We slept in again, oh well. From our experiences you need every minute you get in Washington. After catching up with e-mail we were off to the Smithsonian today. We got to the mall and walked up to the Capitol building to take some photos. After admiring the castle some more we had to decide which museum to suss out. The Smithsonian is a multitude of many museums, all having no admission charge. These suckers are not small museums either. If we were to go through them all we would have to give ourselves a week to do it, I mean 7 days not the 5. We decided on the National Museum of American History. I must admit it was not what we expected and was not very exciting. In saying this there were a few interesting exhibits.

After lunch we decided to bail and go next door to the National Natural Museum. Big Doh ! We should have come here first. It was amazing. Unfortunately we only breezed through it before they shut the doors. It had things from dinosaurs to Indians. The later enhancing our prior knowledge of what we obtained on the Trek. As they were throwing us out the door we walked into a beautiful sunset. Clear blue sky that faded into a nice bright orange on the horizon. Pictures just had to be taken of that one. How apt that the good old U.S. of A dishes up that kind of a sunset for our last one.

We stumbled onto a mega food court, so the choice for dinner was overwhelming. We washed it down with a non-alcoholic Pina Colada after Zuz's question, "What is a Pina Colada?" One she may regret. Once back at the hostel it was time to pack for the morning.

No sleeping in today. Up at 6:00am to get a 7:30 bus to New York. We rescued the granite rock (suitcase) and enjoyed the ride up. Even though we stuck to the highways it was a very scenic ride. All of the trees in their fall uniforms, golden yellows, browns and reds. It is a sight that I don't often get to experience.

We arrived in New York at 11:30 and sat around for an hour so we could catch a bus to J.F.K. airport. I checked in first, even getting my L.A. to Sydney boarding pass. Then it was time to get Zuz checked in. We dragged the suitcase one last time from terminal 6 to 4west. Yes it felt longer than it sounds. Now that all the official stuff have been completed it was time to head to the gate and wait for the boarding call at 3:30. I must admit it was the hardest goodbye I have ever had. Unfortunately the first of many. Other than that it was an uneventful, but long flight all the way home.

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