A Capital Time in the Capital Even Though I Didn't See the Capitol

For a variety of reasons, my trip to Our Nation's Capital didn't include most of the sights that someone - including me - might have predicted it would.

First of all, my interest in tourism has waned a bit as of late.  I'm excited about getting on to Chicago and my emotional energy is mostly focused on that - although even during the apex of the Driveabout, there would be times when I needed to stop being a tourist for a couple of days.  And I was working on a proposal for our new business which was due while I was in DC, so that consumed a lot of time that otherwise might have been spent wandering around.

But one thing that I did do, twice, was get up very early with my friend Seema and head down to the Tidal Basin (about a half hour without traffic from their home in Chevy Chase) to take pictures of trees.  You see, I had coincidentally arrived during Cherry Blossom Mania 2013, at the peak of the blossoms and during a very nice couple of days.  (It was in the 80's and low 90's during the day.)  Our first effort, on Wednesday, was unsuccessful because we arrived about 6:15 a.m. (sunrise was about 6:30) and there was absolutely, positively no place to park.  It was mobbed with all sorts of photographers everywhere, their apparatus ranging from camera phones to professional equipment.  So we aborted and returned to Chevy Chase (picking up bagels on the way) in time for a conference call I had, but not before we drove around a while and I had a chance to see the Vietnam Memorial and take a picture of this very charming statue of Albert Einstein.

Having learned our lesson, we began maneuvers even earlier Thursday morning and arrived downtown at 0520.  No problem finding a parking place, and we got some great shots.  By "we," I mostly mean Seema, who uses an actual camera and actual technique.  I just point and shoot, but even I got a few keepers.  It really was a beautiful sight.  This is the Jefferson Memorial before sunrise:

Here's the Martin Luther King Memorial after sunrise:

And here's a cherry tree in full bloom:

We also walked by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial which was beautiful.  It has benches where you can sit and reflect.  Very well done. This is just one part of the memorial, which is made up of a number of walls similar to this one.

In addition to photographers, we saw a few small groups having picnic breakfasts - one couple was drinking mimosas from champagne flutes.  Quite elegant, in a "look how elegant we are" sort of way.  My photography skills, minor as they are, are not enhanced by mimosas, but I can see how taking a couple of pictures would be an excellent excuse for a picnic.

I dropped Seema off near a Metro station and went in search of coffee because I was going across the river to Arlington Cemetery later in the morning.  I had about an hour - not enough time to drive through rush hour traffic to take Seema home and make it back - so after coffee I went for a walk to see the White House.

I am embarrassed to say that I actually walked past without seeing it the first time, but then a security guard pointed me back in the right direction.  This time I paid attention and there it was!

I like this picture because of the tractor.  Sadly, I didn't think I'd have time to pop in and see whether Michelle was around, so I headed to Arlington.  Next time I'm in town I promise I'll call, Michelle.

My nephew, Ryan, who was visiting the capital with his eighth grade class from Noblesville East Middle School, was one of four of his class chosen to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  This is quite an honor, and it is well deserved for Ryan who is a great kid.  Ryan, obviously, is the boy in the suit.

Arlington National Cemetery is a very powerful place, as you know if you've ever been there.  More than 400,000 people have been buried in the cemetery - mostly veterans, but also their spouses.  On my way to see Ryan, I saw the Kennedys' grave and the eternal flame.  I also came across Robert McNamara's grave.

I don't know why it's a different color stone than nearly everyone else.  Perhaps because he was responsible for so many of the other graves.

Yes, I said that.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, I was planning to join Ryan's class at lunch at the Pentagon City Mall Food Court, about five minutes from Arlington.  I should have accepted the teacher's invitation of a ride in their bus and then taken the Metro back to my car, but for some reason (heat stroke?) I thought it would be easier to drive myself.  Turns out that was a major miscalculation.  It is unclear to me how you build a suburban mall without obvious parking, but the people who built Pentagon City did it, and after driving around the mall several times I finally gave up.

To recover something from being in the area, I thought I'd follow the signs to the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.  These signs take you through the Pentagon's parking lot.  There are signs that say "Pentagon Memorial Drop-Off Only - No Stopping or Standing" so I figured I was close.  The parking lot appeared to be for employees only, and then I saw a sign that instructed you to turn right for the memorial.  Only trouble was, that road was closed off, so I thought perhaps I had misunderstood where to turn right.  The next and only other right turn was back onto the highway - so there I was, back on the highway.

My experience in suburban Virginia is that their road system consists of streets from which recovery is difficult or impossible.  Make a wrong turn in DC and you're probably okay, although at certain times of day it might take you forty-five minutes to go around the block.  But in Northern Virginia, there is only one way to get somewhere and if you miss it you simply must change your plans.

Traffic issues aside, I had a wonderful visit with my friends Seema and Jane, who are terrific hostesses.  On Friday night I left Chevy Chase and ventured back into Northern Virginia to go to a 60th birthday party for Jim, who was my boss in my first non-Girl Scout camp job back, um, a few years ago.  The only person I knew at the party was Jim, and sometimes that kind of situation isn't much fun.  But there were several other former Omahans in attendance and I had a truly wonderful time.  Jim loves to golf and a friend made him a birthday cake decorated like a golf course, with brown sugar as the sand trap.  Confectionery genius.

Saturday was a beautiful day - rain on Friday had broken the heat, but it was still warm and the sun had returned - and I headed to Mount Vernon, which I had never visited before.

On the way I saw a sign for the Washington Grist Mill and Distillery and decided I couldn't pass up the chance to get some grist.  Turns out that was a good call.  Here's one of the guides explaining the milling process:

It's very pretty:

They even have the account book for 1799, which was the year of Washington's death although he made a lot of money from whiskey first.

For $5 you can go on a living history tour of Washington's mill and distillery, both of which are operational.  Do that.  For $17 you can see the mill/distillery and also get your ticket to Mount Vernon, where you can see Washington's home and tomb, and stand in a lot of lines and deal with a lot of slow-moving crowds.  I kept having  flashbacks to the Chattanooga Aquarium, although the sunshine kept me from becoming too foul.  I mean, you sort of have to see the Mount Vernon estate, but I was underwhelmed and preferred the mill tour.

Thus concluded my tour of the National Capital Region.  For those of you who care about these things - and I know that you're out there - I feel that this is a teachable moment for a point of grammar.  The word "capitol," spelled with an "o," means only one of two things:  a State capitol building, or the U.S. Capitol.  Any other use of the word "capital" is spelled with an "a."  Now you know.

And so I headed south to Newport News to see something called a Voosier.  You will have to tune in next time to learn what that means.