How many miles is the roundtrip from 10th and Mass (in DC) to the Thomas Jefferson memorial? On the way, we stopped at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, WWII Memorial, and the Memorials for Lincoln and FDR.

On Mother's Day, Mum and I started the day with brunch at Les Halles (DC) before departing on our walking tour of the capital. At the end of the day, when we stopped at Elephant and Castle for dinner, she was convinced that we had walked at least 5 (or 15) miles. Drawn into our squabble (I was thinking 2-3 miles, tops), the waiter pointed out that the District of Columbia was only 9 miles wide.

For the next 2 days, our diffident disagreement continued - we finally arrived at a compromise of about 3.5 miles for the Sunday trek. (Btw, Sunday was followed by Monday and Tuesday treks.) On arriving home, she gleefully informed me that she had picked up a map (with a mileage scale) while waiting for her plane and could now prove how far we trudged. Currently, I'm waiting for my copy of the map - so that I can perform my own calculations.

In the interim, I called upon the nps web-site (national park service), mapquest.com, and google to help me with some preliminary calculations. Oops! The rough web-based roundtrip estimate is 5.83 miles. Guess we did walk quite far...especially if you factor in the impact of humidity. Ick!

Now, my current dilemma - must I admit to mum that she may be spot on? Or, shall I wait and dispute her map-based calculations. Hmmm...if the map is in the mail, it seems rude to speak prematurely...I can wait for it. :)

PS - Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and soon-to-be moms in my life.