I want to wake up.

On Saturday morning the clock was set for 7.45.  We had to be at the Renwick Gallery on Pennsylvania Avenue by 9.30.  We were booked onto a photo safari with Washington Photo Safari.  The idea is that you show up camera in hand, and a professional photographer takes you around the city offering general tips on photography, as well as specific tips on how best to photograph DC's monuments and memorials.

As time ticked by and we got ready, it looked like we wouldn't have time to grab breakfast.  We didn't fancy spending $4 or $5 for an orange juice in the hotel, but it looked like it would be too early for any of the nearby restaurants to open.  We didn't want to risk missing the 9.30 meet up, so wandering around aimlessly looking for somewhere to eat wasn't a good idea.

Then sometime around 9 O'Clock Sandra made a discovery.  "Hey It's 7 O'Clock".

Here's what happened.  I set the clock for a few minutes into the future to test it.  It went off as expected.  I then set the alarm for 7.45am.  But when I stopped the alarm ringing I must have hit the Snooze instead of the off button.   10 minutes later the alarm went off again, and Sandra who was nearest to it hit every button on the damn thing until it stopped beeping.

In the process she set time back two hours and sowed the seeds for our earlier than necessary start the next morning.  The good news, is that now we had time on our hands.  We decided to head out to Pentagon City (a big Mall) where I was pretty sure we'd be able to get something to eat, even that that hour.

Sure enough Johnny Rockets was service breakfast.  Johnny Rockets is to all intents and purposes Eddie Rockets, but with better and cheaper food.  After Breakfast we caught the Metro back into town to search for Pennsylvania Avenue and the Renwick Gallery.

For the second time on this trip we left the Metro by the wrong exit, but this time we had no choice.  The correct exit was closed.  It wasn't a problem, even leaving by the wrong exist we were still only a few minutes from the Gallery.  It was cold.  The Jacket I bought in San Francisco helped, but it was starting to look like the kind of day when something a little warmer might be required.

The Gallery is only a few steps away from the Whitehouse, so we strolled over to take a few pictures while we were waiting, for our guide to arive.

Walking back towards the Gallery I noticed a gentleman clutching a bundle of papers.  As we got closer we both acknowledged the other.  It was David Luria, our guide for the next few hours.  Within a minute or two we were joined by three ladies (who's names I can't recall) who would be joining us on our "Safari".

Introductions out of the way we started by walking to Lafyette Park, directly opposite the Whitehouse.  David's Classroom consists of two park benches, where we spend quite a bit of time going over the basics.  From holding the camera correctly to tips on composition, to discussion about depth of field.

Sure, a lot of what was covered in this introduction is available in most basic photography books, but even still I enjoyed it, and it had the benefit that most of the sample photos used to illustrate points were of Washington landmarks.

Our first assignment was to photograph the Jackson statue, then onto the Whitehouse.  The beauty of the Safari is that it's both a photography class and a city tour (of sorts) in one.  As we were snapping pictures of the Whitehouse David took me aside and pointed out the Anti-Nuclear protester outside the Whitehouse.  This protest has been manned 24 hours a day since 1981.  The deal is that they can remain as the only protesters on Pensylvania Avenue, as long as the keep someone there 24 hours a day.

From there we drove to the Mall.  Starting with the Einstein Statue.  We took advantage of our Guide and asked him to take a picture of us, using our camera.  Then it was on to the Viet Nam Memorial.  Although I had been to the Wall on my previous visits I somehow managed to miss two additional parts to the memorial that were added after the wall was built.  The soldiers statue was unveiled in 1984 and consists of three soldiers looking in disbelief at the wall containing the names of the thousands who died. 

Another statue unveiled in 1993 commemorates the women who served in the Viet Nam war, most of whom were nurses.  I can't figure out how I managed to miss these when I visited the wall in the past.  The only thing I can think of is that I saw them and didn't realise their significance.  Our Safari was turning into a good guided tour.

We walked accross the mall, past the Lincoln memorial, my favourite place in Washington DC.  We didn't have time to walk up into the momument, we'd have to do that another time, but we'd definitely be back.  You can't go to DC and not walk up those steps and gaze up at Lincoln gazing out accross the reflecting pool towards the Washington Monument.  We snapped a few pictures of that view and moved on to the Korean War Memorial.

The Korean memorial is off to the side of the Mall.  If you walk along the path by the side of the reflecting pool you could miss it.  That's probably why like the statues of the VietNam memorial I managed to miss this on previous trips too.

After spending some time photographing the Korean War Monument we returned to the Cars and drove to Union Station.  Sandra and I travelled in our Guides car, while the other Safari participants had their own.  Along the way David pointed out landmarks and seemed to have anecdotes about most of them.

In 1994 when I finished working and set off on my travels, I left from Union Station, DC.  I bought a ticket that gave me one month of unlimited train travel on the East Coast.  I used it to go to Philadephia, New York, Boston, and then a straight run from Boston to Orlando Florida. 

On this visit to the station I wasn't catching a train.  This was the last stop on our photo safari.  We took some indoor shots and got the last few tips from our guide, then we said goodbye.

With photography out of the way our minds turned to lunch.  Being in Union Station we were surrounded by options.  America Restaurant is is spread over three floors and it's menu is just as big.  There seemed to be an endless list of entrees.  I'm still not sure I got through reading them all.

After lunch we took a few more photos then began walking back towards the Mall.  The Capitol dome was out landmark.  As we got closer we noticed a lot of activity.  Various members of the armed forces, buses carrying Marines, Navy, Army.  Cannons were being prepared for the salute that would happen later that evening when the body of former president Gerald Ford was brought to the Capitol.

We walked around the Capitol and took some photos from the front.  Our goal was to get to the Air and Space museum which was the museum that I most enjoyed visiting when I used to visit DC in the 90's.  We were starting to feel the effects of our morning of walking and we sat for a rest by the reflecting pool in front of the capitol. 

It took a bit of effort to get up from where we were sitting and finish the walk to the  Air ans Space Museum.  It hasn't changed much since my previous visits.  The Wright brothers plane is now in it's own exhibit rather than hanging in the lobby.  That's good of course, it deserves a special place in the museum, but I did always like the fact that the Wright Flyer and the Apollo splash down capsule were both in the main lobby of the museum, it really set the tone when you walked through the doors.

We spent a while looking at the various exhibits, but we really didn't visit half of what there is to see.  We had both been on our feet for about 10 hours, so we weren't really in any mood to wander around museums.  Sandra was anxious to watch the arrival of President Ford.  I think she had an image of us getting a good spot on one of the avenues leading to the Capitol, perhaps waiting for 30 minutes or so and then going home.  That's not how it happens.

It was still bright when we left the Air and Space Museum and walked back in front of the Capitol to find a place to watch the motorcade, people had already bugun queueing to file past a coffin that still hadn't even arrived in the city. 

It was cold but not unfomfortable.

We picked a spot on Pensylvania Avenue, the Capitol was visible to our right, the Whitehouse, where our day had started was out of sight, but was within walking distance to the left.  Traffic was light, the police had already moved into position, blocking off streets.

It grew dark while we waited.  It also grew cold, and the fact that we weren't moving made it seem colder still.  Finally there was a flurry of sirens and lights.  We left the bench that we had claimed and went to the edge of the sidewalk to record the moment.  What we recorded was a bus perhaps full of journalists or dignitaries with a police escort.  This wasn't the main motorcade.

We sat back down.  A few more bursts of light and sound got us excited but none were what we were waiting for.  It was really cold now.  We had passed the point where this was enjoyable or interesting, now it was just a case of not wanting to leave in case we just missed it.

Still more waiting, more police cars and motor bikes.  More blue lights and sirens.  More cold.  One problem with our bench was that it didn't give a clear view of the street.  Everytime we heard something we had to get up drag ourselves to the curb and then return to the bench disappointed.

We crossed the street and sat on a low wall.  It offered a clear view of Pensylvania Avenue in both directions.  We waited there for an hour or two more, watching still more police activity.  Finally, the motorcase passed, and we could go. 

Spending most of the day walking, and then spending a few hours sitting on a cold street is a good way to wear yourself out.  We found the nearest Metro stop and dragged ourselves way back to the hotel. 

Earlier in the day I had called the family that I had stayed with when I lived in DC in the 90's.  I had agreed to drop by and see them that evening.  Sitting in the hotel with sore feet I was kind of regretting that, but we needed to go out to eat anyway so got ready and caught the Metro out to Friendship Heights, which was the local metro stop that I used every day for 3 summers.

The house is half way between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda metro stops.  After catching up with old friends we continued on to Bethesda rather than go back to Friendship Heights.  We needed dinner and Bethesda was a better bet.  By now it was very cold, and we were in no shape for more walking around in the cold.  We took the easy option and went back to the same restuarant we'd been to the night before.  We knew what we'd get, and it was close to the metro.

The early start, the constant walking and the cold was almost too much.  For the second time that day we struggled back to the hotel, this time to stay.  Tomorrow was New Years Eve.