A long last and second day in DC

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September 9th 2010

Published: September 9th 2010

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ZJB

Potomac River

A crew on the Potomac at sunset

After arriving mid-afternoon yesterday, I woke up before the crack of dawn this morning at my hostel to get up and go photograph the Potomac River at sunset near Georgetown Medical Center. It is one of the swankiest parts of Washington D.C. as you might see in some of the photos. The main strip through town looks like a mini Beverly Hills and "hot","young" looking joggers, bikers and other athletes (of both sexes) populate the riverside and the river (in crew boats).

Upon arriving at this stop on the DC Metro called "Foggy Bottom", I strolled down to the river and got my shots all the while watching the crew boats scull by. I had a much closer view here than in Philadelphia as I think I just chose a better spot for taking pictures. (I had the breakfast of champions at 7-Eleven...........one of those juice mixes with all sorts of vitamins and antioxidants along with a piece of steroid enhanced cheddar cheese from one of the major agri-business producers.) I was stoked!!!

It was nice to stroll through Georgetown all the way over to the White House which for me was about a 50 minute walk (ie twice

Cool Building

I don't know what this building is but I liked it.

as long for mere mortals) I got someone to take a sweet but tepid photograph of me fronting the White House which my Indonesian friend Nining told me is called "gedung putih". Very different but funny.

From there, I strolled over to Capitol Hill and walked around snapping some photos. I past the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress (for both Jefferson and Madison) and an enormous number of other federal agencies. By late morning I was exhausted and decided to go to the American Indian Museum where I had an early lunch of salt cod with various native american beans. It was a kind of salad. The idea was more inspiring than the dish as was the museum itself. There is plenty of history on the Algonquins and other tribes but I liked the section that displayed performing music artists with Indian blood.....some more than others. (For example, Jimi Hendrix has Indian blood).....It was the music, much from the heyday of rock and roll, that took me back and gave me a good vibe.

I zipped from the museum to the Zipcar office and picked up my card so I am now good to go and drive

Georgetown near the river

A typical Georgetown swanky place

in cities that have this inspiring rent by the hour car service. I will let you know how it works out when I can use it. Unfortunately, both Denver and New Orleans, my next two stops, don't have the service yet.

I returned to my hostel to check out after that and hung out for a bit to charge up all my electronics. My ticket to New Orleans doesn't board until 11pm this evening so I am hanging out at Union Train Station at STARBUCKS!!! Imagine that. It is one of the few reliable places I have found in DC with reliable free wireless outside of hotels......and the hostels like the one I stayed in. It is a pretty tight place with lots of services (ie museums and parks) but little in the way of public toilets and wifi outside of these areas.

I won't be online for another day or two as I will be on the bus to New Orleans for GET THIS......32 hours. I don't expect the buses on this route will have wifi or electricity..........LOL

Tomorrow is a travel day, but I have a bike tour planned in New Orleans and have booked