Crescent

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Once again I rolled into town in a daze and without a clue where to go. This time, however, there were no family to greet me from the train and no-one to cook me a home cooked dinner, take me to a parade, place a beer in my hand or go to the baseball with me, or to drop me at their house then offer to buy me lunch before we went to the store.

Here I was, a stranger in a foreign land, finally all on my todd.

Well, at least I had a map of Washington DC and an idea of where there was a pharmacy for my lethal headache.

I had an AWESOME time in Hammond. My last couple of weeks were spent throwing in the first pitch at a baseball game, hanging around with a news crew...I was treated royally and enjoyed every second of my time staying with Avril and Bill. It was nice to see Dad again when he came to visit for a few days, but even after surprising him with new eating habits and a general knowledge of New Orleans I couldn't escape the fact that him getting back on the plane (without a massive lightning storm this time, thank God...) was symbolic of me having to pull my finger out and get on with this travelling thing.

So here we are. Avril waved me off at the station in Slidell, and 28 neck-breaking sleepless hours later I arrived in DC, looking and smelling like hell but ready to get some culture in me and some life experience under my belt.

Besides, it couldn't be any more difficult than New Zealand, could it? And even a bad hostel would be no match for the hell personified that was ChiliBlue when we arrived in Kings Cross all those months ago, would it?

I jumped on the metro with some trepidation and a terrible headache, which I'd been suffering for days from before I'd left Hammond. ZenDog and I rode the line out until we reached the MetroCenter, and trudged out into the streets. Further north now, there was a new degree of chill in the air, and even wrapped up tight it shocked me a little. Dorothy, this wasn't Kansas anymore. No, this was the District of Colombia, and I checked into my next hostel with a sense of excitement kicking in. It's a nice place, very central, about a 5 minute walk from the MetroCenter station which puts it 10 minutes from the Smithsonian Museums, 15 from Arlington National Cemetery, and 10 minutes plus the walk from all the monuments.

With my ideal location comandeered, I finally hit the hay and slept for 16 hours straight, waking up fulled refreshed and ready to go again.

That morning I headed straight out for the National Museum of Natural History, a massive, sprawling complex which holds hundreds of dinosaur skeletons, stuffed lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and all sorts. I spent a good 3 hours wandering the halls of the museum, before heading back outside to eat lunch on the steps on the building. The weather was suddenly beautiful and though I wore a jumper to the Mall I didn't need it, and haven't done since.

I went next door into the National Museum of American History next, and spent another 2 hours meandering around classic cars, like LA Confidential-style Fords, and the old American supercars. Good stuff!

Feeling tired after my cultural enlightenment I collapsed onto the grass that stretches between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The weather was stunning and it was nice just to chill out and read for a while. I helped a couple of tourists with photos (nice guy that I am) and relaxed.

Later on in the evening, I grabbed a Johnny Rocket's hamburger from their establishment and took it back to the Mall to watch the sun setting behind the Washington Monument. Seemed like an appropriate thing to do, after all. Eventually I retired to the hostel, and after a while reading, I was ready to hit the hay again.

Which brings us crashing back up to date.

I got up this morning feeling fully recovered from my headache, and headed straight out to the Arlington National Cemetery, arriving at around 10.30. By the time I left it was coming up to 2pm, and I'd covered a good few miles, walking from the Iwo Jima memorial at the Eastern Boundary of the complex, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was on the Western side. In between I'd seen the Kennedy Memorial and been through Arlington House, as well as passing hundreds upon hundreds of white graves that stretched out into the distance as far as I could see.

The rest of my day has been spent wandering town, past the National Archives and the FBI HQ, back to the Mall and then to Union Station in search of a special plate for the grandparents. Plate found, too. Good stuff.

Tomorrow I'll walk the length of the monument trail, which should take me all day and which is a good 6 or 7 miles in total length. Should be quite good. And then it's an admin day before I head to New York on Monday!

Peace Out
LTYM
xxxx

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