Seceded from the District

 Saturday, April 9, 2022

A picture from Arlington with, from left to right, the
Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building

Washington, DC

Today was a day with Joshua. He planned out a timetable with 4 different destinations with the option to drop or add as needed. We were intending to meet at the Foggy Bottom metro station at 12:00, but I was waiting to get in the shower for 1/2 an hour after some slow guy. Really?? Half an hour in a shared bathroom? And then when he was finally done, he headed downstairs, so he wasn't even from our floor! He has a bathroom on his own floor! Anyway, Joshua had stopped to get something to eat from the food service at his dorm, so he was late too. I arrived first and we texted, he said that he was on the VEX transport from the other campus where the freshman dorms are located, and that they had to re-route because of a presidential motorcade (#only in DC). That's when Joshua said that he had already eaten, so I could get something to eat while I waited. Well, there was a Whole Foods at the next block and they have a HUGE area of ready to eat foods. So I found a salad bar and got a salad, then saw fruit and got a bunch of fruit. They have an eating area, so I told Joshua to meet me there and enjoyed my salad and fruit.

Joshua's plan was Arlington National Cemetery, Historical Alexandria, the Navy Yards, and the Federal Triangle. Arlington and Alexandria were originally part of DC. If you look at a map, you can totally see that. The outer boundaries of both match up with the boundaries of DC to form a rectangle. But in a retro-cession, the county containing those two areas was ceded back to Virginia (who had ceded them to the federal government in 1789). Evidently the residents of the county were given the choice.  

Arlington was what I expected, fields of headstones of men and women and their spouses who served in our armed forces. The majority of the headstones are all the same which is very aesthetically pleasing as you look out over the hills and fields. We did specifically go to see where Kennedy (which is right below Robert E Lee's house) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are buried. Judge Ginsburg is buried with her husband who served and near other supreme court justices, including Thurgood Marshall (the first black supreme court justice). Joshua was still feeling a bit tired from his GI issues, so we skipped the tomb of the unknown soldier and going up to the Robert E Lee house. 

The bridge over the Potomac with the Lincoln Memorial on the other side

Arlington with Robert E Lee's house at the top of the hill

JFK's memorial with the eternal flame

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's headstone (and her husband's)

The back of Justice Ginsburg's headstone
(and an unintended selfie!)

 Next we took the metro to historic Alexandria. It has a cute main street (King Street) which leads down to the Potomac River. We walked about halfway down, then took the free trolleybus to near the end. We window-shopped and talked, then went down to the river and sat on a rock to talk some more. With the sun shining, it was a beautiful day. As we walked back to the metro, a cool wind picked up and I was glad that I had worn my sweatshirt. 

King Street in Alexandria (and a back
view of Joshua!)

King Street--Potomac in the distance

The Potomac River

Along King Street

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial
is a masonic building and a memorial dedicated to the 
memory of George Washington, a mason.  It is fashioned
after the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt.  The masons
funded the entire monument.

 We decided to skip the Navy Yards and went instead to the Capitol Mall where we walked around the castle gardens and the beautiful buildings that house the Smithsonian museums. We both agreed that the National Mall could do with a bit more sprucing up. Plant some gardens on the sides, put in a pollinator-friendly lawn down the middle, and put down cobblestones instead of the gravel. 

The Smithsonian Castle

The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building

A side view of the Castle

Gardens in front of the Castle

The newish National Museum of African American History and Culture (2016);
at this time you need to make reservations ahead of time to visit. It is 
a Smithsonian museum.

A beautiful space to eat your lunch or spend
your afternoon on a sunny day!

Castle gardens with the Department of Energy building across the street.

Side door of the Castle

Gates to the Castle

Back view of the Arts and Industries building

 We decided to get dinner at Foggy Bottom and headed over there at around 8:00 because Joshua had a social function to attend with the committee of one of the organizations that he belongs to at 9:00. I wanted the last meal of my trip to be a sit-down meal with menus and wait staff. We tried all of those that we could find, but it being a Saturday night, they all had waits of one to two hours. Joshua elected to go to the small food court in the basement of District House, one of the dorms. We got Mexican food and ate that before Joshua went to his event at a committee member's apartment and I went back to my hotel. It was nice seeing DC through Joshua’s eyes and being able to find out more about his life. I mentioned to Joshua that it was a much different feel walking around DC versus New York. New York is filled with many historical homes and buildings and as you walk around, you can imagine what life must have been like long ago. And there are people everywhere. DC has fewer people and feels less historical, despite the historical monuments. Joshua said that until around the turn of the century, most of the population of DC were government workers, so that explains it a lot.  The population increased in the 1900s.  I must say that I prefer New York for things to do and for just walking around. The public transit system is also more complete. But I’m glad to see Joshua and have a few things to visit more completely next time I’m in DC visiting Joshua. And tomorrow I fly home.

This is currently Tr**mp International Tower, but is not
owned by him any longer.  I'm hoping they change the name.
It was originally the Department of the Post Office.

DC Metro station.  Reminds me of the 1970s visions of the future
like in Tomorrowland at DisneyWorld.

Very different than the New York subways!