While on assignment in Washington, D.C., I was asked to do a walking tour.  Being a AAA inspector, I've done many- from walking and Segway tours to bus and Duck tours (an amphibious craft).  When I was asked to do this one my expectations were not very high. 

First of all it was a free tour. What can you expect for free now-a-days? Secondly, the website said to meet at a street corner at a particular time and look for a person in a blue shirt.  This sounded kind of shady, but it’s my job so I did what the website instructed me to do.
At 7 p.m. on a hot summer night, I went to the northeast corner of 15th St. and Constitution Avenue as instructed.  I was early; no one was at the street corner. I continued to be skeptical, but suddenly a number of people began gathering.  The crowd continued to grow, and a young man came up to the group and asked if we were there for the tour.    He introduced himself and began asking where people were from and if they had been to Washington, D.C. before.  He gave a brief description of what we were going to see and the trek we would be taking.

We started out crossing Constitution Avenue and heading to the Washington Monument. The tour guide set a leisurely pace as he led the group to the base of the monument. Once there, he provided the usual historical insight, as well as information on some of the distant but visible structures, such as the U.S. Capitol and White House.  I found the guide to be quite informative. He relayed information I had never heard in previous tours, like how the Capitol dome has a low electrical current going through it to keep birds from nesting.

After a brief stop at the Washington Monument, where people were able to sit and look around, the guide brought the group to the National World War II Memorial.  He continued to provide unique insight on its construction and design. The memorial had to be built below ground level so it would not interfere with the view from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument.

After allowing visitors time to look and walk around the World War II memorial, the guide led our group to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  There he relayed the usual facts and again provided interesting trivia.  The artist of the memorial, Maya Lin, was an undergraduate at Yale University who in submitting a design for the memorial beat out her college professor, who had also submitted a design.

Moving on, the guide led the group to the Lincoln Memorial where some sat on the steps and others clicked their cameras as he shared more information. The final stop was the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

The tour lasted about two hours, and at least 50 people attended.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. My skepticism was vanishing, but I wondered how he was going to ask for money. 

I looked at the website’s FAQ section prior to taking the tour, which stated it was a "tip-based tour," and the usual tip was $10. Most of the visitors did give him something, however not everyone did. There was never any pressure or mention of money.

I was pleasantly surprised by this walking tour, "DC by Foot" and have included it in the next edition of the AAA TourBook.  It's not often you find something for free these days. The tour was relaxing, maintained a leisurely pace and provided great information.  Our guide did a great job.  This was a great find.