Washington D.C.

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I left Philadelphia this morning late. It was hard to leave my grandparents but the possibility of adventure and the road were calling me to live in the moment. I was touched when my grandmother (Helen) rushed onto the bus at the last moment to deliver a sandwich (Chicken and bell peppers on Foccaccia bread) from the Reading Terminal Market for me. And there I was thinking I had forgot something when I heard my name called and saw her rushing onto the bus with a paper bag in her hand.

It took four hours on the bus from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. with stops in Wilmington, DE, Baltimore, MD and Silver Springs, MD. The bus stops every three hours or so. Even with the air conditioning, it is a little bit hot. The trip to New Orleans tomorrow (32 hours) is going to be grueling.

I arrived at the bus depot around 3:30pm today and went straight to Union Station (the subway) with all my bags in tow. It took about 25 minutes for me to get to my hostel in the suburbs near Silver Springs. It is a big house with lots of young people from all over the world living communally. It is a fun place to meet people and hang out. It is conveniently located near the train so getting into the city is easy.

I must say Washington D.C. is much like a newer and Western City in the downtown area. Everything shuts down (almost) by 5 or 6pm. The traffic jams I witnessed as I was walking onto the Washington Mall. At the Washington Mall I walked along the green patches with dirt paths past the Washigton Monument, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. It is quite scenic in a classical way. It is lively though as joggers, bikers and kids playing frisbee, flag football and baseball are all over the green.

Before heading back to my hostel, I managed to find one of the few restaurants/pubs open near the Mall and had a rather ordinary dinner with good beer.

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Photos

My grandmother's gift
Sandwich from the Reading Terminal Market

Wilmington Delaware
Strangely we drove by my credit card main offices........LOL

Rent a bikes
So cool!!! I wish every city had this program. Unfortunately, I didn't see anyone using these in Washington. Traffic jams are a common sight in DC but then again so are runners.

Comments

[Dad]

hey abe
I especially like this photo because you have a very abe like look. Was it intentional?

[Bob]

Wow
Wow--how did you fit in so much, getting to DC so late in the day? Good blog by our travel writer. Now there's a career for you!

[Bob & Helen]

DC
Don't know where our comments went from this DC day, so I don't know whether it's worth writing these. Maybe they screened ours out for some reason? Guess I'll stick to email since I understand that! Anyway, we both are delighted with your comments and photos from the day you started this blog.

[ZJB]

Partly Intentional...i was hoping to look like him but was more concerned about getting everything fit in the shot.