Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - Friday, February 20, 2009
So, call us crazy. If you've made it this far in the travelogue, you'll realize that we are pretty crazy in general, but this 'week' would rank right up there towards the top. After spending three days in the Maryland/DC area for a hockey tournament (see the Bowie entry just prior to this one), we had to head back home for one day so that Jill could speak in Cooperstown, and I could go to work for 24. Bright and early on Wednesday morning, we packed the car up again and headed back to the Nation's Capital.
Along the way, we stopped at the Stoney Creek Inn, in Baltimore. Michael had seen this restaurant featured on one of the 'Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives' shows with Guy Fieri and he wanted to check it out. What a find!! A small, out of the way place - blink and you'll miss it - but it was well worth seeking out! Michael had two clusters of crab legs, and Jill and I both had the lump crab meat sandwiches (with a couple of Bud Lights to wash it down). A truly classic Maryland meal, and at least in my case the best crab 'cake' sandwich I've ever had. One to keep on the radar when we find ourselves in the Baltimore area again!
Michael and Jill in front of the Stoney Creek Inn
Our base of operation for this trip would be 'The Madison', one of the hotels in the Loews chain, located at 15th and M in the heart of Washington, DC. Jill and I stayed at a Loews Hotel in Montreal (the Hotel Vogue), and liked it there very much. The price was right for this hotel as well as Jill found a good deal online making it the least expensive hotel of all of our options for this trip.
We left the car with the valet, dropped the bags in our room, and headed out into DC. The hotel was only a few blocks from the White House, so we decided to go there first - no better 'first thing' for Mike to see in Washington than the White House ya know? We approached the White House from the 'front' (the side opposite the Elipse), and even at that point Jill made mention that there seemed to be increased security around the house since our last trip there. As we made our way to the Elipse side of the White House, Park Police were stopping people from walking across the immediate top of the Elipse nearest the White House. We thought this was kind of odd, but when we realized there was a crash/fire rescue truck parked on the premises, we could only surmise one thing! As we made our way along the bottom of the Elipse, we heard the rumble of a helicopter in the distance. Then not one, not two, but three identical 'Marine One' choppers flew right over our heads! Two peeled off and continued on, the third landed on the south lawn of the White House! Yep, you guessed it, President Obama was on his way home and we were there to see it! We got as close as we could, and were able to see sets of feet under the chopper in the distance, and we may have caught a glimpse of him scurrying into the White House! All in all, it was pretty durn cool!
Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House
We wandered from the White House over to Chinatown to look around before the Caps/Canadians game started at 7:30. The Verizon Center sits right at the beginning of Chinatown in Washington, so it's kind of neat to see the signs (including the one for the Verizon Center) all in Chinese and English.
The gates for the game opened at 6:30, and right away Jill and I noticed something different compared to the last game we were at in DC - PEOPLE! A few years back we went to a Caps game, and when the gates opened we walked unfettered all the way around the concourse. Not on this night though! Washington is obviously a 'fair weather' town, and life is good at this point in the nation's capital for hockey fans. The concourse was packed with people, and it sure did seem like the place was full to the rafters! The difference, besides a winning record, can be described with one name - OVECHKIN! The man is the most incredible player we've ever seen in person, and on this night he scored what was probably one of the greatest goals ever! The game itself was a great one, with the shootout needed to decide a winner. The home team was victorious in the end.
I think Mike drank my beer
After the game, we made our way back over to the ESPN Zone to grab some food (and so Mike could play some games). They were very nice there to Mike, as the manager went and got him a game card for free. Back to the hotel afterwards to grab some sleep!!
On Thursday, our intent was to hit as many of the museums on The Mall as we could. We stopped at Cozi for breakfast (and quickly decided we wouldn't do that again! Horrible service!!), and from there went to the White House Visitors Center, located a half block away from the actual White House. There were a few artifacts and other informational areas there, but it wasn't like the real tour (which I took when I was a kid, but isn't offered anymore).
From there, we walked down to The National Mall, and made our way to the Air and Space Museum. Now, I'm one for planes and spaceships, but this museum is getting a bit 'dated'. It's probably at least the second or third time I've been there in the last five years, and there really isn't anything new to get me to come back. We spent quite a bit of time (a couple of hours) there, and then made our way over to the Museum of Natural History.
Mike posing on The National Mall
The Museum of Natural History was pretty much the same as the previous one we had been to - the same as it's always been, even more dated looking, and incredibly crowded at (with tons of school groups) which made our stay here a lot less just to get away from the noise. We stopped to look at the Hope Diamond, and made our way through the dinosaur area and 'oceans', but then we decided it was time to bug out!
The last museum on Mike's list of 'must sees' was the Museum of American History, once another favorite of mine. Strike three on this trip though. The inside of the museum had been redone, and much of the exhibit space had been closed or moved and not replaced. It was very disappointing to see how little was left to see in this museum - Archie Bunkers chair and Mr. Rogers sweater were no where to be found!! At this point, we had had enough of the museums and the people in them, so we headed out in search of lunch.
Our walking led us to one of Jill's food finds - Matchbox Vintage Pizza Bistro at 713 H St, NW. We all shared a bistro wedge salad, and then we ordered two small pizza's - a matchbox meat that Mike and I shared, and a Q special which Jill and I shared (kind of worked out well for me!!). For dessert we all shared the special of the house - coffee & doughnuts! Yum! Another great find for food!
We walked back to the hotel after lunch, even though it was almost 5:00, so we could rest for a bit before we headed back out. In the evening, Michael and I walked back down to the monuments so he could see them all lit up at night. We walked from the hotel to the World War II monument, then to the Lincoln Memorial, then by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, before heading back to the hotel - about an hour and a half all told by the time we walked that route! We all crashed out for the night after that walk.
On Friday morning, not wanting to repeat the breakfast mistake we made the day before, we hit the Starbuck's on the opposite corner to grab something to eat. After breakfast, Mike had one more museum he really wanted to see - the International Spy Museum. This also gave us the opportunity to ride the Metro, which Mike hadn't done either, because none of us felt like walking the ten blocks to our destination. The Spy Museum was very, very cool, and will probably be a repeat destination for us sometime in the future.
Wanting to grab a bite to eat before making the long drive home, we returned once again to the ESPN Zone! Our third time in a week! Once again, the staff there was very friendly, and the manager on duty then gave him a free game card as well.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel, grabbed the car, and began the long trek home. We hit quite a bit of traffic from DC to about York, PA, finally arriving home around 7:30 on Friday night.