We Went To Washington, D.C.

/ Ally Bean

ZEN-DEN NEEDED TO be in D.C. for his work, so we wrapped a couple of days around his business travel– and went to Washington, D.C. for a fast little vacay.

We figure that it must have been 15+ years since we’d been there together, which surprised us.  At one point, Z-D’s job in the midwest took him to D.C. about half of the year, so I’d meet him there on the weekends.

D.C. was our favorite vacation playground.

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Cherry blossoms were past their prime, but tulips were everywhere.  I snapped these photos at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

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FROM A TOURIST’S point of view much has changed for the better in D.C.

What amazed us was how much cleaner, easier, prettier, friendlier the city has become.  No snarly people [I’m looking at you, Boston] or people with superior attitudes [I’m looking at you, NYC].

Instead, hotel employees, nice.  Cabbies, pleasant.  Museum employees, helpful.  Restaurant wait staff, attentive.  TSA, patient.

Who would have thought that while the jackweasels in the U.S. Congress can’t agree on which way is up, the rest of Washington is buzzing along like cooperative little bees making honey while the flowers grow?

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I took all of these tulip photos with Zen-Den’s iPhone, which is something that I’ve never done before.

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WHILE MOST OF our time in D.C. was taken up with business events, we did manage to do a few things.

  • We had a delicious lunch at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, which is a gorgeous old-fashioned hotel in Adams Morgan that you may remember from scenes in The Pelican Brief.
  • We rode the metro which made me feel like a young twenty-something fresh out of college, assuming I’d end up in a big east coast city.  [That didn’t happen, now did it?]
  • We went to the National Gallery of Art, toured it, then ate lunch in the cafeteria in the basement by the waterfall because… well, that’s what we do when we’re in D.C. together.
  • We wandered around the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden which was pretty even if we were a week late for the cherry blossoms.
  • We saw the Navy Yard, the Watergate Complex and Rock Creek Park from a taxi.
  • And while waiting at Reagan National Airport for our flight home, we saw an Honor Flight of WWII & Korea veterans arriving in D.C.  At their gate a live jazz quartet playing pop standards from the 1940s & 1950s met the group, while a crowd gathered round and applauded.

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While the flowers were glorious, these iPhone photos don’t do them justice. Next time I’ll bring my real camera with me. 🙂

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IT’S BEEN A long time since I’ve been anywhere that I felt as comfortable as I did on this Washington D.C. trip.  We’re both ready to return soon.

Next time I’d like to focus on seeing more of the presidential and war monuments;  take in a few more museums;  perhaps go to a concert;  and breakfast each morning on fresh east coast bagels with a schmear & a coffee regular.

How have I lived without them?

28 thoughts on “We Went To Washington, D.C.”

  1. Sounds like the perfect get away. And the pictures of the flowers are absolutely gorgeous!! It’s been years since we’ve been in Washington DC, too. This makes me want to return. The museums are definitely worth going. So glad you got to go with Zen Den and enjoy the experience. And God bless those vets!

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    • Beth, we were pleasantly surprised by how much nicer the city seemed to us. Coming from the cold midwest, the spring weather was lovely. There was so much more to do, but the primary purpose of this trip was business so the rest will have to wait. Love those museums. Must get back to them.

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  2. We love going to DC. Such a great city. It’s been a while though, so your post reminds me we should head there again soon. It’s not too far a drive from Cleveland–about 5 1/2 hours. I’ve never been there when the cherry blossoms were in bloom though. I’d love to see that.

    You’re pictures are pretty!

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  3. What a great post! I was in DC years ago and I loved it! But I didn’t see anything on your list! Where was I? *LOL* I would love to go back and see the things you mentioned! Oh wait, the Watergate Complex; yes, I saw that! *LOL* Cher xo

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  5. I was in DC just a few weeks ago while my husband was on business! It was the first time in YEARS! I too went to the National Gallery (stunning) and the sculpture garden. We also did a tour of the monuments but my FAVORITE place was the Library of Congress. What a treasure!

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    • Robin, everything that you did sounds wonderful to me. I was at the Library of Congress once about a hundred years ago. I want to go back and appreciate what it means to this country. I’m not sure that when I was younger I really got it. Now I do!

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  6. I have never been to DC . There are so many things to see there it would be kind of a shame if I never make it there. I love museums and sculpture gardens! And I hear that DC has some fabulous restaurants – maybe an eating tour. 🙂

    I’m amazed at the clarity of those photos. They are so spring-like! Here it is almost May, summer is so close.

    Oh, true, those wonderful real bagels. So much better than what we usually get here. I miss a really go bagel.

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    • Zazzy, D.C. is fun if you like history and architecture and art and food. I hope that you get to visit there sometime. It was much warmer there than it is here, so for us it was a preview of what weather is to come. And as for the bagels, so good when they’re fresh– and nothing like what we have around here.

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  7. I would love to go back to DC; I’ve been there twice, but not for a long enough period of time. A fascinating city with SO many incredible monuments and museums! This is a great post, brimming with enthusiasm and beauty.

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    • Margaret, it is so fascinating to be there. I know that some people go there to protest things, but for me it’s all about history + culture. And bagels, of course.

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  8. Thanks for this pretty blast of spring in my inbox. MTM used to have to go to DC once or twice a month for work. Whenever I could, I went with him. Spent so much time between Thomas Circle and DuPont Circle, I almost felt like it was my hood. Ha.

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    • Andra, the weather in D.C. was so warm and cheerful last week while we were there. It made the whole city seem more alive. DuPont Circle is a great part of town. Vibrant and cool.

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  9. Washington is such a great place to be a tourist. The metro makes it so easy to get around. The National Gallery is breathtakingly wonderful. It was really cold that last time we were there, but it meant fewer tourists! (And very nice pix from “not the real camera” )

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  10. I’ve only been to DC a small handful of times, but I adored it every single time, even the most recent, which was almost 20 years ago now (how can that be?) I was freshly pregnant with my now 19 year old daughter, and the combination of August humidity was not playing well with pregnancy sickness (so called ‘morning sickness’, whch for so many lasts all day). But I love the history, the monuments, and the architecture. I love Adams Morgan. 🙂

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    • J, if you get a chance to go back, you’ll be amazed by how much has changed. The history and architecture are still there, of course– but the mood of the city is so much more upbeat than I remember it being all those years ago. It was a fun little vacay. I hope that you get there soon!

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