I arrived in DC in what seemed like the blink of an eye. It’s amazing how fast a 3.5 hour drive is after you’ve been averaging probably 5 or 6 for about a month.
It was too early to check into the hotel room so I left my car in the garage and set off to explore. The closest destination to my hotel was the White House so I figured why not start there. As expected I ran into numerous filed trips and people taking pictures in front of it. I stepped back from the crowd and got some pictures. As I looked around I happen to see a security guard on the roof. I zoomed in with my camera to get a closer look. He wasn’t carrying a gun or anything, he seemed to just be doing surveillance. Still it was pretty cool to see that type of security in person. The Washington Monument was my next stop. As I walked along the sidewalk I noticed something. There was far more security than I had initially noticed. I passed by the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and standing outside was a secret service officer with what appeared to be an assault rifle. Now I expected to see security, I did not expect to see security wearing full out bulletproof vests that said Secret Service on them carrying assault rifles. I continued onto the monument.
Unfortunately tours of the Washington Monument are closed until 2019 so I was only able to get pictures from the outside. Still it was pretty cool to see in person. It was also the only monument/memorial that I was able to touch so that was an added bonus. Also while I was admiring and taking pictures a chopper flew overhead toward the White House. I can only assume The Donald was in it. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself. Next Up was the Lincoln Memorial. Funny thing about most of the monuments/memorials is that you can see them from one destination or another but they are still a hell of a walk away.
A half hour later I was at the Lincoln Memorial. I also stopped before I got there to check out the World War II Memorial. I walked passed the Reflecting Pool (which, on a side note, I wasn’t able to reflect in because it had to be drained because of a parasite that killed 80 ducklings. #funfact) and up the steps to see Abe. Being the move buff I am it was so neat to me to be in that area where so many scenes have been filmed. Walking up to the memorial was something else. The detail was amazing and just the awe that the whole statue invoked was pretty freakin cool. I walked around the area a bit after getting some pictures. I read the Gettysburg address and his second inaugural address both of which are carved into the walls that surround the statue. I decided to head out and make my way to the Jefferson Memorial.
On my way to see Tommy J I stopped at the Korean War Memorial. I was able to walk around and check it out a bit before continuing on. As I said before the distance between each destination can be deceiving because you can see them from such a great deal away. So when I finally got to T Jeffs memorial I was exhausted. The high topped out at a blistering 95 today so with all that walking I was drenched in sweat. So I took a few minutes and enjoyed the shade of the monument. I sat down on one of the benches and people watched for a bit. I saw what appeared to be a Tibetan Monk come in dressed in his orange robes. To see someone like that stand in awe of this memorial was unexpected. People came in and took selfies and regular pictures and it was fun for me to sit back and watch peoples’ eyes light up when they first got a look at the statue standing in the center of the monument. I decided I had rested enough so I got a few quick pictures and then headed out to make my way to Capitol Hill.
As I got closer and closer to the Capitol Building I could see security increasing. Thinking nothing of it because of all the security I saw everywhere else around DC I continued on. I took pictures and continued making my way around the perimeter of the building. That’s when I heard a few people talking abut the Sessions’ hearing that was taking place today. I’ve been in a news vortex for about a month but that suddenly explained why there was such increased security all over the place. I decided that I had seen just about everything I wanted to see today so I decided to head back to my room.
On my way back to my room I noticed something strange. Because I was dying of thirst, a bus with a McDonald’s sign on it caught my eye. Any size soft drink $0.99. Sounds good to me. So I planned to stop into the next McDonald’s I saw. That’s when I realized that as I continued walking, not only did I not see any McDonald’s but I didn’t really see any buildings other than office buildings, government buildings, historical buildings, or monuments/memorials. There were seemingly no restaurants or convenience stores or anything in this downtown DC area. Now it could be that the outsides of them were just dressed up so they blended in with the rest of the more official buildings, and if they were then bravo. But now as I was consciously looking for a convenience store or something along those lines I didn’t see anything. This realization also explained the inordinate amount of food trucks and corner vendors I walked passed.
After walking around DC all afternoon I also noticed that seemingly every important building or headquarters in the country is located here. You have the obvious ones, The White House, Capitol Hill, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument etc etc. But then I also walked passed The Treasury Department, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, J Edgar Hoover FBI Building, US Department of Agriculture and so many more that I forget. It was very easy to see that this is the US capital. It also made a lot more sense to me why the entire area was under constant security. There’s a lot of important stuff going on here!
So anyway I got back to my room and decided to only chill for like 5 minutes before heading out to get some food. Now I had done my research, per usual, and decided to hit a place called Ben’s Chili Bowl. Not one of the oldest places I’ve been to on the trip but still a Washington landmark since 1958. They are famous for a chili half-smoke. A beef and pork sausage served on a steamed bun with mustard, diced onions, and homemade chili sauce. I got one half-smoke and then got a chili dog. They hit the spot. The chili had a little kick but wasn’t too overpowering. Both the sausage and the hot dog were extremely flavorful. It was the perfect meal. I finished up and started the half hour walk back to my room. By this time my feet and legs were shot and I couldn’t wait to get back to my room.
All told I think I walked approximately 682 miles. At least it felt that way anyway. So I got back to my room and now here I am. Now I’m about to go shower and probably just head to bed. I have the shortest drive of all tomorrow to Philly at only 2.5 hours. I’ll probably head right to the zoo because I’ll get there so early. Hopefully I get to see everything I want to. I’ll definitely keep you guys posted though!
Joey's Great American Adventure 
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