Around the World in 42 days - Day 28 - Washington D.C.

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Day Twenty Eight
12 March 2010
Location: Washington D.C
Hotel: Holiday Inn - Central, Washington DC

Hockey day in Washington had arrived and I was pumped! No, that doesn’t quite do it. I was absolutely over the moon excited that in less than 12 hours I’d be watching Ovechkin and the Caps take on the Lightning in one of the best hockey arenas in the country.

I won’t bore everyone else with my constant hockey babble, as we still had a full day in Washington to put under our belts before the puck would be ready to drop.

We got up early yet again and this time we were focused on making it to the Washington Monument. Unfortunately, upon stepping outside, we were confronted with a cold, wet day. We quickly decided to skip the walk to the Mall and hailed a cab.

We were soon at the Mall, but unfortunately the drizzle of rain was constant and we had left our umbrella back in the room. I quickly surveyed the scene, but was unable to locate a place that might sell umbrellas. The rain was pretty light and we decided to just suck it up and hope that it didn’t get any worse.

It was about 8:45 by the time we arrived at the monument and we were happy to find that tickets for the 9:30am group were still available, and better yet, free! We grabbed them and spent 10 minutes in the gift shop half heartedly looking at books and other touristy items. It was more an excuse to stay warm for a while.

We eventually made our way outside and took our place in line with the 9:30am group. It took about 30 minutes before we were able to enter the base of the monument and it was great to get back inside and out of the cold. We went through a security screening process (this was second nature by this point) and were led around to the main elevator, where we waited a few minutes before boarding.

Once in the elevator we were expedited to the main viewing room at the top of the monument and were disappointed to find the space quite small and the windows even smaller. After visiting the Eiffel Tower and the top of the Alps, staring out of a misty window about the size of a pizza box, didn’t exactly leave us gobsmacked. It wasn’t helped by the weather, which left visibility at barely a mile all around the monument.

We took a few mist-ruined photos and I filmed the interior, but after 5 minutes, we had seen everything worth seeing and were soon back in the elevator and on our way back down to the Mall. While the experience had been pretty underwhelming, we were still happy to have done it and seen the inside of the Monument.

Once our feet were on solid ground again, we decided to go and visit the Natural History Museum. Located on the North side of the Mall, it’s not too far a walk from the Monument and we were eager to get inside and warm up.

As we left the Monument, we noticed that 14th street (which runs straight through the Mall) was completely blocked off and all manner of security, police, fire and ambulance were assembled all over the place. We also noticed cops at each intersection controlling traffic. We didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed oddly normal and we got the impression that the citizens of Washington experience this sort of security lock down quite regularly.

We arrived at the museum just before it opened and joined the people in line. After a few minutes the museum doors opened and we entered, going through our second security check of the day and it was only 10am.

Upon entering the Museum we were immediately impressed with the large, open foyer and the various items on display. While we would have plenty of time to view the collections, Erin and I were more concerned with finding the café and getting a nice hot coffee each.

We soon located the café in a distant corner of the museum and quickly made our way towards the smell of warm coffee and food. We each grabbed a piping hot coffee and a breakfast snack and sat at a table by the window. We had a nice view of the Mall and watched as people continued to embrace the cold, wet weather as we enjoy our warm drinks.

We finished our coffees and placed our cups in the bins before re-entering one of the exhibits. The Natural History Museum is home to a large number of artifacts, but its key focus is the display and presentation of various historic civilizations and cultures. Not to mention the large number of dinosaur fossils and other animal related exhibits.

While we found many of the exhibits pleasing to look at, we didn’t have much interest in reading about many of the collections on the display. At times it felt more like we were walking through a zoo in which the animals weren’t real.

The exhibits themselves are impressive and I can definitely see the appeal when looking at the museum from an educational point of view. The information is presented extremely well and we witnessed many kids and students actively enjoying the exhibits.

After wandering around the various halls, we decided to catch another IMAX show. The next presentation was “Galapagos 3D”. We bought our tickets and made our way into yet another huge IMAX theatre. The movie was quite interesting and followed the exploration of the Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin. It focused on the islands themselves and the species that survive and evolve within the Galapagos. Erin especially enjoyed it.

By the time the movie finished the afternoon had arrived and we decided to move on to the next museum. We decided that our next attraction should be the Newseum, located just outside of the National Mall.

I had read multiple reviews of the Newseum and it seemed to be extremely popular, if not all that well known. We wandered along the Mall and turned up 6th Street towards the Newseum. Unlike the museums that form part of the Smithsonian, the Newseum actually costs to get in. The $20 per ticket cost seemed high, but I was eager to see what all the hype was about.

We wandered into the Newseum and immediately you can see that the building is fairly new and we soon discovered that the museum had only been around for little over a decade. The building is made up of seven levels, all containing a number of different exhibits and galleries.

Erin and I wandered the lobby and mused at the giant news chopper hanging in the middle of the open building. We made our way to the first exhibit and were intrigued to find that it focusee on the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs from the last half century. Not only were the photo’s fantastic to see (even if the content of some was disturbing), but it was also great to read the stories regarding how the photos were captured and the thoughts of the photographers.

We spent a good 30 minutes wandering around looking at the photo’s before we moved on to the next exhibit. We found the next gallery was focused on the World Trade Center attacks and the walls were lined with hundreds of different front page newspaper articles from around the world detailing the attacks. It was impressive and saddening to view, especially as I still hold the West Australian newspaper from the day after the attacks.

We continued to walk up through the various exhibits and found each as interesting as the next. While some of the exhibits focused on the more serious side of the news, there are some great, more entertaining exhibits which kept us amused.

As we continued to the top level of the museum, we came to a wall containing all the front pages of America’s primary newspapers. It was amusing to see them lined up one after the other and there must have been at least 70.

Finally, we reached the balcony on the top level, which affords a great view of Capitol Hill. We wandered out and enjoyed the view of the area and took a few photos. Once we had braced the cold long enough, we decided to head back downstairs and see about getting some lunch.

The Newseum has a great cafeteria and Erin and I both decided to eat lunch there. It was nice to avoid the regular fast food options and we were happy to see the cafeteria offered a number of healthier options. I opted for some grilled fish and Erin had a salad and fruit combination.

After lunch, we departed the museum and decided to catch a taxi to the Georgetown Mall. It was about 2:30pm by this point and we figured we had just enough time to have a look at the shops before the game.

The reason we chose the Georgetown Mall, other than Erin’s love of shopping, is that the famous chase scene in True Lies was shot there and I wanted to see if I could recognize any of the places used in the film. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to really notice anything and had to spend the bulk of the time following Erin from shop to shop. She did manage to find a nice jacket though, so the visit was well worth it.

Before catching a cab back to the hotel, we stopped at a Georgetown tourist shop to try and find some merchandise with “Georgetown” on it for Erin’s dad. Unfortunately, there was very little with the name and I figured the university would be the only place to get Georgetown stuff.

We arrived back at the hotel about 4:30, and only managed about 30 minutes rest before we had to get ready and leave for the game. The puck wasn’t due to drop until 7pm, but I wanted to get to the arena earlier to have a look around and really take in the entire atmosphere.

We were dressed in our best Capitals gear and in the cab ride to the arena I was practically jumping up and down. We arrived at the Verizon Center and I was thrilled to see hundreds of other supporters wandering the streets outside.

We quickly made our way into the stadium and I immediately spotted the team shop. I couldn’t believe the amount of merchandise on offer, or the prices. If I was a Capitals fan, I would have gone crazy, but luckily I’m a Pens man and I was able to control myself.

After looking around the store for a good 20 minutes, we made our way into the stadium and were thrilled to find our seats at centre ice, just a few back from the glass and directly behind the tunnel in which the players enter and exit the rink.

About 20 minutes before the game, the players skated out and started their warm-up. I couldn’t believe that after months of waiting, I was finally seeing some of my favourite players, including Ovechkin. The Russian Captain led his team onto the ice and proceeded to warm up and entertain the crowd. It was great watching some of the other players go through their routine and I was quickly taking mental notes about the stretches and drills they were doing.

After about 10 minutes, the teams went back into the change rooms. After about five minutes, the lights dimmed and the crowd roared as their Washington Capitals took the ice in a mix of music, spotlights and chanting. The atmosphere was electric and before the puck was even dropped, I was hooked.

The game started right on 7pm and immediately the speed was much more evident than when watched on TV. It’s also fascinating watching the players when they are not on the play or on the bench. Most of all, it was just great to be able to cheer and chant with the fans and really get into the game.

At the end of the first period I went to grab a few beers and some crackerjacks (delicious caramel coated popcorn) and I was thrilled to find that Erin was having just as much fun as I was. While she wouldn’t admit to it at the time, she later stated that she would happily watch hockey games all the time if we lived in the states. What a girl!

The game continued and was a close affair as the Capitals battled the Tampa Bay Lightning up and down the ice. As the third period neared the end, the Caps were down by two and the crowd was getting amped! As much as we tried to bring the Caps back into the game, we couldn’t and they lost in regular time.

Although it would have been great to experience a win and the euphoria of the crowd, we still had a great time and were so pumped after the game we decided to go out for a few drinks and some dinner.

We walked out of the stadium with the crowd and were lucky to find a few spare seats at the Ruby Tuesday across the street. We were seated at a bar-like area of the restaurant and ordered a few cocktails and some appetizers to enjoy while we waited for our mains. There were a few fans around the restaurant and we ended up having a chat to a couple seated next to us about the game and a few other things.

After dinner and drinks it was getting fairly late and the area was starting to wind down. We quickly found a cab and were back at the hotel a few minutes later.

All in all, it had been an awesome night and without a doubt the most fun night of the trip. We had both had a great time and I couldn’t wait to watch the next hockey game in less than a week’s time, when we would be in New York.

Paul & Erin

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