Around the World in 42 days - Day 26 - Washington D.C.

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Day Twenty Six
10 March 2010
Location: Raleigh & Washington D.C
Hotel: Marriott Hotel, Raleigh & Holiday Inn - Central, Washington DC

Day 26 started much like the previous day and we were soon packed and back in the car on our way towards the next destination, Washington DC.

Today we had no stops to make on our way to Washington and we decided to try and get there in one fell swoop. It’s about 300 miles to Washington from Raleigh, and Celeste was estimating about a 5 hour trip. With our plan ready, we fired up the engines, hit the gas and were on our way. We were soon out on to the interstate and had our eyes on the prize. The miles disappeared as we drew closer and closer to Washington.

By late morning, we were both getting pretty hungry and had a craving for some IHOP pancakes. We had yet to eat at IHOP on this trip and had made it a point to make sure we get there before leaving the US. We found an IHOP a little off the interstate and were soon sitting in a booth waiting for our pancakes and eggs.

After our delicious pancakes (you would think we’d be sick of them by now), we made our way back onto the interstate and were happy to see that Washington was only about 2 hours away.

As we approached Washington we could definitely see the scenery change as we left the country and made our way into the big city. Our hotel was located about 8 blocks north of the White House and the National Mall. As we followed Celeste’s directions, we were lead straight through the Mall and were in awe of the monuments around us.

To our left we could the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and to our right were all the museums that look over the Mall and lead up to Capitol Hill. I must admit, this was the first time over the course of the last three days where I wished Erin and I could swap seats as I was just busting to look at all the sights!

We moved on and soon the Mall was behind us and we were approaching our destination. The streets weren’t too crowded, but I was definitely glad that we decided not to use a car in Washington as we could see that it was quicker simply walking or taking taxi’s.

A few minutes later we pulled up to our hotel and were relieved to see that it looked nice enough. I have never stayed at a Holiday Inn and was nervous about the quality of the hotel. It had received positive reviews online, but I’ve found that Holiday Inn’s can greatly vary in quality and it’s a bit of a shot in the dark when booking them.

Luckily, the hotel was pleasant enough and we were soon upstairs and walking into a large room with a comfortable lounge area as well. All in all, we were surprised and happy with the hotel and its proximity to the sights.

We didn’t hang around for long as we had to get the car back to the rental company. As we had made good time, we thought we could get a few hours of sightseeing in before sundown too. We grabbed the car and made a quick u-turn to lead us back in the direction of Union Station.

Upon arriving at the major train station we tried our best to find the rental car location, but we were unable to spot anything that looked even remotely like a rental car office or garage. I had no choice but to keep driving and decided to call Hertz to find out exactly where the office is. Fortunately I was able to speak to someone quite quickly and they informed me of where we needed to go.

A few minutes later we were back at Union Station and I was able to locate the car drop-off point. The lack of signage still amazed us both and we doubted that anyone ever finds the location without a prompt call to the office. We parked the car and went down into the station to drop in the keys.

Before leaving the car, we took a quiet moment to say our goodbyes to Celeste. She had gotten us halfway up the eastern seaboard of America without a problem. Her directions had always been precise and timely and I knew that I would never again have a navigator as faithful and trustworthy as she.

Erin simply rolled her eyes and I knew she was already plotting how she would get us lost when it would next be up to her to manage the directions.

With Celeste and our car gone, we decided to brave the subway and see if it could provide any benefits during our stay in Washington. We soon discovered that the underground network is pretty limited and that we would probably be better simply walking everywhere.

We departed the subway near the Mall and enjoyed the walk down towards the Washington Monument. It was approaching 3:30 by this stage and given the cold, wet weather, we would only have and our or two of sunlight. We made the most of it and wandered up to the Monument to take in all its strength and beauty. We were looking forward to going to the top, but we had decided to leave that until another day.

After spending a bit of time wandering around the base of the monument and enjoying the view of the Mall, we decided to wander down to the Lincoln Memorial. This gigantic monument sits at the west end of the Mall and proudly depicts America’s most popular president. I’m sure you all know the story of Lincoln, so there is little point reiterating it here, but I am happy to say that the memorial is a worthy tribute to the man who freed the slaves and united America.

The distance between the Monument and the Memorial is probably close to a kilometre. It’s not a short walk, but we certainly were complaining as the path leads you past the spectacularly designed World War II fountain and memorial and along the reflecting pool. Unfortunately for us, the pool had been drained (most likely as it would freeze over in the winter) and therefore we only got to see a few reflective puddles. Not exactly what we had hoped for.

Finally we reached the memorial. As you walk up the steps to the monument, you can see the shadow of the seated Lincoln hidden beyond the columns that support the shrine. Erin and I both felt a rush of excitement and exhilaration as we slowly climbed the steps to the top of the monument. This is a place that has been so significantly documented in all aspects of historic and pop culture that it was hard to believe we were standing mere feet away from the famous statue.

We wandered past the columns that almost act as silent sentinels watching over the monument and the Mall and beheld the enormous, imposing statue of Lincoln. It was magnificent. Often times, you see these sorts of sights in pictures and movies and they look huge, until you arrive in person and they’re actually quite small and insignificant (the Hollywood sign for example), but the Lincoln Memorial is just as big and beautiful as you expect it to be.

Erin was equally impressed with the memorial and as she studied history at university, was eager to wander the site and read the addresses that had been painstakingly carved into the walls. The first speech carved into the south wall was his famous Gettysburg Address. On the north wall was his second inauguration speech delivered upon his reelection in 1865. While everyone knows the Gettysburg Address, I was fascinated to read the inauguration speech and found it to be a lot more prolific in both content and emotion. You could tell from reading both speeches that this man was a true patriot.

After spending time reading the various speeches and enjoying every nook and cranny of the memorial, we wandered back down the steps and towards the White House. Sitting just to the north of the Mall, it wasn’t a long walk and we figured that now was as good a time as any to go and see the most famous - and I must admit, whitest - house on the planet.

We made our way through the Constitution Gardens and along the pond towards the well kept Ellipse (also known as the President’s Park) that sits to the south of the White House, the famed residence of the President of the United States of America. The sun had fallen by this stage and as we walked along E Street, we could sit the lit up south façade of the house.

One thing that Erin I did not know is that the House actually faces away from the National Mall and that one of the more famous views of the house is actually the rear. At night, there is a warm, soft lit glow across the entire house and it sits in eerie silence on the other side of the gardens. I knew we could get closer if we wandered around to Pennsylvania Avenue, but I thought that it would be best to wait until daylight when we can get a much better look at the house.

We continued to stroll, passing through a number of streets that were bordered by police and Secret Service agents. They wandered with large German Sheppard’s that would sniff each of the approaching cars, presumably for traces of plastic explosive. It was surreal to see the amount of security that surrounds the White House and we would experience just how security conscious Washington is over the next few days.

By this stage we were getting a bit tired and started to wander back towards the hotel. On the way we found a Borders bookstore and spent a few minutes inside looking at the books and magazines. I was excited to finally be in a town with a celebrated hockey team and couldn’t wait to start looking for hockey related merchandise. I was over the moon to find my first Sidney Crosby book and promptly purchased the book without giving it much thought.

We continued to walk north towards our hotel and debated over what to do for dinner. We weren’t overly hungry and I don’t think either of us was motivated enough to find a restaurant, so we went into a nearby CVS Pharmacy and bought a few things to snack on, before finally arriving at hotel.

After seven hours of driving, dropping off the car and walking at leave five miles, we were ready to drop down onto the bed and get some well deserved sleep.

We were finally in Washington, at the mid-point of our American adventure and we couldn’t wait to start seeing all the sights.

Paul & Erin

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