After having such a good first day, we were looking forward to what the second day would bring. Luckily we stayed at Cherry Hill Campground for two nights so we didnt need to pack everything up this morning. We had breakfast on-site and then headed off to Washington.
*On May 29th 2019, I travelled with Trek America on their Grand Trek tour for six weeks around the USA. We began in New York, travelling south to the West Coast, then North back to the East Coast. I am not affiliated with Trek America. Read all my Trek America posts here. *
Washington Bike Tour
The main planned activity for the day was a Bike Tour, included in the trip itself. There are some activities which are included and others which are optional, that you can pay to do. I am comfortable riding a bike, but the thought of being in roads that could be busy did make me feel uneasy. However, there was nothing to be worried about. In such a big group you are never on your own and we mainly rode on paths.
Our tour was run by Bike and Roll DC – If you are visiting Washington I highly recommend checking them out. Not really knowing what to expect I was really surprised at how much we saw and the amount of information our guide gave us. It was a fun yet extremely informative activity.
I had a look on the Bike and Roll website and i’m pretty sure we did the monuments bike tour. They take you to Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, MLK Jr. Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington Monument.
Free time!
After the Bike Tour we had the afternoon to explore Washington, before meeting our leader again for dinner. We decided to head to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. It was free to enter and had lots of exhibits. There are quite a few museums, if you have some free time, check out whats on offer and have a look around!
After the museum our group split into several small groups. We went to find somewhere to sit and relax for a little while (the bike tour was tiring!)
Caught in a storm
Later on, we decided to start walking back to our pick up point (Lincoln Memorial) but we were still near the museum, so was quite a walk. Just as we got to Washington Monument it started to rain, it very quickly got heavier and heavier and there was no shelter around. By the time we reached the WW2 Memorial, everyone was trying to get shelter. We were soaked! Had this have happened at home I would have been a bit annoyed but for some reason this experience was really funny. We couldn’t believe how quick this rain came and how heavy it was – there was no escaping it. There was us and lots of other people trying to find shelter in the WW2 Memorial all squashed around a pillar.
Joel – where are you?
Our tour leaders name was Joel and we messaged him to ask to be picked up early due to the storm. Meanwhile we had seen this fallen branch and we thought we would try and prank our leader, telling him someone got hit by the tree. I think what made it funnier was that I didn’t think Dean was actually going to lay on the floor – but he did. We sent the picture and said he was too late coming to get us. Definitely one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments, we were all on the floor laughing. One of my favourite memories from the trip and there would be many more of these to come.
Another evening at the campsite
It turned out pretty much all of us were caught in that storm, we couldn’t wait to get back to the campsite and change into dry clothes. We left Washington and headed back to Cherry Hill Campground. It was a pizza night and Courtney’s birthday – our leader went and got this cake made! The evening was spent hanging out together and playing some games. Another great day, we reminisced about this day so many times on the trip.
Continue reading Trek America 2019!
No Comments