D.C. Journal: Entry 1
Today I had a really good, laid back time in DC. (This is my first trip back to the Nation’s capital since a 5th grade fieldtrip.)
The flight in was relatively smooth, hit a pocket of rough air for a minute, but other than that, I took a nap, then did some work on my wip. Once we landed, I retrieved my luggage, again relatively painless compared to the length of time it usually takes my luggage to come around at home. The only issued was my bag, which is quite large and heavy (come on, I packed for 6 days) was near the top of the belt with 2 other suitcases tangled in it a bit. So the first time around, I could not disentangle it quick enough to get it off the belt. Luckily there was a nice stranger there who stayed to help me get it off the second go around.
The Metro:
From the luggage area, I headed outside Regan International to get my first live glimpse of DC since 1985. It was more than bit warm, so I quickly made my way over to the shuttle station so I could get to the Metro station. Ok, the heavy suitcase was a stumbling block again since all the bottom row spaces were taken up on the shuttle, and try as I might, I could not pick that thing up to put it on the middle shelf. LOL—luckily there was another nice stranger there who helped me store the suitcase. So I am now heading towards the metro station, but I have no clue where it is. So the shuttle van stops at another airport exit, and I assumed he was just picking up other passengers. Then all the folks that had gotten on the shuttle with me jumped up to exit, so I’m like WTH?? So I asked was this the exit for the Metro and they go “Yeah” Ok, damn shuttle driver never said a word, had I not asked I would have just been riding the shuttle to… I have no clue where.
So I get off the shuttle, get directions, and then make my way to the Metro Station. I walk in and there is no attendee at the booth. My first thoughts were “Uh oh, this can NOT be good for me.” Now, my co-worker had tried very hard to prep me for the Metro, but it all that knowledge had leaked out of my head at some point, and was therefore of no use. So I headed over to the map (like everyone else did, thinking this had to be the right thing to do-Lol) and found the location I need to get off on. So no sweat, I got this down right?
Ha! Wrong. I didn’t know which station I was at, so I could figure out how to get to my stop.
Then, I know I must have been looking confused, because the attendant, who was walking around, came up and asked me if I needed help. My response, “What gave it away?” He laughed and told me how much my ticket would be, and told me the route to get to my station. So I was good to go, right?
NOT! I got to the machine to get my ticket, and I was stumped. After leaving one machine because it would not take my dollar, I went to another on that took my money, but then I just sort of stared at it, not knowing what to do next. So then, just like a scene in a movie, the attendant just popped up out of nowhere, pushed the buttons for me to add the correct credits to my ticket and hit the button to produce my ticket.
Then he gave me a map with my route outlined and stops circled. I laughed because I knew I was looking like the hopeless tourist. I thanked him and he said “No problem, I just didn’t want you riding the rails all night.”
LOL—this is soo true. I was soo intimidated by the whole Metro process. But other than me being a temporary prisoner when I couldn’t get out of the station to get to my transfer (I have no idea what happened, when I put in my card, the gates would not open, so another attendee had to rescue me and let me out of the side gate—this would have been embarrassing, but at the moment, I really didn’t give a care; I just wanted to get to the hotel.)
The Hotel:
So I finally get to the hotel after struggling with the Metro and riding, what had to be, the longest escalator I’ve ever seen. The area around hotel is beautiful, so I took a second to look around, then made my way to the entrance (which involved a loooong walk up a semi-steep hill in 80 degree heat with the sun beaming done. I thought I was going to pass out, but I finally made it to the front desk only to learn that my room would not be read for another 3 hours or so.
Great.
I’m hot, sweaty, tired, and have no room. So what do I do? I check my bags and head over to Georgetown.
Georgetown:
I spent a wonderful 2.5 hours walking around historic Georgetown. I started my tour at the famous M Street and Wisconsin intersection and just slowly made my way up and down both ends of these streets. I had a great lunch at Dean & Deluca and I finished my afternoon up at the Sequoia restaurant.
Sequoia sits right on the Potomac river, and the view is gorgeous. My original plan was to have cocktails and early dinner there, but I was too hot, sweaty, and tired to eat at that time; so I took some pictures, got a menu, and made my way to the cab stand with the intention of having dinner there before I leave DC.
When I got back from Georgetown, my room was ready, so I completed my check in and just crashed. When I got up from my nap, it was about an hour or so before sundown, so I got my camera and took a walk around the hotel. I love the area, very trendy-ish & charming, but not too over the top. You can see history in just about every building. Within 2 mins, I come across a bevy of restaurants and shops, everything from Italian, Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and American fusion.
Open City
For dinner, I settled on a place call Open City, a coffeehouse that’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I LOVED the vibe in this place and decided it would be my first stop every morning, provided I got up in time.
I had a wonderful dinner, a glass of wine, and a chaippuccino to go. They played R&B the entire time I was there, so I was entertained with some Alicia Keys, Baby Face, Janet Jackson, and the like while I enjoyed my dinner and people watched.
All in all a great first day in DC. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
