This is why I traveled alone.
A day uninterrupted by anyone else’s opinion or needs. My schedule and my pace the whole day. I got a later start then I would have liked, but who cares? The only person I had to worry about was myself. I walked from my hotel to the capitol building where I had a tour scheduled. It was about a 40 minute walk that would have been quicker if there was better signage about the visitor’s entrance. The tour itself was ok, probably something you should do if you care about government at all, but they don’t show you much. The tour guide was funny though. How can you go wrong with a guy that makes fun of Dick Cheney for shooting people? The part though was just seeing the building itself. I have seen it on TV and in pictures a million times, but seeing it in person was great. I think my best pictures of the day came from the capitol building.
Up next on my schedule was a trip to the Supreme Court, something that seems to be overlooked by many. I was disappointed to see that they were renovating the front of the building and had big pictured of pillars instead of the real front. The worst part was something I but the designers never thought of. The suns reflection off of the white marble is blinding. My eyes were basically closed on the way in and out of the building. I guess most people don’t care about the Supreme Court, because it was kind of empty. I have always had an interest in the court and constitutional law, so it was not something I was going to pass up. I skipped the video they offer and elected to just go to a court room lecture. It was much better than it sounds. You get to go into the actual Supreme Court chamber and listen to some interesting stuff from one of the courts interns. Disappointingly, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the court room, but it was still a fun an interesting experience.
The next part of my journey would lead me on a trek from the court to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. I like learning about money and how it is made, but unfortunately, by the time I got there, they had given out all of their tickets for the day. Biggest bummer so far.
After that, I went nest door to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is one I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go to, but too many sites suggested it as a must go. I was able to get a ticket to go in about a half hour after I get there which gave me a much needed rest. I don’t think I can put my feelings for this museum into words. It was very informative, but sad throughout. I feel like you should probably experience it, but many people would not hold up well. My mom would not have made it through the first 10 minutes. It was an oddly quiet place, but still had its fair share of obnoxious children.
My plan for the rest of the day was to explore the rest of the national mall. I walked towards the Washington monument, which is hard to miss. Unfortunately, it is still being repaired after being damaged during the earth quake two years ago. Even with the scaffolding surrounding it, it was quite the site. I moved along from there to the World War Two memorial that I honestly didn’t even know existed. It was nice and had a few good photo opportunities. From there, I walked along the reflecting pool which smelled terrible, probably having a lot to do with the duck crap lining it. You would think they would clean that stuff up. At the end of the pool is the Lincoln Memorial, something I was concerned I would not be able to see after some loser through paint at it. Why? Right in front of it was an orchestra of middle or high school aged kids. Not something I would usually stop for, but they were really good, especially considering their age and the heat. I made my way up the stairs to the Memorial. There was still some scaffolding covering parts of it, but it was really impressive. Not somewhere that you need to spend a long time, but just seeing it is cool.
I headed next for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which from a distance was way more boring than I expected. I still walked to it and I was glad I did. A volunteer veteran was their asking questions. His knowledge and insight made stopping by worthwhile. It went from being a wall of names to a Memorial of people’s stories.
The last stop was the Whitehouse. It is hard to find, not easily visible from the Mall. I saw a group of people standing by a fence a long distance from the building. Apparently, due to some security threat, this was the closest we could get. I took my pictures and moved on. After finally making it back to the hotel, I checked my Fitbit. 27,000 steps and about 12 miles of walking. I was beat.
I rested for a bit then headed to dinner. I had picked a place suggested to be online called Brasserie Beck, owned by the same person as Mussel Bar in Atlantic City, which I love. I walked in, grabbed a seat at the bar, and enjoyed a wonderful meal of Mediterranean style mussels and some great beers. Another friendly bartender made it a great experience. I decided not to stay out as late so I wouldn’t have the same worries as the previous night and decided to grab a night cap at the hotel bar. They had quite the rowdy crowd so I just kept to myself in a nice comfy chair. That’s all I needed after a long day.
A day and half into my solo travel experiment I quite happy with my experience. It seems strange to not have a real conversation with anyone for this long, but I don’t really mind. So far all my meals have gone well and any fears I had about dining alone have passed. If I had to make the decision right now, I would do something like this again.