Washington DC

Yesterday we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Arlington about 9:30 am and they had a room ready for us so we checked in, dropped our bags off, and headed to Washington DC. Since this was the only day I had free, Don was willing to go wherever I wanted to go so we bought a day pass for the metro ($7.80) and rode the metro to Chinatown.

I wanted to go to the Portrait Gallery but they didn’t open until 11:30 so we went to the National Building Museum which was awesome. There are huge columns in there and the architecture is astounding. It is a free museum but they have a box posted for a suggested $5 donation.

Then we went to Chinatown and had lunch at my favorite restaurant which is Full Kee right across from the Red Roof Inn. If you come out of the metro at the Chinese Gate, you would take right and walk about 2 blocks on the left. I always get the Hong Kong style noodle soup with roast pork ($5.50) because their roast pork is so tasty and tender. It is always fun to watch people while we are sitting there too so I get free entertainment.

After that is was time to go to the Portrait Gallery which I really enjoy every time we come to town. In one section they were having a scavenger hunt, where you look for the art and then right the acquisition number and answer a question. They were giving prizes too but we didn’t have enough time to do the hunt even though it looked like fun. I watched some other families doing it though and the children were really excited. Since I go there so often, I like to see the new exhibits that are up.

After we left there we went to the National Gallery of Art and that was nice too. I always like to go see the sculpture The Thinker by Rodin. I think it is because I had to do a report on that in school and it always stuck with me. We also went to the new exhibits there.
We left there and walked to the National Botanical Garden to see what flowers were blooming on display. There was also all this neat artwork on huge globes promoting sustainability. I enjoyed looking at them too. The orchid room is always fascinating in addition to the regular rooms. I always feel inspired and can’t wait to get home to do some gardening.

By this time it was almost 5pm when most of the museums close so we went to Union Station for dinner. I like Johnny Rockets because you get waited on and they give free refills on your drinks. The food is pretty good there too.

After dinner we came back to the hotel to go to the bar and visit with our favorite bartender, Roberto. We have been seeing him for years and he treats us like long lost family when we arrive. I love to hear stories about his twin sons and how they have grown up. We also met this other man named Ali who discussed how we could change the world, politics, etc. the whole time he was there. I think he wanted to get us into a heated discussion, but we just couldn’t generate enough energy or interest in it to debate about it. Finally it was time to get some sleep, so we left.

Photo credit: Washington DC: Smithsonian Institute by BernieCB