Washington, D.C.

March 2-4

March 2.

Well, we're at the last major trip I've taken up till now.  After this, it'll be me talking about prior trips (I'm considering Bilbao 2016 and then Barcelona/Madrid 2016, maybe even possibly Bilbao 2017) and my upcoming/recently completed trips.

I've never been to DC, and I think it's great that my friend/travel buddy has family in cities like Boston who are more than willing to have someone like me join my friend on her trips, because I get it, sometimes having an extra person whom you don't know in your house can be kind of daunting, but it sounds like she talks about me to her family and they feel like they can trust me, so I'm okay with that.

Anyway, we booked the bus tickets and headed up after work to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to head down there.  We had some really nasty weather that day in New York; one of those really nasty sleet storms, that's half rain and half snow, plus lots of wind.  We heard rumors that down in DC it was also really bad, but no word on any cancelled buses, so we left.

Well, we got into Delaware on I-95, and we stopped at a rest area to switch drivers.  It was then announced that all traffic on I-95 by the Chesapeake Bridge that spans the DC metro area was closed off.  So we were stuck in Delaware until further notice.  It's 9:30 pm by this point, and I'm exhausted, my friend is exhausted, and I didn't have the energy to care one way or the other what was going on.  My friend wasn't having any of it after all, she decided, so she was going to do something crazy.  It's always an adventure.

So she hired an Uber/Lyft.  To get us from Delaware to DC.  Which is like a 3-hour drive.  One brave soul was willing to make the trip, and problem solved.

We ended up getting to my friend's aunt's house in Maryland at around 1 in the morning, and we got settled enough to crawl into bed, and passed out.

I'm not posting an itinerary for that day, since it was literally just me going to work, walking to PABT, and driving down to DC.  Not at all exciting.

March 3.

It's now my first morning in the DC area, and I'm liking it okay.  We got sleep, a ride to the closest DC subway stop, and ended up in Chinatown.  I get really cranky when I'm still somewhat tired, hungry (yeah, I get hangry), and have a draft of cold air blowing on my neck from where I was sitting in the train.  First thing we do is find a place to sit down and eat, and we found this really cute Japanese place where I got a Bento box that was way bigger than I imagined, but it still hit the spot.

Feeling refreshed and not so cranky anymore, we headed out of Chinatown and closer into downtown DC.  Which was quite dead considering it's a major city, but then again I'm used to Manhattan where there are cars and people everywhere and you're practically stepping on them.  So the fact that this nation's capital is, well, dead was super weird for me.

We ended up right at the National Mall by the White House lawn and the Washington Monument.  Couldn't get very close to the White House (can't say I blame the Secret Service for this one), but because I have a "fancy" camera with awesome zoom, I managed to get pictures that make it look like we got very close.  Check it.

This is how far back we were standing, taken with my phone.

This is what it looks like with my camera.  A+

It was pretty weird, having my first trip to Washington DC be under a very controversial and divisive President, but there you go.  Beggars can't be choosers, and ultimately I was very impressed with DC and would love to go back and see other places.

We walked around closer to the Washington Monument, and then turned and headed towards the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial from the World War II Memorial

Washington Monument, from the WWII Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is just as impressive in person as you would hope it would be, being such an iconic setting for the Civil Rights movements in this country.  Very sobering and iconic, and it was incredible to really feel like I was part of history.  I really can't put into words the experience.  A lot of people simply seem to think that me traveling a lot, or just having traveled a lot, means I don't like my country or find enough wrong with it that I always want to leave.  It has nothing to do with that.  I legitimately feel like traveling a lot and talking to people from other countries has really helped me understand my place in the world both as an American and an American who travels.  I understand how much of a benefit it is for me to be American, how much easier travel is for me, and the access I have to so much.  I've been asked if I'll ever become a Spanish citizen, and for a number of reasons, my answer is no.  I don't ever plan on becoming a citizen of another country because I don't ever plan on losing my American citizenship.  Most European countries don't recognize dual nationalities (Spain being one of them), and that's just not something I ever want to do.  I don't love everything my country does, and being abroad has taught me so much about not being a "rah rah 'Merica" kind of American.  I want to be a good ambassador for my country, a force for good, and if I give up my citizenship I lose all that.  I lose the ability to participate in politics, I lose the ability to make any kind of change.  So no, I will never not be an American, no matter how much time I spend overseas.

The Reflecting Pool isn't very reflective in early March.

After the Lincoln Memorial, we headed off towards the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, with views of the Jefferson Monument, and then the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Because of the wind storm the night before (it was really, really bad, and it ended up not being at all surprising that the bridge over the Chesapeake was closed), there were trees down all over the place.  I'm not a big nature person (in that I'm not much of a hiker or outdoorsy person), but it always makes me sad when trees collapse.  Not even a week after I got back but this massive tree right next to my house went down and it actually made me really sad.  I like trees.  Trees make me happy. And so many of the trees in DC were already starting to bud.  It's the whole premature death thing that bothers me, I think, especially when there's so much potential beauty that's been snuffed out, even if it's by an act of nature.

Makes for some really cool pictures though...

We headed back to the National Mall towards the Capitol Building, and then grabbed some coffee for warmth before heading back to catch the subway back to my friend's aunt's place in Maryland.

We passed the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building, hohoho

The Capitol at night.  The empty streets were seriously uncanny.  I don't even know.

Google is being weird and is only showing me satellite images instead of the map, but whatever.

March 4th.

I don't have many pictures from this day since we didn't have a whole lot of time before heading the bus station to head back to New York. But I got to see some of Georgetown, which I did really like, even if it is a tad hipster for my taste.  What's nice about it is that since there are a lot of foreigners living in DC due to government work, it's not that hard to find a French-style café that is actually French-style instead of what an American's idea of what a French café should look like.  So I got my espresso and pain au chocolat and kept walking.  Ended up walking by the White House again, except from the other side, and came across a demonstration for the Palestinian state, thanks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit.

I'm not even going to begin to touch this one because Israel has only become part of my life within the last few months or so, since I really started getting to know my new friend.  All I'm going to say is that it was most definitely a learning and educational experience for me.  And those moments need to be treasured and heeded.  Understanding the limits of your knowledge and being willing to see things from other people's perspective, learn from it, and even be willing to change your own perspective is a very valuable asset.

We then headed towards the bus station at Union Station.

And thus ended my short, albeit very lovely and enlightening, trip to Washington, DC.  I really want to go back and explore some more, especially the Smithsonian.  Oh, museums, how I love ye.

I'm actually team!Android, but my friend wanted to look at iPads.

Here's a list of my upcoming trips: London this coming weekend (April 20-22), Toronto in May, Boston in May, Hong Kong and the Philippines in June, and back to Spain in July.  And those are only the tickets I have booked (besides Boston).  Fun times.