SugarBear arrives at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport.

How do I get down town? Of course, I'll take the "shuttle"!

Place your seat in an upright position and prepare for takeoff.

Houston... we have a problem!

Sully, the country home of Richard Bland and Elizabeth Collins Lee, was built in 1794 on land inherited by his father, Henry Lee II (Robert E. Lee's Uncle)

Nice place, Sully farm... but the Spa needs some maintenance.

The Sully farm "Slave quarters". The Hampton Inn it ain't!

Those Virginia folk sure built stuff to last.

Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia. Most "Southerners" know it as the Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War.

The cannons are now quietly rusting.

This Civil War house seems to be Sugarbear-size.

Now we're at Mount Vernon, the home of President George Washington.

Cozy two-story home located on several hundred acres of farm land. Spacious interior with separate kitchen and outhouse.

Sugarbear surveys George Washington's front porch overlooking the Potomac river.

What's for dinner tonight at Mount Vernon? Perhaps some pickled snapper?

A little "grist for the mill. A museum display of the daily grind at Mount Vernon.

Now we are on the Capitol Mall. Some mall... not much shopping. At least the museums are free!

The Franklin D Roosevelt memorial reminds us we have nothing to fear but fear itself... that, and being in downtown DC after dark.

Now we are close to the home of the "other" president George.

So are the bars there to keep us OUT or to keep Him IN?

Why do they call it the "White House" anyway?

A rare tour allows Sugarbear to get a close-up view of the White House gardens.

A view of the West Wing and Rose Garden. Maybe we'll get a close glimpse of "da Man"... you know, Martin Sheen.

Do you suppose the President has to mow his own lawn on Saturday afternoons?

The Smithsonian Castle entrance. Sugarbear researches the history of the practice of putting premiums inside cereal boxes.

Our visit to Washinton DC comes to an end. The best news of all; the whole trip is tax-deductible (I think).