Trains And Buses And Danger! Oh My!

I knew in DC we would see important, historical landmarks. I knew that we were taking a bus tour to see those important, historical landmarks. I had no idea my life would be in danger.

It went like this. We decided to take the open top sightseeing bus (www.opentopsightseeing.com). As far as a good and competent tour of DC goes, this wasn't it. But as far as the fun factor goes, it was out of this world! It had rained earlier that day but wasn't raining when we got on the bus. So we decided to ride up top. This is the place to really see DC, since it's completely open and you're up so high you can really see everything...as long as the bus driver doesn't stop in front of a wall of trees!

So the "tour" is a narrated recording. And one of the recorded announcements is to "watch for low hanging branches and wire." They weren't kidding. Watch for low hanging branches and wire on EVERY BLOCK. I was repeatedly slapped in the head by branches dripping with water (from the earlier rain) as I tried to desperately get some good shots with my camera. And then, after we had a narrow miss with another bus and had to back up the street to avoid a collision, the recording was off. So this wonderful voice was describing the significance of a building or a monument that we were still blocks away from. It was awesome! In a terrible Mystery Science Theatre 2000 kind of way. We were laughing so hard, we were crying! I thought for sure the lady in front of me was going to get clothes-lined. Her reflexes were awful slow.

However, if you are looking for a whirlwind tour that does in fact drive you by so many of the fascinating sights of DC, you should take this bus. Just be sure you sit up top. You don't want to miss the fun!

The following pictures are not my best. But they're not bad considering I took them on an overcast day from the top of a moving bus while dodging killer tree branches.