NY Trippin' - Washington D.C. -Finally!!

August 4, 2012

Ok, so I've been back from our driving sojourn for a few days now, and haven't blogged any yet. Getting back home means unpacking, washing, putting away, catching up..... My selfish intention for this blog was to keep in mind all the wonderful happenings along our trip that go along with or are in addition to the photos we've taken. So-if you know me at all you know I better get blogging before I lose the memories all together!!  :)

So. Last post was still Pennsylvania. After nourishing ourselves at Jennie's Diner, with a quick look over our shoulder at Lavender Larry's lavender and white tractor rig (why lavender?? I can't help but wonder), we're off toward our nation's capital.

Janet has a friend, Meagan, who lives in D.C. and she graciously allowed us to stay with her for a couple of days.

The best part was that Meagan has lived in D.C. for years and knows her way around, both geographically and politically. She told us all sorts of interesting tidbits of information of the history of different neighborhoods in D.C., the streets, the nightlife, the people....all sorts of stuff. In other words, we got an insider's view of the city; not just that of a tourist. But-that being said-we again did the touristy thing to see the sights of the city and rode the double-decker bus !

 In case I look too incognito, I'm the sexy big-eared vixen on the left!! 

We caught the tour at Union Station. Wow! That was something to see! And at this point we had just looked at it from the outside! There are 4 colored lines of tour buses you can ride to catch all the sights in the district. The one that had most of the standard things everyone wants to see when they visit D.C. is the Red line, so that's the one we took first.

The Red line took us to see multiple sites of Smithsonian museums. In case you don't know, there are 14 (I think) Smithsonian's in D.C. The only one we went into was the Portraits museum. And it was HUGE! I don't know if you could see everything D.C. has to offer if you stayed there for 3 weeks!

SO-we told ourselves from the very beginning that this would be a very 'macro' sightseeing visit of D.C. In hopes that maybe someday I can go back and see the things I missed and other things I saw in more detail. The castle below is the main Smithsonian Museum.

 And of course, the Washington Monument...

 The Lincoln Memorial....

 One of the places we hopped off the bus was the Korean War Memorial. My dad served in the Navy on the USS DeHaven destroyer during that 'conflict'. So I wanted to be sure to take photos to show him the memorial created for them. It was pretty amazing...

 There are nineteen  seven foot statues of soldiers appearing as if they are walking through the Korean  terrain. There is also a Pool of Remembrance and a wall with etched soldiers from all branches of the service.

"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met", says the inscription on 

the Pool of Remembrance at this memorial.

 And, finally, the call of the Korean War...

 Gave me goosebumps, Ladies and Gentlemen. I would love to see it at night.

Then, of course, there are the two most photo'd sites in D.C.:

 Not me! The Capital!! Teeheee...... and:

I really enjoyed and was awed by the amazing amount of buildings that are stuffed into the District of Columbia. Meagan lives in a row house, which I have always found fascinating. These are rowhouses in the Georgetown area.

 They have a serious parking problem in D.C. So many people, so many cars, so little space to put them. There are no freeways in Washington, so traffic is very stop and go. And U-turns can be (and are) made anywhere. And if you hesitate at a light or on a turn, you WILL receive a honk from someone! So my suggestion to you is to take the subway! I have always wanted to take a subway. When I visited NYC long ago, I wanted to try the subway but was too scared. It is very intimidating. But-our wonderful host Meagan explained how it worked so well that we took the subway home, and even transferred trains!!

It was SO COOL!!

 Every city should have a subway system. In fact, I'm amazed that they don't! We headed back to Meagan's right around rush hour and it was amazing how quickly you can get from point A to point B even if its all the way to the other side! I'm sold on subways...

After washing off the 100 degree heat of the day of sightseeing, we set out again to see a little nightlife. We walked along the U Street area and saw the Howard Theatre, the historic arts landmark that launched the careers of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. It was just re-opened after an extensive remodeling.  Very beautiful!

 We had intentions of eating at Ben's Chili Bowl-another landmark in Washington. But concerns of acid reflux scared us into the restaurant next door, interestingly called Next Door.

It was here that I had my favorite meal of the whole trip. Well, it wasn't even technically a meal, but an appetizer. But after the hot day we'd just gone through, none of us had a big appetite. So I ordered a
Crispy Tomato with Mozzarella  $8 served warm with balsamic reduction, extra virgin olive oil, & fresh herbs 

and it was AMAZING!!! I want to learn how to make it....hope I can figure it out!!

I ate every morsel. We also had some Ben's Chili Cheese Fries on the side. Good. Spicy. Glad I went with the tomato.....  :D.

Wish I could tell you we danced the night away, but after eating we walked toward home, got sprinkled on a bit, went back to the cozy row-house, and.....well..........zzzzzzzzzzz.

Next:   Tennessee Again!?!