I had to go down to DC for work (which was the first time I had traveled for work in literally YEARS) but I was able to squeeze in a little sightseeing on the first day I was there. I had high hopes for seeing more, but work kept me busy so I wasn't able to. But the trip just reinforced my need to bring the kids here!
Auf Wiedersehen, Boston!
And Hallo, Alexandria, Virginia! Todd and I used to live in the red brick buildings just to the right of the Beltway (off of the tree lined road that crosses over the Beltway). That seems like a thousand years ago.
I hopped in a cab and headed for my hotel, which was actually in DC, even though my meetings were in Arlington. Hello Washington Monument and Smithsonian Castle, behind it!
Oh and hello there, Watergate Hotel (that I took a blurry pic of out of the back window of the cab!)
After I got unpacked and did a little work in my hotel room, I headed out for some dinner in Old Town, Alexandria. I took the blue line to King Street and started making my way to the waterfront, past Hard Times Cafe, a place that Todd and I frequented many times when we lived there.
I just love walking down King Street. It really has the best vibe.
I sent this to Natalie - "Look how close I am to where you were born!"
Old Town has really pretty architecture.
Stop! What??? As a former Blockbuster (Music) employee, I love this!
Ahhh, the majestic Majestic! This is really a beautiful restaurant on the inside, too!
My destination though, was one of our favorite old bars - Murphy's Grand Irish Pub!
Time for happy hour! Because they actually HAVE happy hour here. Happy hour is illegal in Massachusetts, which is ridiculous because how else can I enjoy a $4 pint??
After Happy Hour, I continued my stroll through Old Town, stopping in front of City Hall where Todd, Natalie and I used to go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings in the summer.
Funny story about this house down by the water. I love looking at houses for sale on Redfin, and I happened to notice this one for sale. It's up for sale for a mere $2.7 million and it bills itself as the "home where Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman filmed their hit movie "No Way Out"." HA!
I strolled through Founder's Park, right along the Potomac - which is just across the street from the No Way Out house!
What's the story with this tree? It sits literally right in the water! I guess the Potomac isn't brackish enough to kill it?
The water always seems to be high here in Old Town. Sometimes the water is so high, it turns the propeller of the USS Pompon submarine here into a little island. The USS Pompon earned 4 battle stars during World War II before being decommissioned in 1946.
Speaking of submarines, I continued my stroll over to the Torpedo Factory. The Torpedo Factory DID in fact make torpedoes after World War I ended from 1918 to 1923, but was later turned into a Federal Records Center in 1950. In 1973, it became the new Art Center, which it still serves as today.
Are they giving something away at the Fish Market? (No, it just looked like a tour group of some sort, waiting for dinner.) O'Connells pub there in the background USED to be the site of our favorite place to watch football on Sundays (you know... before we were married or had kids.) Todd and I would watch the Pats games and then he would take me to the airport down the street to fly back to Atlanta. Back then though, it was known as Bullfeathers. When we moved to Arlington, it changed to O'Connells and has been that ever since.
We once at upstairs and had a nice meal with Todd's parents and his dad's cousin and his wife. And Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream used to have the BEST banana ice cream EVER! It wasn't on the menu on this particular day.
I love a good little history sign!
I love the buildings and architecture in Old Town. I snapped one final pic of Murphy's for Todd!
But for dinner, I needed to try the new German restaurant - Village Brauhaus. They had an excellent beer selection, and the brats were delicious but everything else was kind of meh.
After a heavy German meal, I walked back to the Metro station to head back into DC. The Metro has it's problems, but I still think it's better than the T!
The next day, I took the bus over to Rosslyn and it dropped me off right here: Right in front of the gas'n'God here at the United Methodist church that was built over a Sunoco station! Is that $3.65 for a gallon of gas or my soul??
Being in the DC area is such a unique experience in that Reagan National is very much IN the middle of everything. The airplanes fly super low over DC, Arlington and Alexandria. I took this picture on my way to my meeting and it will never NOT freak me out that the planes are THAT low!
Well, if I have to be in DC for work, at least I have a lovely view of Georgetown University, the Naval Observatory and the National Cathedral!
One night after we had a happy hour, I walked all the way back to my hotel (in Foggy Bottom) with one of my region 2 counterparts, Trevor. This was the view from the Key Bridge, looking south toward the Watergate hotel and the Washington Monument.
Trevor and I stopped for burgers (he knew the chef!) which were amazing! This one had bacon and a fried egg on it!
We continued on along the C&O canal which is so beautiful at night! It was so quiet, you would hardly know that you were in a major city!
I particularly liked this tree that was coming out of the ground at a 45 degree angle, right next to this building.
I liked this walk so much, I did it again by myself on another afternoon! Here, I am approaching Fish Market Square, which has been a market since 1795! Interestingly, it was a much larger market before the canal was built starting in 1828. The canal divided it - with the left side of the canal becoming the regular market, and this side of the canal becoming the fish market.
George Washington dreamed of a canal that went from DC to the Ohio River Valley, but unfortunately the canal stops short in Cumberland, Maryland.
Coal, lumber and agricultural products were transported along the C&O for over 100 years. Mules with harnesses tied to the boats would walk along the footpath next to the canal and tow the boats. Poor mules.
Most of the buildings along this part of the canal functioned as mills at one point, and this area was very much an industrial area for many years.
Hello there, Mr. Heron. They'd better shore up that retaining wall, or it's gonna be in the canal soon!
Little homes and shops line the quiet canal, which is MUCH less active than M Street which sits up and behind these buildings.
You can see a few active locks along this part of the canal where tour companies still take tourists on canal cruises. This right here is Canal Lock Number 4, which has a bedrock foundation.
These locks were designed back in 1828! This one, Lock Number 2 has a timber foundation since the bedrock was so far down into the ground.
You can't really see it because the tree is blocking it, but the original timber foundation from 1828 still exists on this lock!
Alas, my time in DC was too short, and I'm looking forward to going back with the kids. But really, who am I fooling... there isn't enough time for that. Natalie is going to be a junior soon and hopefully heading to college. Sniff sniff. On my flight back, we flew over Scituate! I spy with my little eye Postscript Lane, where Todd and I met in 2002! See the two bridges along the populated portion of the sandy beach? Right in between there, but directly ON the beach!
And I spy with my little eye Uncle Billy's old house! Ahhh, we had such good times there. His house was a few in from the end, directly on the beach.
Until next time, Washington DC!
No comments:
Post a Comment