I arrived in Virginia yesterday, after long hours of conservative talk radio to keep me awake and angry, rainforest-like weather patterns in Pennsylvania, and (having bested Minneapolis) the worst traffic and most confusing highway system I have ever seen.
Nonetheless, I am here and I am alive.
I wish I could post pictures of my house, but I actually haven't taken any. Unfortunately, I am also not very good at description. Suffice it to say that the house is BIG, very clean, and has hardwood floors. My room is on the top level (there are three in all) along with three other bedrooms and three bathrooms. All are vacant right now, with my housemate occupying the one bedroom on the main floor. My room is the biggest (although all are fairly large) and has three windows facing the street (which I said a silent "thank-you" for, having gained an appreciation for windows after my last residence). The ceiling is TALL and peaked, and even with all of my things in there the room still echos loudly whenever I talk.
I don't know my roommate very well yet, but she helped me move in and was very nice to me. And she gave me a Dr. Pepper and a roll of toilet paper. She works as a reporter and is from Greece, so I figure that she is probably interesting and I will have things to talk to her about when we next meet awkwardly in the kitchen.
For my first night, I didn't really do anything of note. I was tired and headachy and irritated at the (lack-of)internet situation. I ended up renting episodes 4-9 of Mad Men and eating Pad Thai take-out. Although I am currently sleeping on the HARDwood floor, I was tired enough to pass out early and sleep late.
Today I was faced with a choice: Buy essentials, such as a shower curtain and flatware, or load up my backpack and go sightseeing. What do you think I chose?
I got off the metro (which was super easy to figure out) at the Smithsonian stop. The first thing I visited was the Washington Monument, which is what the mass of people in which I was enveloped was generally moving toward. I found out that you can go INSIDE the monument, but the tickets were sold out. This is something I will have to look into for the future.
Next I followed the line of the Mall to the WWII Memorial, which I had never heard of before (it's pretty new, I think). It was really beautiful and I enjoyed people-watching there.
Next I walked along the big pool of water (which probably has a name, I'm just not aware of it) towards the Lincoln Memorial. This is the pool of water that Jenny runs through on Forest Gump as he is giving a speech at an anti-war rally. The water was full of ducks and slime. It was murky and not very attractive. No one was cooling their feet in it. I couldn't stop thinking about how gross it was that Jenny actually ran in this water. Maybe it was a fake pool made for the movie. Maybe she got paid a lot of money to do it, so it was worth it....
As I walked up the steps to the Lincon Memorial, I realized that I probably shouldn't be thinking about movies. I WAS IN WASHINGTON DC! I felt like I should be thinking Patriotic Thoughts. This lasted for all of 5 mins, until I realized there was a gift shop. Goody!
After this, I walked past the White House and meandered around downtown DC for a few hours. There were many more things to see, but I mostly just wanted to walk and figure out the city. I made a game of trying to distinguish the locals from the tourists. I stopped at random metro stops just to see what they were like.
Eventually, I went home. I still have no shower curtain, but I have some pictures and the satisfaction that I am really doing this. By myself, I crossed the country and stood in front of the White House today. If that's not patriotic, I don't know what is.
5 comments:
The waterway is actually called the Reflecting Pool...it might have a fancy name like Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool but as far as I know, it's just referred to as the Reflecting Pool. ;) Just a bit of Washington D.C. trivia (I went there three summers ago to visit my dad who was working there for nine weeks).
Love you!
You know, I thought it was the reflecting pool, but two things put me off. First, there is some kind of water feature in front of the Capitol Building (which I haven't seen yet) that is labelled "reflecting pool" on my map. Second, the pool was so dirty that I doubt it could reflect anything! Seems like "reflecting pool" is a misnomer. Maybe they should rename it "grimy duck pond" or something like that.
Oh, and PS Sarah: I remember looking at your DC pictures the summer before I started at PLU. I cannot believe that was three summers ago. Wow.
Amanda, this is grandpa Al. Being about the only member in our family that has served in the military, I would like to tell you what it means to me to think of the places and sites you speak of in D.C. I have been there and I have seen them and I almost cried for joy knowing what they mean to me. After having served 10 yrs ( a good part of it underwater)protecting our contry in the cold war and serving under that flag voluntarily, that I so much respect those great men of our history and I so much appreciate the freedoms we now enjoy, that any criticism (you did not criticize) is a pain to my heart. I love you and hope you enjoy doing great things.
It sounds like you are doing a lot of exciting things! I'm pretty jealous of you, to be honest! I'm glad you found my blog, and to answer your question... yes, I think I would still recommend reading the Twilight series.
It's an easy read and works great for passing time. I wouldn't compare it to any great works of literature or anything, but like I said... it's enjoyable enough. Stephanie Meyer (the author) does a good job of portraying emotion, and the books are well written. The story line is interesting as well. So overall... yeah, give them a shot.
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