The ride down to D.C. from New York takes about five hours. Juliet and I were lucky enough to be able to stop at Juliet's friend Bridget's home in Annapolis, Maryland. A good nights sleep made the ride into Arlington on the afternoon of July 4th, 2002 a lot easier. From our hotel in Arlington we'd have a good home base from which to launch our sightseeing operations. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott which was unspectacular but close to the Rosslyn metro station.
Traveler's Hint: Save some money by staying at a hotel in Arlington and using the Metro to get around town.
Our first stop was not D.C. but rather my friend Dan's house in Falls Church, VA. Dan and his wife Darby were nice enough to invite us for a great Independence Day barbecue featuring good meat, good beer and watermelon. The day was real hot and I was glad that we weren't walking the National Mall.
After a few hours Juliet and I took off back to Arlington to stake out a spot for the fireworks across the Potomac. We were walking distance from the Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial so we headed in that direction as dusk began to settle in. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of folks heading over in that direction. On arrival at the memorial, I could see that there were already a few thousand people firmly positioned to view the action. We were able to squeeze into a spot on the grass with the crowd all around us. Everyone was cordial about it and we could see the Capitol rotunda and Washington Monument across the river. The fireworks were spectactular and I took way too many pictures. We made a good choice with that location so the trip was off to a great start.
The next morning we hopped on the D.C. Metro took check out an Alfred Stieglitz photo exhibit and sightsee around the town. The photo exhibit was at the National Gallery of Art and was very impressive. I've never spent much time looking at photo exhibits, but I particularly enjoyed Stieglitz's photos of old New York. I just love to see what the city used to be like many years ago. We also saw an exhibition of mobiles by Alexander Calder which left me feeling like a kid in wonderland with colorful and imaginative mobiles above my head. The rest of the gallery was huge and impressive. Being a national gallery it was all free which was even better. After the gallery, it was off to the Capitol building and then the National Botanical garden. The Capitol was real nice to look at and be close to, but to get a tour you need to show up at 7AM for free tickets. We attempted to do some more sightseeing but the afternoon sun was so hot that we headed back to hotel for a shower and afternoon nap.
Traveler's Hint: If you must go to D.C. in the summer, spend your days moving from museum to museum and then visit the major monuments at dusk when the air is cooler and the crowds have subsided.
Later that evening Juliet and I returned to D.C. to check out the major sights like the Washington Monument, White House, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial and finally, the Jefferson Memorial. All of these great monuments are worth seeing and they are all located in the same general area. It takes a good 3-4 hours to check them out so give yourself plenty of time and try to go around dusk. To me, the Jefferson Memorial was the most impressive, though it does require a cab ride from the other memorials. Jefferson is in a waterside setting all by itself with a nice view of the Washington Monument.
The next day, Juliet and I headed for Arlington National Cemetery. The place is big and offers a shuttle bus service to the major sights withing the cemetery, although we decided to walk instead. The cemetery is hilly and the walks are long, but definitely ok for a healthy adult. To me, Arlington is a good reminder of the sacrifices made by Americans in all the wars. The sheer number of graves is daunting with many young soldiers from WWII and Vietnam. John F. Kennedy's grave with the eternal flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are by far the biggest attractions within the park.
Traveler's Hint: When visiting Arlington National Cemetery don't miss the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unkwown Soldiers. The solemn ritual takes place every half hour on the half hour and hour.
Thanks to my good friend George, Juliet and I were introduced to some of the fine cuisine and nice places to visit outside of the monument zones. The fashinable areas of Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan are accessible via the Metro train and offer lots of opportunites for shopping, eating and partying. It was a hectic three days but they were pleasurable ones and I recommend a visit to anyone looking for a nice getaway.
