Day 2 of the Exciting Adventures of Flat Tucker!

Day 2 was a beautiful spring day. Sunny with highs in the 80's with a slight breeze. The weather was so warm I had to break out the shorts! A little scary after this long winter. My legs are whiter than the White House and I was worried I would blind everyone in Washington DC with my pale legs! I risked it anyway because the weather couldn't have been more perfect for what we had planned first, walking the Tidal Basin to view the Cherry Blossoms!

The sight was as beautiful and walking right under the thick canopy of pink flowers is as neat as it has been described in all the research I did. Also found in the thick canopy of flowers was the thick crowds of people! Again, from my research I knew it would be very, very crowded, but the crowds started to wear on our nerves a little! Handy tips when walking in crowds: Walk on the right, don't stop in the middle of the walkway to take a picture, text, read email, or anything else that will distract you from paying attention to what you are doing! If you are going to get in the way then step off the path! Flat Tucker didn't seem as bothered by it as Joey and me, but he was being carried in my purse! He did really enjoy the fragrant cherry blossom blooms!

Along the Tidal Basin we stopped at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

We also stopped at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Flat Tucker got a picture there and it turns out it appeared he was almost eaten by FDR's dog, Fala!

We left the Tidal Basin and headed over to the Reflecting Pool area in front of the Lincoln Memorial to see the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and the World War II Memorial.

Flat Tucker stopped for a photo at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at a spot where a child had left a memento thanking the service people for their sacrifices.

At the World War II Memorial Flat Tucker stopped for a picture at the pillar for his home state of Oklahoma!

Next, we left the National Mall to go to Ford's Theater, which is where President Abraham Lincoln went on April 14, 1865 to watch a play and was shot by John Wilkes Booth. President Lincoln was taken to a boarding house across the street from the theater and died the next morning, April 15, 1865. The theater is still a working theater with a museum in the basement and another museum across the street in the Peterson House, the house where he died.

Right above Flat Tucker is the Presidential Box Seats where President Lincoln, his wife, and two guests sat when John Wilkes Booth came in from behind and shot him. John Wilkes Booth then jumped over the balcony onto the stage to escape. He caught his foot on the picture of George Washington which caused him to land badly and he broke his leg. He still managed to get away but was found and killed 12 days later.

The gun that John Wilkes Booth used to shoot President Lincoln.

We walked many miles today so we ended our evening at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner next to Ford's Theater and then headed back to the hotel for rest and recovery. Flat Tucker has us all tuckered out! We need to get up early and be at Nebraska's Senator Johann's office in the U.S Capitol building by 8:30 tomorrow for our tour!

Continue Reading: Day 3 of the Exciting Adventures of Flat Tucker