Episode 6: ‘Monument’ [Washington DC]
Like clockwork, I was up at 6am. I wasted 20 minutes on my phone catching up on notifications (a global morning standard), Showered, groomed myself (yes I do try - I just don’t succeed all to well with it) and head down for breakfast. HI Hostel serves up breakfast from 7am which includes bagels, toast (with spreads), fruit (apples - should have just said apples and saved on the word count), and a variety of basic cereals. They also had coffee and juices available and everything was there for you to help yourself to. Keeping it simple, I went for some bagels with jam, a cup of OJ and a black coffee (hardcore).
I spent most of the morning which followed uploading the blog, tweaking it, and choosing what pictures to go with it, and then once that was done I decided to look on Google maps and sort out my booking for the next day. At this point, I had no idea where to go next. I wanted to go to Wilmington on the coast in North Carolina, but after checking online it would take over half a day on a few buses to reach it, and it would cost a few hundred dollars to fly there. I wasn’t keen on either option so decided to leave it for the time being. I have also been offered a few nights stay in Charlotte, NC, which I was considering. But similar to Wilmington, logistics just weren’t practical for me at that moment. After this, I thought why not see what the flights down to Miami are. It’s on my list and I can work back north from there through Orlando to go to Disneyworld, and then possibly do the NC stops on the way back up before I head west for California. Google results were in! Flights to Miami for the next day were only $125 dollars leaving at midday. And this would take just two hours. Additionally, the temperatures were at nearly 30 degrees Celsius. I was itching to get out of the cold so without hesitation I booked it then and there. Including the cost for bag check-in, the eventual costs on this flight was about $150 dollars (£105 give or take). Sorted! Now I just needed to sort accommodation. Prices for highly regarded hostels on the Miami Beach sea-front were a steal! I haven’t done the exact math but the average is somewhere around $20 per night. This is literally for properties on the backside of the very famous Ocean Drive, one of the priciest areas to stay in Miami. I figured I would stay in Miami a little longer than I had stayed in the previous cities so booked three nights up front. I may book more once I am there but will decide as I go. With the two most important things sorted, I decided to pack my stuff up and put it in my locker so that I could head out and explore Washington.
It was an absolutely stunning day, mostly blue skies in fact, but it was blisteringly cold for the most part so I had to wrap up extra warm. The staff at the hostel said that they didn’t have a clue what is going on with the weather as it was usually warm this time of year there. I just thought it’s typical of my luck really. I run away to America for the sunshine and culture, and global warming decides to make London 18 degrees and my starting section of the USA 4 degrees. Wouldn’t expect anything less… *sob*. Anyway, I set off toward the Natural History Museum where I decided to start my day of touristing. This took me about twenty minutes or so - getting me there for around 12.30pm. I grabbed a quick bite from the refreshments stand on the big lawn which I believe is called the National Mall (it’s the lawn people fill up on for the presidents' inauguration unless you are Trump) and then head for the queue to the museum.
It wasn’t a long queue but it took about 10 minutes or so to get in. Security in the capital was very thorough. I walked around for a short while but decided to leave to head off around the rest of the capital. Part of the problem with me pinging city to city so hastily is that I can’t do much beyond basic level sightseeing. Exploring museums and galleries in detail isn’t really an option when you’re trying to squeeze everything into such a short space of time. I didn’t mind though, it wasn’t as if I had always wanted to visit these galleries/museums - ultimately it was all a bonus.
After the museum, I head across the quad to the Smithsonian Castle and took a few pics.
From here, I head East towards Capitol Hill to see the infamous United States Capitol building. I spent a little bit of time here taking some pictures and just relaxing by the water (watching the ducks fight - it was bad-ass).
Once I was a little more relaxed, I set off down the quad toward the Washington Monument. End to end I was told it’s about a mile so it was a good 15/20 minute casual walk to get there. As I got closer to the monument the number of tourists thickened and thickened. Even on a Sunday at the beginning of Spring, it was ram packed there.
After admiring the monument and taking the usual pics, I carried on south-west toward the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. To get there, you can head around the Tidal Basin Lake which is fortified by thousands of cherry trees lining the edge of the path.
It was absolute bedlam trying to navigate around here! Everyone was blocking the route, stopping to take photos under the trees. There were numerous photoshoots going on too.
Eventually, I made it to the memorial though, and it was magnificent. A very memorable monument to say the least.
I took a breather here, admired the sight, and continued to work my way around Tidal Basin Lake taking in the views and fighting my way past tourists. There are many memorial monuments around the lake as you stroll by, these include:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Martin Luther King, JR
Koren War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial & Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (not quite edging the lake - a slight 5/10 minute walk from it (depending on your pace)
World War Two Memorial
Washington Monument (my starting point)
One of the stand out Memorials for me was the World War Two memorial. Seeing it in all its glory under the icy blue sky was wonderful. The water fountains sit directly over from the Washington Monument too, so that really helps add appreciation to the beauty.
Carrying on past this for about ten minutes to the north, I eventually reached the White House. It was strange looking at it knowing the sort of person it was now home to. It didn’t give me quite the same feeling of appreciation as it may have had in previous years. I was a lot less overwhelmed than I expected to be as well. Definitely one of the least memorable parts of the DC trip.
A stone throw away from the front gate of the White House was Lafayette Square. There was a very nice statue of President Andrew Jackson in the center of the park worth checking out. Also, If you angle a picture right, you could get the Washington Monument, White House, and President Andrew Jackson Statue all in the same shot together which I thought was pretty cool.
After this, I concluded my day of touristing and called it a day. My feet were blasted, my thighs were sore from chafing so much and I was, as always, hungry. The end point of my tour left me only a short 10-minute walk from my hostel so I walked back and took a break there. The rest of the evening wasn’t anything exciting. I sorted out the remaining bits and pieces for my Miami trip, ordered a take-out and called it a day.
To be continued…
