Day 3 in Washington DC Tuesday October 6

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We made arrangements to meet the shuttle at 9am for an arrival in town around 10am when things start opening. Breakfast at the hotel has been adequatewith a hard boiled egg and bagel for Mo and oatmeal and yogurt for me. The coffee is weak but I have found the Starbucks instant and love having it in my purse to beef up “dishwater” when it is needed. The price is right! We have a free breakfast every morning.

The weather has been perfect every single day with moderate temperatures and no rain. We are becoming old hands at the metro scene. We met a couple from South Carolina at breakfast who decided to leave their car behind and take the metro to town. We showed them how to buy a ticket and get on a train. Once downtown we parted ways and told them to be sure to go up in the Old Post Office tower before doing anything else. The day before they had a shock when they received a $100 ticket for parking after 4 pm in what turned out to be a traffic lane during that time of day. It is much easier to leave your car behind and use the excellent public transportation available.

Our Old Town Trolley tickets were good for another day so we planned to use it on the Orange Line for our second day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the National Archives which is the home of the original documents of our country’s history including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The surprise was an original copy of the Magna Carta from the 13th century. It is one of only four remaining in the world and this is the only one in the United States. The importance of this first document of democracy in western civilization was thought provoking. The rotunda was impressive and beautiful and again I was a bit overwhelmed with the magnificence of the architecture and art here in the Capital City.

In addition to the documents the Archives had some great exhibits. This includes one called “Big” with photos, commentary and displays of some of the bigger events in our history. It was fascinating. The Public Vaults were interesting because one could pull up more than 8 billion pages of text related to anything you wanted to explore. We saw old movie footage of WWII, D-Day, news reels, old movies, and enjoyed the ability to explore fragments of our history in astonishing detail. An especially interesting part was the display of photos and portraits of Presidents and First Ladies as children. I learned that researchers, filmmakers, designers, lawyers, historians, and others use these records every day. It was incredibly fascinating and we could have spent much more time.

We left the archives and walked the few blocks to the National Botanical Garden and Conservatory just west of the Capitol on the Mall. Once inside the lovely glass building we were treated to displays of orchids, bromeliads, cactus and tropical jungle plants. Many were in full bloom. It was a lovely place to sit on a bench and enjoy. Of course, we had an agenda so moved quickly throught the gardens and on to our “next big thing”, the Capitol.

There is no charge to visit the Capitol, but tickets are still required. Security is tight as everywhere with no bottled water or liquids or any of the other myriad things that we have become used to not carrying in these days of airport security. The Capitol tour is well worth the time with guides that explain the history of this great building. We were treated to some of the inside stories about how it was built, burned by the British in 1814, burned again during the Civil War and then rebuilt. The Capitol Rotunda is huge and decorated with paintings and sculpture as magnificent as anything seen in the world.

We then continued north from the Capitol Mall to Union Station for a little bit of lunch and more views of impressive architecture and great people watching. Back to our Old Town Trolley for a twirl around the town we were dropped off at the Metro Center for a quick ride home.

Day 2 in Washington DC Monday October 5

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We are recuperating in our room this evening, watching the news, having some wine and cheese and crackers for supper and catching up on photos and memoirs. It seems as though we have been here for a long time, and yet it’s only Monday, actually only two days here in DC. They have been really full days, for sure. So far, I am greatly surprised by the Capital City of my country. It is beautiful, full of open space, incredibly clean, and inspiring. I had no idea it would be like this. I had heard of crime and heat and humidity, traffic, more crime, and really had no idea that it would be so lovely.

This morning it was breakfast again in the hotel, and we left for town at 8am to catch the 9am Green loop of the Old Town Trolley tours that we signed up for online before we left.
http://www.historictours.com/washington/

We first traveled through the city to the northwest side and the National Cathedral, perched on one of the highest points in the city. The Cathedral is impressive, with true gothic architecture including the long nave, the tower, and flying buttresses for support. Many presidents have worshipped here and the sanctuary is beautiful. Sometimes when traveling in foreign countries, a saying goes around, “One more gorgeous cathedral” or maybe “one more gorgeous view”. Sometimes it’s hard to remember just what each cathedral looks like and only a few do stand out. This one was lovely, but not as moving as St Paul’s in St Paul, Minnesota even, and probably not even close to St John’s in Valetta Malta. But it was a nice big impressive cathedral and quite adequate for a US city. The real surprise, though, was the Bishop’s Garden, tucked in at the base of the cathedral and filled with perennials and paths and pagodas that rivaled any I have seen. Truly a gem. The view from the tower was another chance to see how DC is laid out, still something that eludes my normally good sense of direction.

Traveling back toward the city we saw Embassy Row, some quite grand, others a bit worn, and the Iranian embassy quite shabby and empty for the last 18 years. On to the picturesque part of DC called Georgetown, where many of the row houses are less than 8 feet wide in order to reduce the tax footprint which in the early days of the city was based on the width of the home facing the sidewalk.

We got off the trolley to walk the M Street shopping district, explore the old Chesapeake and O Canal and towboats, and walk down to the waterfront. J. Pauls Brewery provided a truly tasty lunch and relaxing time watching the people passing by from our window table. Mo enjoyed a chicken quesadilla that was the best I ever tasted in addition to my own cup of perfect crab soup. We re-boarded the trolley back to downtown and then we switched to the Orange line that travels through the main part of the city, including the Capitol Mall, and used the tour as another way to get oriented to where things were and to plan our next day using the trolley to actually get off at the various stops to view the sights in depth.

We arrived at another transfer point in time to switch to the red line that crossing the Arlington bridge to Arlington Cemetery, and managed to have enough time to see the main parts including the Eternal Flame at John F Kennedy’s grave and to walk up the long hills to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Once more I was surprised at how much something in this city moved my deeply. The ceremony of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was impressive and moving, and really quite lovely. Sadly, I learned that the fancy lithium rechargeable battery on my Nikon camera can’t handle a full day of sight seeing if I haven’t charged up fully the night before, so my photos of the changing of the guard are on my phone. Hopefully I can figure out how to get them on my computer.

Whew. I am tired just writing all this, much less doing it. Dinner tonight is completely unnecessary with such a great lunch, and while I feel very much like a tourist, I am glad for a chance to spend some time here.

Day 1 in Washington DC Sunday Oct 4

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We decided that Sunday should be a day on our own trying to get the lay of the land and learning how to get around in the city. We scheduled the shuttle provided by the hotel to take us to the Metro station in Ballston. It’s always a bit exciting and fun to figure out the transportation in a new unknown city and this was no different. The Metro is fairly straightforward and we managed our way around on our first day in town without any mishaps. It’s only about 15 minutes from the Ballston station to the Metro Center in the middle of downtown DC. This was fun for me because I have never actually traveled on a subway. Even my forays on the BART in the Bay Area haven’t actually been under the water.

Trying to determine exactly where we were in the city itself was challenging at first. The city isn’t completely oriented on the cardinal directions and my sense of direction is so messed up here that it took days for me to get my bearings. I make maps for a living so I should be a pro! Mo laughed and decided that she should be the one to read directions in the city and leave the country directions to me.

One lesson learned it is a great city for walking and it is BIG. There are large wonderful open spaces that look deceptively short. It is misleading because of all the openness. For instance, from the west end of the Capitol Mall and the Lincoln Memorial to the east end and the Capitol it is about 3 miles. We walked a portion of the mall taking in many of the sites along the way. A perfect beginning was the exploration of the Old Post Office. The history of the building is complex and more than once it came close to being torn down. The tower tour is free and offers an excellent view of the city. It was great for our orientation and helped us get a feel for where we were located in relation to the rest of the city. Washington DC was once a swamp and the Potomac River flows to the south and west without many landscape features to use for orientation. From the tower of the Old Post Office, however, we could see in all directions. The National Cathedral is to the northwest on the highest point in the city. We could see all the way down Pennsylvania Street to the Capitol. Dominating the skyline to the south was the Washington Monument. After climbing the steps to see the 10 bells , we headed west to find the White House and see what we could of the Mall.

Most everything here is something that you have seen on TV, read about, or seen in pictures all your lives. It all feels familiar, but it is really bigger than life. in real life. It is inspiring to stand outside the fence to the White House grounds and to hear people speaking many languages. Many seemed in awe while taking photos taking photos. We all took turns at a space along the fence to get a photo of ourselves with the White House in the background.

Later, we walked along the huge grassy fields around the Washington Monument to the World War II Memorial, the reflecting pools and the white marble Lincoln Memorial. As I walked I remembered so many images from the news of protests and gatherings in this place. As our guide said today, this is the place where our freedom of speech is fully expressed. We can gather and protest here and speak our mind in this space. No dogs will attack us, no police with guns will shoot us down. The “I Have a Dream” speech rang out from these steps where I stood dwarfed by the Lincoln statue. It is moving no matter how cynical I might be sometimes about my government.

We walked along the Constitution Gardens passing a lovely pond on the way to the Viet Nam Memorial. I knew about the controversy around this memorial, the ‘black gash in the ground”, but for me it was truly beautiful. Contemplative, reflective, simple and somber. The way it should be. It is very different from the WWII memorial with its sense of pomp and ceremony.

Then, on the opposite side of the reflective pool, we saw the Korean War Memorial. The memorial was only dedicated in 1995, even though the Viet Nam Memorial has been here since 1983. The forgotten war. No wonder people were upset about the lack of a memorial honoring Korean War Veterans. The numbers are staggering. The Korean war lasted only 3 years and more than 40,000 troops were lost and more than a million United Nations troops were injured. In contrast, the Viet Nam war lasted 16 years with a similar number of casualties. No one talked much about the Korean War, and we have never signed a treaty or an armistice. It is a sobering thought.

By the time we headed back west toward the Metro Center we were darned tired and both of us had aching feet and ankles. I think we walked more than 6 miles and were really feeling it. We planned to go on to Ballston for some supper, but on the way to the station we found the Elephant Castle Pub and stopped for good fish, chips and beer. It was a perfect respite before boarding the metro for the trip home. The hotel shuttle is doing a great job of picking us up and dropping us off and the reviews that said they were never on time were just not true. They have been great!

Home to our comfortable room, a good shower, and a great night’s sleep.

Day zero traveling to DC Saturday Oct 3

Although lots of the stories here revolve around the MoHo and RV travel, we do sometimes wander off to see things in other ways. This time it was a trip to Washington DC, a destination too far away to manage a MoHo trip, at least while I am still working and have to deal with limited leave time. Neither of us had been to DC previously, and since my agency developed a great soils exhibit for the Smithsonian, I figured it was as good a time as any to take a week off and go see our Capital City.

We flew from San Francisco on Saturday morning, leaving Jamestown, California at 4am to give ourselves plenty of time to negotiate the bay area traffic. Good thing! There were closed ramps and freeways in the midst of construction somewhere around Hayward that had us going in circles in the dark trying to find a way over the San Mateo Bridge. Never managed that, and ended up going via the Dumbarton Bridge instead to find HWY 101 and still make it to the Travelodge in time for the shuttle to the airport. Whew! We had plenty of time to get checked in and on the plane with no other mishaps.

We have learned that one of the best ways to fly from San Francisco is to stay at the Travelodge in South San Francisco, which has a fly and park package that is very inexpensive compared to parking a car at the airport. The package includes a night on either end of your flights, free parking for 10 days, and a shuttle to the airport both ways. Travelodge Park and Fly

The flight seemed incredibly fast at 4.5 hours direct to Dulles with good weather all the way. On the DC end of the flight we made arrangements with the Super Shuttle. This is an excellent way to travel to and from the airport in DC. Dulles Super Shuttle

Our baggage was on time, the shuttle to Arlington was easy, and the Comfort Inn we had reserved turned out to be more than adequate. After we checked in, dinner was an easy walk across a very big very busy Arlington Blvd to a Chinese place called XO Taste. It was very similar to a Chinese restaurant we once went to in San Francisco, but at least there was also English on the menu. The entire place was filled with Chinese people, not simply Asians, but very much Chinese. We were the only Caucasions in the place. It was a bit embarrassing to be the only ones using forks. After a half-hearted attempt at using chopsticks we gave up and returned to our forks. The dinner was excellent and more than plentiful.

Back home to a good night’s sleep, marred only by a stupid migraine for me. Sigh. Maybe it was the air pressure changes. More than likely, it was the MSG in the really great Chinese food from the previous night. Ah well. It made for a vaguely misfired day for me on Monday, but by evening it was finally gone and now I’m great.

Day 3 Virginia Lakes Hike

Although we planned this east side trip for high desert and seeing Bodie, the Virginia Lakes hike was an unexpected surprise. Chris Savastio, one of my soil survey crew, had been here earlier in the summer and kept insisting that I should see it. We decided to spend our third day on the east side of the mountains exploring these lakes.

I have so many photos of this lovely chain of hanging valley lakes that it’s hard to choose, so just check out the link to see all of it. The hike was just challenging enough to be fun, and I was hoping that I wouldn’t have a problem with the elevation, and think that our two days of camping at 7,000 feet helped a bit. I made it to the 11,100 foot pass without any problems. Abby had her fill of swimming in each lake and some of the highest ponds, the winds weren’t unbearable, and of course, the views from the pass were breathtaking.

The hike was only 6 miles or so, round trip, but we spent most of the day on the trail and were happy to get back home to our camp and the last evening campfire supper. Our last night out before returning home saw the temperature drop to 34 degrees, and in the morning the heater felt very good and the generator was a good thing to have!

Mo took down the solar panel, we buttoned up the MoHo is short order and waved bye to each other as she headed back north to Klamath and I followed the gorgeous Sonora Pass back to Jamestown. Truly a perfect weekend with just a little bit of everything wonderful