Blogs from Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 32

Rich in history, politics and scandal, the city remains one of the loveliest major cities in America. Tourists around the world flock to the city on the Potomac River. Nearly 600,000 people call this city home. From the West Wing to Watergate the city enchants its guest with bureaucrats, blossoms and a burglary. This visit we are here to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. In 1996 we were fortunate enough to live in this vibrant city for a very short period of time. Since then we have dreamed of coming back to do more exploration. Our most recent visit was in 2008 and the city continues to beckon our return. On our arrival to the city, we stood in the courtyard looking at the historical Watergate hotel and pondering the events that occurred in 1972 ... read more

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 ... read more

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, ... read more

My goal for today was simple: to visit two of the best modern art collections in DC. They are located at the Hirshhorn Museum and the National Gallery of Art. The former is part of the Smithsonian. Everyone assumes the latter is as well although it is actually separate. The two museums are located across the Mall from each other, so visiting both is very convenient. Getting there from DuPont Circle required taking the Metro. It’s widely regarded as the best subway system in the US. The stations have an early 70s futuristic architecture that looks dated by modern standards but is still much better than the rat holes that pass for the subway in most of the US. This being DC, most of the stations also contain public art exhibits. The subway is also notable ... read more