DC Vacation

Seeing the fabulous and awe inspiring sites of our nations capital is something that we all should do at least once in our lifetime. Jeff and I recently took a small vacation to DC and I thought I would pass along the highlights of the trip. Upon arriving at Reagan National we took a taxi to our hotel on Dupont Circle, The Jury’s Washington. It was pretty nice and very convenient. After getting settled in we took to the streets. We decided to take the Metro to the Mall and see some of the Capitol and the monuments at night. It was very windy and a lot colder than we expected and after an hour or so we decided to head back to Dupont Circle.

The next morning we decided to begin with The Capitol and Supreme Court Building. We got tickets for the 9:30 am Capitol Tour. Although the security is much more intense that the last time I toured the Capitol in the summer of 2001. It is still are really cool experience. After spend an hour or so in the Capitol. We circled around behind it and wound up at the Supreme Court. We walked up the front steps and made my own little pilgrimage. Being attorneys, it was a somewhat moving experience for us, thinking about all the Supreme Court cases we’d read and imagining all the historic decisions that have been made inside that building. After touring both we decided to head back to the hotel for a little break. Again it was pretty cold and windy and we needed to warm up. After “warming” up and people watching at the bar in the hotel we explored the area around Dupont Circle the rest of the day. The dinner plans that night consisted of a trip to Georgetown with reservations at 1789 restaurant. We decided on 1789 because it is known around Washington DC for fine dining and elegant ambience. The dining rooms are beautifully decorated with American antiques and period prints and it was one of the favorites of Bill and Hillary. We took a cab and arrived a little early for our reservations and decided to walk around Georgetown since neither of us had been to that part of DC before. It was cold and a little foggy and it made for an excellent atmosphere. It is a great part of the city and Georgetown University is beautiful. After arriving back at the restaurant we had a drink in the clubby Pub, just off the entrance. We were then seated in the John Carroll Room near the great fireplace and it is wrapped in wood from a pre-Civil War barn and decorated with vintage prints. In an age when people think nothing of wearing gym clothes to a meal away from home, or yak away on their cellphone in public as if they aren't bothering anyone, the gentle formality at 1789 is downright refreshing. The servers pamper you through dinner like charming hosts in a well-mannered home. The food was lovely and the entire evening beautiful.

After diner we took a cab back to Dupont Circle and decided to change clothes and check out a couple of the bars in the area. Some are about a hundred times better than others at home. The first one we choose was a place called Dupont Italian Kitchen(or D.I.K. for short) and we were by far the youngest guys in there (by at least 10 years). Needless to say we did not stay very long. We went down to JRs and that was much better with a big crowd around “our age”. After a couple of hours of people and eye-candy watching we decided to call it a night.

The next day we began at the White House and took a few pictures outside. The President was getting ready to leave so the Capitol Police pushed us off of Pennsylvania Avenue. Then we went by the Washington Monument to the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial. From there we took a tour bus over to Arlington Cemetery, which was one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was a sobering and thought-provoking trip to see so many simple marble headstones with crosses and Stars of David in symmetrical rows. First we visited the Kennedy gravesites. JFK and Jackie are buried right next to each other below the eternal flame. RFK’s grave has a solitary white wooden cross at the base of a hill. It was a moving experience. Next we made the walk to the Tomb of the Unknows. The changing of the guard was very solemn but interesting as well. As I stood there near the foot of the unknown fallen American soldiers, I took a moment to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice these soldiers have made so we can live in freedom.

The last full day we spent several hours visiting the rest of the memorials on the mall: The World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. After that we took in a few of the museums, The Natural History, The National Gallery of Art, The Air and Space, and the National Archives. Since we enjoyed our trip to Georgetown so much the first time we decided to have dinner again on our last night at SeaCatch. We arrived early again so that we could walk around the shops and bars and take in most of the scenery and atmosphere. Although the food was not as fabulous at 1789 it was still great and I enjoyed my Maryland crab cakes.

The last day was a trip to the National Cathedral. The National Cathedral is a beautiful building in addition to being a premier house of worship. Their carillon is still rung by a musician, the stained glass windows are amazing, the cathedral is enormous and the services are inspiring. The most interesting part of the trip to the cathedral was when one of the ushers asked Jeff and I if we “would assist” in the service. Although not knowing what “assist’ meant we said yes and the usher told us to come to the back right after the “prayers of the people” are said. Looking at the bulletin after that I said to myself “uh oh” we are going to be involved in communion in some way. Sure enough at the back of the cathedral we are told we would be walking the elements down the aisle and handing them to the pastor. So there we were, me holding two silver carafes of wine and Jeff holding a silver bowl of bread and we are walking down the aisle of the nave in the 6th largest Cathedral in the world to the alter. WOW. That picture would have been worth a thousands words.

So, it was a wonderful trip. We saw tons of museums — everything from ants to airplanes, artworks to American artifacts — and many memorials. We got to see the foundations of our Republic and we had some delicious meals. My thirsty mind soaked it all up. Peace!