america: washington d.c.

Even though my flight from JFK to national left on time, we sat in the airplane for an hour on the tarmac in DC. Argh. Something about the gate not being open yet. Argh. When I did the math, I figured out I had been on airplanes for exactly twice as much time as I was supposed to be. Argh.
Anywho, everything moved along nicely after we were finally able to get into the airport. I took the metro to the home of my friend from uni, Sarah. My plane being late ended up being a good thing, as Sarah wasn't able to leave work on time.
We didn't do much that night, other than walk down the street to have dinner. As with everyone else I've seen and will see all summer, it was great to catch up with someone who has known me for ages.
The next morning I was awake early, but didn't do much of anything for a couple hours. I had every intention of going into the city early, but that didn't happen.

I was just a few minutes late meeting a friend, we met at the archives. We met in Germany (not a gapper) in late 2009, and have kept in random touch ever since. We walked around the city center, the area where all the tourists start out.
We watched people on one side of the White House (while you see a lot of expensive cameras around travelers, you also see people who don't really know how to use a camera) and people lined up outside museums.
We ended up stopping for a snack at a chain place called the shake shack. Not bad, not great.
After my friend left to go to a baseball game, I hopped on the metro to go to coffee bean. When is looked online I found a couple locations in DC, so of course I had to have my chai latte :)
For dinner my host and I went back to the same place we had visited the night before. I was thrilled, as there were plenty of items on the menu that sounded good to me.
The next morning I got up and took the metro back to coffee bean again. I take advantage of proximity when I can!
My first sight of the day was a place I'd never seen before, the national building museum. It's not the type of museum I would normally visit, except that I'd heard about a temporary exhibition they had. I'm not normally into the details of architecture and names of builders, styles, etc...

The exhibition I wanted to see was called 'the BEACH.' It was built by a company from either Boston or philly, I can't remember. This is one time when photos do a better job of explaining than words. The company had poured a whole LOT of white, anti-microbial balls into a contained area they had built. They'd added beach chairs and umbrellas to complete the atmosphere.
SO MUCH FUN! The line to buy tickets was just as long as the line to get in, but I thought it was worth it. You could wade into the balls, or follow a runway a little way out, and jump into the balls. Once you were off your feet, it was surprisingly difficult to get back to standing straight up. Fun to take photos, fun to play. I loved it, so did everyone else. I'm pretty sure the only complaints were about the long lines. After I walked out I asked a security guard, and he told me they could only allow a certain number of people in at a time. 

He also mentioned happy hour, which was happening on Wednesday nights, during which time adults could bring alcohol into the exhibit. Even though I can't drink I wish I could've seen that.
I skimmed through the rest of the museum mostly to find a better photo of the BEACH, as the normal content of the museum didn't really interest me.
I went outside and spent a few moments of quiet reflection in front of the law enforcement memorial, located just outside the national building museum.
Then I walked to the Lincoln memorial. This time when I looked out, there was water in the pool, so it looked way better than it had three years previously. There were plenty of tourists, but not quite as many as I expected. Maybe that was because it was hot and humid.

At that point I could tell I needed hydration. It took me a while to find one of those guys selling drinks out of coolers, but when I did I bought water and Gatorade. (Gotta replace electrolytes and salt.)
I walked past Ford's theatre (and the home across the street) on the way to finding postcards. There were lines outside both. Why have I never visited either? Next time I will get there.
For dinner that night my host drove us north, across the state border into Maryland. We ate at a Mexican restaurant; pretty good food with huge portions.
The next morning I was given a ride to BWI, the airport a little north of DC. There is no traffic at 0400.
I really wish I'd had more time in DC, to catch up with more people, and see more of the city. AND, I need to do a better job of planning and thinking ahead with the time I do have.

taxation without representation

washington DC is the capitol of my country...i transited through the city at the end of 2009, but that didn't involve anything more than getting from the airport to the train station...i didn't see anything...when i was a kid, we had a family trip to DC, but i didn't remember much about the city...i only remembered heat and humidity...
one of my friends from uni just moved to DC...it's a part of the country i've wanted to visit for a while, and this seemed the perfect opportunity...a number of friends living in the city, or in the DC metro area, and historical sights...woo hoo:)
my flight arrived on time, and sarah met me at the airport...she lives in the city, her flat is only a block from the metro, conveniently on the same line that comes from the airport...yay...as the train came to the station, i mentioned that i was hungry...early early flights usually mean i don't eat breakfast, and my flight landed after noon, so i hadn't had solid food in a long time...
we opted for a place called ben's chili bowl...it's a DC landmark, and has been running for 50 years or so from the same location...i think it's a single restaurant, not a chain...if you are bill cosby, or a member of the obama family (the immediate family, i think) you eat there for free...obviously, that isn't me, but prices aren't high...the menu is simple, i went for chili...and a piece of red velvet cake...they only take cash, and there is an atm in the restaurant just in case you don't carry cash...we got our meal to go...

after getting to sarah's flat, we hung out for a while...until sara came...sarah and sara were both in my closest group of friends from uni...i hadn't seen either of them since then, which means 11 years...we've all grown up in that time, to say the least...
we went out to the mall area to see the sights...the washington monument, the lincoln memorial, the vietnam memorial and more...i took a lot of photos of course, and we talked nonstop...
dinner that night was at a place across the street from ben's chili bowl...i think the place was ulah's bistro? i don't remember exactly, but it was good...good appetizers, main course, and drinks...the dessert wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't awful either...we all ate too much though, the short walk home wasn't nearly long enough to work off the uncomfortably full feeling...
none of us was particularly quick waking up the next morning...eventually we got out the door, and sara was kind enough to drive us to the grocery store...since sarah doesn't have a car, yet lives in the city, it isn't easy for her to get groceries...a lot of stuff is available at convenience stores, but fresh fruit and produce aren't so easy to find...
after returning from grocery shopping, sara took off back to pennsylvania...boooo...it wasn't nearly long enough to catch up, but it was better than nothing...

i went out to see what i could in the city...i took the metro to arlington national cemetary, it wasn't a quick trip as the metro doesn't run nearly as often on weekends, and there was some work being done on the rails so the trains came even less often...when i finally got there, it didn't take long to get to the cemetary, which is huge...the cemetary was founded during the civil war, on the grounds of the former estate of confederate general robert e lee...anyone who has served in the military of the US is eligible to be buried in arlington national cemetary, with a few restrictions...spouses are eligible as well, and minor children...it's also possible to have cremated remains inurned...
one of the more famous names to be buried in arlingtion national cemetary is JFK...there is an eternal flame near that grave...other famous names buried in the cemetary: president william howard taft, general john j pershing, as well as senators robert kennedy and edward kennedy...i only saw JFK's area...i also walked to the tomb of the unknown soldier, which is really impressive...as i walked to the tomb, i realized there was a ceremony of some sort going on...a wreath laying ceremony...quite a few old vets were there, at least one was wearing something telling me he had been awarded a purple heart...at some point during the ceremony, all active duty in attendance were supposed to salute, and all civilians are supposed to put their hands on their hearts...

after the cemetary, i walked across the bridge, back to the edge of the area with the lincoln memorial...only this time i turned a corner, and made my way to the FDR (franklin delano roosevelt) memorial...it's bigger than i thought...there are several 'panels' for lack of a better word, each showing different aspects of his life...he was president for 12 years, something that is no longer possible...
not surprisingly, the next stop was another memorial...the jefferson memorial...it's not as visited as the lincolm memorial because it's on the other side of the water, but it's still nice...and even if you don't make it all the way to the memorial, you can take a photo or two from across the water...
all this walking was getting to me, so i walked back toward the green area between all the smithsonian museums...i took the chance to sit for a while, just watching people...DC is full of tourists, both domestic and international...as i was sitting and watching people, it was fun to try to pick out languages and accents...to say that fashions vary between countries and regions is a bit of an understatement...

after sitting a while, i walked more and found a bookstore...i'm a sucker for bookstores...
then, finally, i went home...sarah and i took it easy that night, lovely!!
the next day started with a reunion with a high school classmate...i hadnt seen katie in years and years, and had in fact lost contact with her...(in this day, that's tough to do!)...it turned out i had just missed her wedding (which took place just before i left ukraine) and my family had been invited to a reception in my hometown, so i was able to email katie's mom, get katie's email, then set up a meeting in DC...she doesn't live in the city, but she's close...we ate at ben's, i love the place...
after the meeting i got on the subway again and went back to the historical middle of the city, and walked toward the white house...i have very vague memories of seeing the place from a family vacation when i was 10 or so...since that was loooong before september 11th, i was expecting a lot more security around the perimeter...but i didn't see much...(just because i didn't see security doesn't mean it wasn't there)...

one of the most popular photos in DC is of someone standing in front of the fence, with the white house in the background...i think i first strolled up to the fence on the back side, so i just took a photo, i wasn't in the photo...there were a lot of people along the fence, but far fewer than i expected...(maybe because this was august, when it's hot and humid)...walking around the side of the white house takes you close to a couple office buildings and another statue...i think walking around the edge takes you close to the white house gardens, from which a lot of fresh produce is taken to feed the first family and others in the building...
on the other side of the white house the fence continues...this is the front side of the building, though that didn't seem obvious to me...across from the white house is a small tent city, as well as a few signs...gotta love free speech...across the street from this side of the white house is lafayette square...each corner of the square has a statue honouring someone of historical importance to my country (i could name and give details of each statue, but do you really want to add even more to an already ridiculously LONG entry?)...i got a photo with me in the photo from this side...

on the way back to sarah's flat, i went to the train station and got my ticket for a couple days later...by the time i got home it was dark, and my legs were tired...so much walking for days in a row is something i love, but it's exhausting when i haven't done it in a while
the next morning i went to mcclean, virginia for another meeting...my friend lynnae, who just had her second baby the week before, had just moved to the area with her husband and older son...i've seen some wee little kids, but i've never held one who is only a week old...i took the train to the end of the line, lynnae picked me up at the station...her mom was visiting too:)...it was nice to spend a couple hours catching up on life...
after taking the train back into the city, i went back to sarah's flat...we had made plans the night before to go to the holocaust museum as soon as i came back from mcclean...

back onto the subway, walking to the museum...it's free, but you have to have tickets, which we'd ordered online the night before...you can also get tickets at the door, but if you want to do that, it's best to be in line in the morning as there are only a certain number for each day, and they run out fairly quickly...each ticket has a timestamp, the whole idea is to keep traffic through the museum from being totally crazy...
the museum has a LOT of information, and great displays...the amount of information is stunning, and rather overwhelming...it's really intense, and really sobering...if i ever get the chance to go back to DC, i'd like to visit this museum again, more slowly this time...
for dinner that night i met up with another friend, this one from a visit to germany in 2009...i love seeing travel friends in different places around the world:)...since i'd already eaten at ben's several times during this visit, i figured why not eat there once more...after eating, we walked around the neighbourhood, found a quiet bar/restaurant and stopped in for drinks...

eventually i went back to sarah's place for my last evening...
my train the next day wasn't until 1430, and it seemed a waste not to do anything before leaving the city...washington DC is a pretty big city, and even though i had more days than i usually do in one place, i didn't come anywhere close to seeing everything...or, for that matter, even close to seeing everyone i know who lives in the area...when my next visit rolls around, i should do a whole lot more planning...a LOT more planning..(that's a guideline i need to apply to my next trip to the states in general, not just this city) since so much of what happens in DC is related to the government, i decided to go see the capitol...the building where so much of the power in DC resides...there are offices in the building, historical spots, important people, and the rooms where my nation's government is living.. there are tours of the capitol leaving quite regularly...entry for all visitors is through a huge visitors entrance/center, which is actually underground...this entrance isn't very old, but after events of this century, security has been increased all over the capital city..i walked in, got my tour ticket, was handed the earphones i'd need to hear my guide, and got in the correct queue...this is a popular tour, there are heaps of people in each group...since the accoustics all over the building make sound quite loud, the earphones are necessary if you want to hear your guide..

my guide was short, but was quite spunky, for lack of a better word..she knew her history, and was proud to show it off.. during the tour you get to see the rotunda, the old supreme court, the crypt, and a couple other places..i was a bit disappointed that i didn't get to see any active rooms, but i can understand why..if you contact your representative ahead of time, it is possible to arrange those tours, and quite easily, if i understand correctly...i took photos, listened to the stories, etc... my train left at 1430, and i was on the train...too bad the arrival of the train was over an hour late at my next destination...