Catching Caerus in Washington DC ( 02/10/16 – 02/19/16)
* Each day will have its own small photo gallery
My Washington DC trip was an adventurous 9 day journey that consisted of visits to some of the capitol’s most frequently viewed sites including great food and people to match the fun occasion.
Day 1
After landing in DC, I left the airport and immediately headed to the Match Box Eatery. They serve a selection of foods such as pizzas, burgers and pastas. I decided to try the Bloody Mary Burger which was made of certified angus beef, fried egg, bloody mary mayo, cheddar, gouda, Apple wood smoked bacon, mixed greens and mustard vinaigrette. My tour guide for the week and long time friend Wendy was generous enough to allow me to crash at her place during my trip. On the way home she took me on a small car bound tour of the Supreme Court and Union Station. No photos were taken this day.
Day 2
Was spent at the capitol starting off at the Canon building, where Wendy works as a legislative correspondent for U.S. representative Kathy Castor. In the Canon tunnel there is art work hung on the walls from high school students for the Congressional High School Art Competition. Those kids have such talent, each piece of art looked as though it belongs in a museum. Art pieces in the gallery consisted of portraits, landscapes, and abstract art to name a few. After a short walk through the Canon Tunnel Wendy and I stopped for breakfast inside the packed cafeteria for a quick breakfast/fuel for a busy day.
Next stop was the United States Capitol Visitors Center. The visitor center had many historic statues such as that of Chief Washakie, King Kamehameha, Rosa Parks, George Washington and Frederick E. Douglas. While there I also caught a glimpse of the crypt 40 columns that hold up the capitol dome and learned that all streets pan out from the center of the city. We then went to the old Supreme Court; only 3 of the chairs in court remain originals, the rest are replicas.
Nancy Pelosi’s office was next along with a tour around the United States Capitol Rotunda which is located below the capitol dome and is the tallest part of the capitol. Many like to call it the heart of DC. Just north to the Capitol Rotunda is the old Senate Chamber; there I learned that they put curtains in it to prevent men from looking at women’s ankles. Who knew ankles could be so enticing. I ended the day with a visit to the National Statuary Hall which is located south of the Rotunda. It is considered the Old Hall of the House and is a big two-story, semicircular room that is devoted to sculptures of different prominent Americans of history. These sculptures are donated by individual states. Before it turned into an exhibition space it was the meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for close to 50 years. Dinner choice for that day was a restaurant called Bonchon which served Asian style cuisines.
Day 3
Was a more personal day for me. I started it off light with good music and looking over my previous day’s pictures and taking notes. A trip to the market for spicy potato soup was next and it tasted very good by the way.
Later in the day I got to see an old friend of mine named Sean. I hadn’t seen him in almost ten years, since our days at Vilseck American High School in Vilseck Germany. I had a lot of fun catching up with old friends and making new ones including Wendy's sister Kristhy, her best friend Molly, who were also in town visiting, and Wendy's coworkers Taylor and Callie. We decided to go to Momofuku for ramen and drinks. I decided to go with the Momofuku Ramen which included pork belly, pork shoulder, and a poached egg. After Momofuku we wandered around downtown for a bit and decided to head home shortly after to get rest for our early rise the next day.
Day 4
I got to experience my first ride on the Metro train. It runs from 5 a.m till 12 a.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. till 2 a.m. on weekends. I even got left on the Metro after an old lady and I bumped into each other and I had to find my way back to the right spot. After the metro Wendy, Kristhy, Molly, and I all headed to a restaurant called Ambar which served Balkan cuisine. The food presentation was great and tasted even better.
After filling ourselves with delicious food we decided to bear the 19 degree weather (Windchill made it feel like it was only 1 degree out) and walk to see the White House and also had a look at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Lastly we visited the Lincoln Memorial which is located on the western end of the National Mall and across from the Washington Monument. The long day called for a 10 p.m. bedtime.
Day 5
I met up with my old friends Sean, Nick and Alexandria to hang out. We walked through Chinatown in DC which is a very small, yet historic neighborhood that is east of downtown. It has around 20 ethnic Asian restaurants and other small businesses and we happen to catch the Chinese New Year’s festival during the walk through. We ended up eating at the Fado Irish Pub and then decided to have drinks at the Iron horse bar. Shortly after Sean, Nick and I all got our asses kicked by Alexandria during a friendly game of skee ball at the Iron Horse Bar; another great day with my friends.
Day 6
I was supposed to get on my flight home to Austin Texas, but after taking the metro all the way to the airport my flight was canceled due to a snow storm making its way to the D.C. area. I collected my luggage and headed back towards the Metro to make my way back to Wendy’s condo. Wendy, Molly, Kristhy and I decided to have a food frenzy day filled with snacks from Target, Dunkin Donuts and the whole food market. A food coma followed us shortly after.
Day 7
Was just as relaxed as day 6. I was supposed to spend the day exploring the surrounding area by Wendy's condo. I walked out side and turned left down Liberty Lane and was immediately side tracked by the Regal Cinema Hyattesville Royale 14, so I decided to see a movie. As my childhood was consumed with reading DC/Marvel comics it was only right I chose to see Deadpool, which was an absolute blast to watch. Later that night when Wendy came home from work we decided to grab some grub from Old Dominion Brew House, which serves a variety American/Italian/Asian cuisine including burgers, salads, steak, pasta and even sushi. We chose to go with bbq buffalo wings, miso soup, and sushi. After stuffing out faces and getting the itis we decided to head back home and crash for the night. No photos were taken this day.
Day 8
My travels took me to Fairfax County, Virginia to see the Great Falls. It’s unofficially known as Forestville but was named Great Falls in 1955. The sighting was very nice and all the surrounding nature made the walk around the area enjoyable. I chose to walk up the Matildaville Trail / Potomac Canal to reach the Great Falls. The Potomac Canal was designed to allow travelers to bypass the fierce rapids or the Potomac River. Due to rain/snow from previous days the trail was extremely muddy, although I slipped multiple times I was too cool to actually fall down. Reaching the Great Falls was a reward in it self for the slippery trails, seeing the water crashing against the jagged rocks was just awesome. After leaving the Great Falls I decided to end my day with massive amounts of food at Rally’s and prepared for my flight back to Austin the next day.
Catch me if you can……
* Have you ever Visited or want to visit Washington D.C.? Let us know some of your favorite places, or places that you would like to visit in the comment section below.
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Useful links for Washington D.C. Travel:
+ Momofuku