4.05.2012

I See DC

I have been lucky enough to have been to DC a few times. My grandmother lives in Baltimore and my Uncle lives in Virginia; both are less than an hour away from the city. So this trip was nice and relaxed; I didn't feel pressured to see all of the Smithsonian Museums in one day (by the way: NOT possible); I didn't run around like a chicken trying to make sure I went to the Changing of The Guards at Arlington Cemetery and the White House and all the other Federal Buildings. There weren't really very many cherry blossoms, so I didn't even feel pressured to get the perfect photo from the perfect angle. And, like I said, I was there by myself. So I did what I wanted.

I just strolled. And by strolled I meant walked really fast, because that is the only way I walk, much to the annoyance of people like my boyfriend who always asks why I am in "such a hurry". I just strolled, and even ran a little. Here is a quick recap.

Saturday

On Saturday, I arrived in the afternoon and went to pick up my packet for the race (see B). Then I walked over to the Mall (C/D). From there I walked past the Washington Monument (F), where there was a kite flying free for all! I walked to the Lincoln Memorial (H) via the WWII Memorial (G) and the Korean War Memorial (I). Unfortunately, the reflecting pool was closed. It seems like they may have done this sometime NOT during the 100 Year Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but whatever.

After that, I went to the Tidal Basin (J) to see if there were any blossoms. There weren't. But I got to see the new MLK Memorial (K) which was neat. Then I went back to the hotel to get ready for the next day's race!

Day 1 walking route: 7 miles
Tidal Basin
WWII memorial
I love photos of people taking photos.
Reflecting pool = closed
Lovely kite flying day!
Random DC
Lincoln
Sunday

The race. And then I went over to Arlington, where I stayed the night. From my hotel, I walked to lunch and then to Georgetown, where I found my new house. Or a few of them. Once I make billions of dollars, that is. It was so crowded there. In hindsight, I should have waited until Monday, because this speedwalker was quite annoyed by the slow, looky loo walkers who stop in the middle of the sidewalk to talk on their phones while walking their dogs. I did escape to the less crowded streets, which were beautiful.

In the evening, I met up with the aforementioned Uncle for a stroll around Old Town Alexandria and dinner at the Fish Market

My new house, thank you very much. (Georgetown)
Alexandria
Monday

First I went for a gorgeous run (my 10k for the Jelly Bean) along the Potomac on the Mt Vernon trail. The trail runs along the river directly opposite the Mall, so the entire run I got a view of the monuments! Also, it was a nice sunny, although super windy day and there were tons of people on the trail with me.

My ingenious plan was to go to the Museum of Natural History (my favorite!) on Monday, since it would not be as busy as the weekend. I was wrong. It must have been field trip time, because it was PACKED. I did a quick skim of the Africa room, the ocean room and the dinosaurs and then headed to the Museum of American History. It was equally as crowded. Bummer. I couldn't handle it. If I hadn't been there before I would have stuck it out, but I have, so I left. I went via the Mall so I could take a few photos of the Capitol building (and maybe I "accidentally" caught this runner in the photo. Oops)

I went back to my hotel and went to bed early because I had to get up at 4 am the next day to catch my flight home! That sure made for a tired lady when I got back home (12 pm PDT + getting up at 4 in the morning EDT = confusion and fatigue).

Mt Vernon Trail
Half Naked Guy Running Capitol Building / Mall

 What is your favorite museum to go to? Do you do a lot of walking when you travel? Do early morning flights (and time changes) wear you out?

12 comments:

  1. Looks like a great trip! The reflecting pool was closed when I was there last year, too. :( I loved seeing all the monuments and memorials. My fave memorial was probably WWII.

    I like museums, but I need to walk through them really fast - so it's best for me to go alone because then I am not ruining someone else's experience! My favorite museum is d'Orsay in Paris.

    And I walk a TON when I travel. It's the best way to see the city!!

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  2. I wish I had your life with all your nice trips and fun adventures ;) looks like a great time. I hope to visiting Washington one day. It's on the list

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  3. I love DC! And the Changing of the Guards is amazing. We (or I) walk a lot when we travel. So much to see and do and, ideally, not in a rush so why not walk.

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  4. I love your photos! DC is so gorgeous.

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  5. Beautiful! I like to walk around a lot on vacation and see everything there is to see. I don't really like the early morning flights just because I have to wake up early, but it is better to get to the destination earlier. The time change from our Europe trip took me a couple of weeks to get over. Yikes! Not fun.

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  6. I hope to get to DC someday, I can't believe now that I passed up a trip to DC when I was in high school. My lil sis thinks they will move there in the next three years for her husbands job, if they do I will so be spending some quality time there and trying to see as much as possible.

    Love all your great pictures and your new house :)

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  7. That's my favorite way to see a new place, too-- walk (quickly) all over the city! You were there at such a beautiful time of the year. The time change is always rough, though.

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  8. I love walking when I travel. It makes me feel like more of a local who is discovering my city, rather than a tourist who takes a tourism bus from one sight to another.

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  9. I love walking when traveling...but combined with morning runs and early flights that normally means Im early to bed too. LOL

    Hello friend....sorry it's been too long - im in Michigan and and am finding it extremely hard to have a single second not entertaining all 4 of my nephews...holy moly
    (my sister deserves a medal. n e ways...I have escaped to a closet for some MUCH needed adult time So happy to be catching up!

    xoxo from a closet in Michigan lol

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  10. I've only been to DC once but I absolutely loved it. The Museum of Natural History was my favorite. We went to see Little Shop of Horrors at the Ford Theater which I also thought was kind of fun. We tried to go see the Holocaust museum which had just opened but it was crowded with school kids that we finally gave up half way through.

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  11. We are going to DC later this month, and this post has me even more excited! My husband has never been so I'm excited to take him to the Newseum. Last time I was there I spent six hours at the Newseum and felt like I could stay for days. I think I always walk a lot when traveling - it's the best way to see a city.

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  12. That sounds like a great weekend!

    I am DYING to go to DC.

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