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Published: December 20th 2007
Spectacular!
We sat by the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and enjoyed this spectacular view despite the cold weather Our Southwest plane landed at the Dulles Airport and we rushed out to spend the afternoon around Washington DC. We only had
5 hours to spare. Unfortunately, we have to barge against the early sunset because it's Fall already.
As soon as we found our way out of the airport, we bought $10 tickets each for the
Washington Flyer (it's a bus, actually). While waiting outside, we had to take off our jackets because it was warm and a bit more humid outside! See, when left Chicago, it was very cold and gloomy; so the sunshine helped me feel a lot better. It assured me that we can see the major attractions in DC even in a few hours. How I wish the sun stays up, just as long as he likes!
Comparing Orange Trains
Our short ride in the
Washington Flyer was smooth and sweet. Very touristy. It's nice to feel pampered on a trip, sometimes. We were brought to the nearest train station of the Orange Metro. I notice that Chicago has similarities with this city. Washington DC has "Metro" while Chicago has "Metra". They share the same color codes of
Notice the street names
We took off from here, the Metro Center train station trains too!
I wonder if it's the same in New York. Hmmm, will see for myself next month when I get there. And oh, just like my first train ride in Chicago, I took the Orange train here too. I must say, though, that Washington DC has a cleaner Orange Line. Its seats are cushioned, unlike in Chicago. And its subway has a more pleasant view. I like the wall patterns on the subway walls. It just gives me a futuristic feel of the place.
We took off at the Metro Center after about 30 minutes in the Orange Line. We took an escalator that took us to the sunshine. 😊 We found ourselves at the
G St NW so we walked going west to get to the White House.
Empty streets? Oh, it's Thanksgiving, that's why...
The streets are wide. Very wide. The countdown for pedestrians on traffic lights starts on the 20s! Their streets are
that wide! In downtown Chicago, it starts at 12 or maybe less.
Yeah, the streets are wide but were also pretty empty. I wondered why. Silly me, I forgot it was Thanksgiving! Most of the stores and
restaurants were closed. Still, there are a couple of tourists walking, like us. Maybe not as much as it used to if it were not a Thanksgiving Holiday. But anyways, something else piqued my interest. I noticed that the street names are either the letters of the alphabet or simply numbers! Still, though, we were walking Pennsylvania Ave, looking for the White House. Hmmm... Why name a street after another city? Why Pennsylvania Ave? Why not, hmm, say, Las Vegas Ave? Or Boston Ave? How about Ding Dong Ave? Funny name, huh, but it's true! There's a Ding Dong city in Texas. Look it up in Wikipedia and try to prove me wrong.
Note to self:
Google keywords "White House Pennyslvania Ave history" Mr. President, namamasko po!!!
At what seems to be the end of
G St NW, we saw a big building that looked important. We didn't know what it was but we knew it was important. To our excitement, we started taking turns in taking pictures with it till we realized we have spent too much time on it! We got carried away!!! We should find the White House soon. The White House!
Also known as "The Post"
One of the city's oldest papers Yes, this building is white but, it is
NOT the
White House!!!
So we walked a couple more steps, seeing a long line of trees with orange leaves. Ahhh, the color of Fall! But at the back of my head, I was worried we don't have enough time to see the major attractions while the sun was up. While I was wasting more time worrying about time (pun intended), we saw people taking pictures in front of a long gate.... oh that's it! It's the "real" White House! Hahaha! Yesss!!!
I made my homework before this trip. I wanted us to take a tour inside the White House but, I learned that a reservation has to be made through your congressman and should make the request 6 months ahead of time! Geeez! Oh well, the view from the gate is not that bad. Everyone else takes pictures from there, too. I remember those days when I was a kid and my friends and I stand by the neighbors' gates to sing our Christmas carols. "Merry Christmas!
Namamasko po!". We spent a good amount of time there, hoping the President would walk out the gates and shake our hands.
Kidding! AS IF! 😱
Update: While writing about my trip to Philadelphia, I learned that a drawing of the Philadelphia City Hall is on the back of the $100 bill. I rummaged through my wallet and found a $20, instead. I found a drawing of the White House! Cool!
So near, yet so far...
We ran into a Filipino family and we asked them for directions to the Washington Monument or the Capitol. They gave us some instructions and we continued to walk, feeling a bit exhausted, so we bought bottled water at a street vendor. We headed south on
17th Street NW to get to the Washington Monument. We have seen it from a distance a while back. Looks near, yet so far! We kept walking and walking and walking and noticed the street names have changed from
G Street to
F Street... and finally to
C! We're getting close!
Just like the fall leaves scattered in the streets, there are cops all over the place! Well, what else to expect when you're walking the streets of the capital of the most powerful country on earth, ei?
I blame Hollywood
We finally were at the foot of the famous Washington Monument. For some reason, I wanted to see this more than the White House! Why? I blame Hollywood. So many movies take this as backdrop!
There were lots more tourists around the monument. Some were taking pictures. Most of them were waiting for their turn to get inside the monument. Yet others were simply sitting there, probably pondering how to take over the world -- world domination, haha! I've been hearing a lot of different languages with our few hours here. Heck, we were all tourists!
March of the Penguins at the National Mall
Boom! And just like that, the sky grew darker, threatening us to get soaked in the rain. So we continued to march to the Capitol. We headed east. And yes, the prominent round roof of the Capitol looks distant. This time, it doesn't "feel so near, yet so far". It looks sooo far away. Deep inside I was praying that it won't rain. It was almost 3pm. We have less than 2 hours of sunlight. Waaaaah!
We crossed a couple of streets and tried to walk faster. We knew
what we were up to. We had to walk a longer distance this time. Each with a weekend's worth of clothes on our backpacks, we soldiered on. The wind blew harder and harder and the sand in the park found its way to our faces. We were walking on pebbles and patches of grass. I think my feet earned a bit of callous. I should have worn rubber shoes instead. Brrr, it was getting cold. But we marched on... as if we were penguins in the cartoon movie,
The March of the Penguins.
Anyhow, we took delight on the many buildings that line the way to the Capitol, called the
National Mall. There's the National Air and Space Museum on our left. The Smithsonian Institution Building or "The Castle" on our right. A small merry-go-round. A few more sculptures. A few more buildings that each look like they have interesting things to see inside. But we didn't have enough time! We are leaving for Philadelphia as soon as the sun sets. Washington DC truly has a lot to offer! Maybe next time we should spend a week here and take time to get inside the museums and historical landmarks.
Fall leaves!
The White House on the left side in this photo The United States Capitol, at last!
We crossed the last street that separates us from the Capitol. Yey! We're here! As expected, there were tourists around the area, there were bus loads of tourists that speak some foreign language. Koreans... Japanese, maybe. We sat by the Capitol's Reflecting Pool to have some rest. I sat there and stretched my tired legs, close to the water. Ahhh! Feels good. Again it was very windy, and my hair has gotten so tangled and sticky all the while we were walking from the Washington Monument. But my
cotton-candy-tangled hair did not bother me at all. I was just sitting there, happy as a clam... enjoying the sight we came here for.
We decided to explore more of the Capitol by walking to its side. We climbed up its wide stairs while dried leaves fall upon us like confettis, welcoming us to the seat of American power. There was more to see in the nooks around the Capitol but most were closed. There were cops guarding the area, so we simply took pictures. I noticed a human sculpture at the very top of the Capitol. I yet have to
research what (or who) it's about.
We looked back to the Washington Monument and tried to calculate the length we have walked. Could be almost 2 miles! Feels like 3 miles, actually! Including the walk from the train station, total distance could have been almost 4 miles! Whoah!!
It's almost 4pm and the sun is still up. I was already feeling content with the day's adventures when,
My R said there's another monument we yet have to see. We called up a few friends, looked up some maps and decided to take a cab. Off we go to the Lincoln Museum!
The Best View of the Day
I am soooo glad
My R insisted to go to the "monument with a man sitting on a chair". The Lincoln Monument has the best view! This is the exact view that I see in the movies! This is it! And the pool... oh the loooong Reflecting Pool. Ahhh! I could sit here all day!
We went inside the Lincoln Monument, which is a huge boxy building supported by pretty columns. It had the names of all the 50 states around its roof, above the
columns. As we walked upstairs, we saw Lincoln... the "man sitting on a chair" all day, and all night. Tourists take turns taking pictures with Lincoln in all its glory.
I felt relieved that by the time I've internalized my presence in this wonderful place, the sun has set. It was dark, and cold... freezing cold. So we sat by the stairs again and waited for our friend
Ayeen. She and her friend are picking us up all the way from Philadelphia! Sweet! It was very cold but we were basking in the moonlight, enjoying the spectacular view. The moon took its place beside the distant Washington Monument, like a gem reflecting a faint light into the water. Ahhh, pretty...
😊
Update: While writing about my trip to Philadelphia, I learned that a drawing of the Philadelphia City Hall is on the back of the $100 bill. I rummaged through my wallet and found a $20 and a $5, instead. I found a drawing of the Lincoln Memorial at the back of the $5 bill! Way cool!
Flying Cupcakes
It was past 6pm when
Ayeen arrived. I handed her the Angel food cupcakes
The Art Museum
Still along Pennsylvania Ave NW I baked just for her.
My R and my rommie had been teasing me to just give it them and have them eat it, but, I defended the cupcakes like a mother bear protecting its cubs. No way! This is for
Ayeen! Actually, these cupcakes have come a long way from Chicago to Washington DC, and yes, these have struggled with us in our long walk around this city. Half an hour ago, these cupcakes literally flew in the air. The wind blew it away. Good thing, a kind man picked up my box of cupcakes, and handed it back to me. I lost the plastic bag it was in. But that's alright.
Hoping to have blue crabs in Baltimore, Maryland
9 pm Eastern Standard Time. We were driving around Baltimore, looking for Phillip's Seafood, which I found in the internet. Turns out, ALL restaurants were closed. Oh! Because it's Thanksgiving! Aside from that, most seafood restaurants are closed during the Fall and Winter. I knew this, but somehow I was hoping Phillip's would be an exception. Tee hee! Talk about being optimistic...
We were at the heart of Baltimore, the
Baltimore Harborplace. There were
a few buildings, restaurants and stores that surround the water. There is a glass-walled building right smack in the middle where I see trees inside it. Ayeen has been there before; it's the Baltimore Aquarium. An aquarium! The Harborplace must be pretty in broad daylight. But it's dark. Atleast the neon signs (including the famous Hard Rock guitar) were bright and shiny.
We walked back to the car and passed by a dozen people waiting in line. We wondered what would they be doing there this time of the day. And it's time for Thanksgiving dinner! These people must be crazy giving up Thanksgiving Dinner for something else! Ohhh... tomorrow is Black Friday. It's the day stores are on sale. We found out they were in line for Best Buy, the popular electronic gadget store.
A Chinese Thanksgiving Dinner
Since everything is closed in Baltimore, we all agreed to head to Philadelphia and find dinner there. Turns out, we had our Thanksgiving dinner at Chinatown! Jimmy took us to Mai Lai Wa which had the best Walnut Shrimp I ever tasted. We were all starving, so it's not surprising that we ate up most of
what Jimmy ordered for us. I must say he has good taste. Turns out he's a sushi chef! Wow!
3 Cities in 1 Day
With full bellies, we walked back to the car and Jimmy and Ayeen showed us around Philadelphia's
Center City. We passed by the City Hall, the "center" of it all. We passed by Logan Square and the street towards the Art Museum which was brighten by the colors of the flags from around the world. My first glimpse of
Center City gave me an impression of its rich history. I am not American, and I may not truly understand the full glory of American history but I felt elated that I've stepped into Philadelphia, "the City of Brotherly Love". Ayeen said we're going around
Center City again first thing tomorrow. Yehey! Tomorrow will be another big day!
😊
It's a blessing we've seen a lot in one day. In fact, we've been to 3 new cities in 1 day! Washington DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia! More
tomorrow! God is good!
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sweet_sentiments
Marlin Cruz
love the pix and i love this post!
marie! i really like the way you describe your travels... you always make me feel like i'm travelling right beside you... anyway, yeah, i agree that the lincoln monument has the best view! you took a cab na pala to go there, hehe, layo nga kasi from capitol at narinig ko na nung nagreklamo sa background si R mo nung nalaman nyo na you'll have to pass by the washington monument to get there..... yep! God is good! p.s. love the pictures talaga!