My trip to Washington DC on April 14, 2011

I had trouble sleeping. The bed was so hard. I think I finally got out of bed and called my mom for a bit. While I was on the phone with her I had the idea to check out the free breakfast downstairs. After I got off the phone with her I went to check it out. I had a bagel and a muffin and some juice. I overheard a guy telling a couple who was visiting DC not to even try to park at the Vienna Fairfax station to take the Metro. There will not be any parking this time of day. He told them to go to East Falls Church or West Falls Church. I texted Dad what he had said.

We got stuck in traffic on the highway. Our GPS told us to get off at the Vienna Fairfax exit because of the traffic jam. We got off just to see what the parking lot was like at Vienna Fairfax station. It was full. We got stuck in more traffic. We finally made it to a station and parked.

We got off the Metro at the Smithsonian stop. We went up the escalators and by the exit a lady was handing out Washington DC maps. We came out the exit and it was an amazing sight. If you looked to your left you saw the Washington Monument and if you looked to the right you saw The Capital. I had fun taking pictures.







Going to see the White House was so amazing. I stood on front and just looked at it for a while. I put the camera through the black fence and took several photos. Three tourists asked me to take their photo in front of it. Dad took my photo in front of it too. I would have stayed there longer but there was a guy talking on a megaphone and another guy singing at the top of his lungs.








We weren’t really sure where to eat. Dad didn’t want to try any of the places my brother mentioned. We found a food court that had some pizza. It was really good. After we ate lunch we went to the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum.

I wish I had time to see The Library of Congress and National Archives. Maybe next time.

I would saw if you are in DC and you don’t have much time. Go to the National Mall. It is even more impressive if you do what we did. Take the Metro and get off at the Smithsonian stop so when you come up the escalators you will have a view like I did. It was amazing.

Road Trip to DC

Wednesday April 13, 2011

We left Columbus around 9am. The drive seemed really quick. We were up the the mountains quite a bit.

It was really foggy too.

 There is a road there somewhere in all this fog.

mountains

more mountains

We stopped at a Bob Evans for lunch. I tried to connect to their wifi with my ipod touch but it couldn’t get their signal. I was gonna update my status with check ins so I could track where I was.

We made it to DC around 5. I had been trying to get a hold of my brother to meet up but it turns out he was working and on conference calls. He also thought we were staying in DC but we ended up staying in Manassas, VA. I finally got a hold of him he said he was working late and wouldnt be able to drive there. So, I had the idea of taking the Metro in and meeting him. He said that would work. He told us to go to the Vienna Fairfax station, park, take the Metro to Foggy Bottom, and he would meet us at the top of the escalator. He also told me what kind of fare to buy. I was supposed to text him before we got on the Metro. The ride took about 25 minutes. We went up the escalator to find my brother.

Vienna Fairfax station

[Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna/Fairfax–GMU_(WMATA_station) ]

Foggy Bottom station

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foggy_Bottom_–_GWU_(WMATA_station) ]

We were right on George Washington University campus and right next to George Washington University Hospital. He wasn’t there yet so I texted him. He texted back and said something about how fast it was and how he would be right there. After he got there he asked if we were hungry and said that we could walk to this place around the corner. We went to Tonic at Quigley's Pharmacy at 2036 G Street NW Foggy Bottom, DC 20036. I had spaghetti with meatballs. My dad had a salad. My brother had a burger.

photo from a travel web site

This is what my dinner looked like on the menu :)

My dad went outside to have a cigarette. My brother and I talked about work and stuff. He told me that after we ate he would drive us past the White House etc and then drive us back to the station.

My brother drove us past the White House. The street we were on had the Washington Monument behind the White House. We saw a car leaving the White House grounds. There are these pillars that move down when a car leaves the driveway. We drove past the National Mall which my brother said it was not safe to walk there at night. You could get mugged. We also drove past Department of Defense and Department of Treasury. We drove past the Washington Monument and The Capital. They were lit up and very cool.

My brother drove us back to the station. I hugged him goodbye and we went to get on the Metro. It was around 10 pm so it was very crowded. I had to stand for awhile because there were no seats. We made it back to the hotel in Manassas, VA around 11pm. I went to bed.