Lemonade and Sight-seeing

Between the 67 inches of snow in January/February and Hurricane Amelia in late July/August of 78, Washington DC and the surrounding area was just plain HOT and HUMID. That is when it wasn't raining. HRH and I got there several days before the march so we could go sight seeing. Whenever we could find a parking space we got inside any museum we could for the cool air and sights we never imagined seeing.

I think my top five sights were:

5) The Hope Diamond - not only is it SOOO worth the risk, it ruined my ability to wear necklaces. I mean who could fall for that little tri-colored bunch of gold leaves on a tiny chain after you have seen the Hope Diamond.


4) The first ladies inauguration ball gowns. As I remember we walked into a large room and behind a glass wall there was one gown after another. Of course I adored Jackie Kennedy's just because of the age I was born into. But Mary Lincoln's was so tiny and yet full at the same time.

3) Any of the outdoor monuments. The Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Monument (I'll tell you how we found that one) and the Washington Monument (and that one has a story too.) Hey, I know I said it was hot but come one...they are everywhere. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting some sort of memorial out there. And I have to say, if I had that kind of talent, I would built things that big and in bronze or stone or something  eternal too.

2) Seeing the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It was so near the bicentennial, that may have had something to do with it. But, I mean, DANG...These two were how we got started. Way to go America.

1) The Senate. This may not be as major now as it was then, but when we toured the Capitol building you got to go either to the House or the Senate. Now everyone had seen the House during the state of the union addresses. But there were laws that prohibited photographs of the Senate. So the only way you could see it then was to tour it. And we got the Senate side. I was so impressed by that. 

The major find however, was outdoor vendors who sold pint containers of ice cold lemonade. We drank them at one whole entire dollar a piece - hey, this was 1978 after all. Gas was $0.59 a gallon. As hot and humid as it was, all we could do was find inside museums and drink, drink, drink. We were halfway back to Iowa before we needed to pee. We sweated out every ounce of that sweet-tart-sticky-nectar from yellow waxed paper pint containers. 

Besides cartons of lemonade was a phenomenal discovery. One, who ever thought of selling lemonade in anything other than a dixie cup? And nothing was sold in a pint. I mean now, sure your soft drinks and such come in up to 54 oz cups. But back in '78 you could get a glass bottle of Pepsi, Tab or RC in 16 ounce but you wouldn't want to walk around DC with a glass bottle of pop.

And this was a pint ... I mean a whole PINT. The only wax carton things you got back then was a 1/2 pint of school milk or a quart of milk if you didn't have it delivered at home. The concept of buying a pint carton of anything you could walk around drinking was just so way cool.

But again it is late and I have to get to bed. But I'll tell you more tomorrow. We'll flip a coin, visiting Iwo Jima only because we thought there was parking around that corner or finding our way to the Washington Monument without getting lost only to discover we left the camera at the hotel.

Good times.