I woke up when the drool that was hanging from my chin broke free from my lip and splattered on the front of my black Thursday zipper hoody. In a state of mass chaotic sleep confusion I dashed out of the Metro car just as the doors were closing thinking that I had slept through my stop. Naturally, it wasn't until the Metro had pulled away that I realized I was terribly incorrect and that my stop to transfer to the Green line and back to my Jeep was, in fact, the next stop, L'enfant. So, I continued on foot to the next Green line station to catch a train home and close my Sunday of skateboarding in D.C.
Sunday had been quite nice, somewhere around 50 degrees and sunny. I did my best throughout the day to not be shown up by a boisterous crowd of 13 year old skaters. After a solid three hours of knee shattering ollies, kickflips, and frontside 180's, I kick-flipped my adventure switch back to tourist mode and hopped on the Metro for a ride south to Alexandria and King Street. The grandeur of King Street had been related to me by an acquaintance at Fort Gordon, so I had made a point to explore the area. King Street was old. A relic of the past now filled with cafes, bookstores, and various ethnic dining restaurants. Ethnic restaurants are really of no value to the experienced brown bagger.
Sorry tourist economy. Also, sorry I'm not sorry for being cheap and eating bagels. They are so delicious and free when acquired at the Wingate Inn.
Flashing back to Saturday, St Patty's Day...
A snap of winter weather had unleashed on the Metro area on Friday and I was forced to don my beanie, scarf, and gloves for my adventure in the city on Saturday. The March winds were howling and nipping at my exposed white boy face. My plan for the day was to have no plan, so I strolled to the Mall and set my sights on the red castle of the Smithsonian Institute. Multiple branches of the Institute were close for various reasons to include renovations and the line to enter the Air and Space Museum was horrendously long, so I made way for the National Art Gallery, instead, which had no line.
I'm not one to engage in long and lazy strolls through galleries. Sculptures will capture my attention, but only for approximately 30 minutes time. I did a quick walk about through the entirety of the gallery and then exited for the Pentagon.
The Pentagon, eh? I personally don't protest "The War", but I was curious to witness the actions of a crowd of thousands of American citizens who are in opposition of the decisions of our President, George W. Bush. Unfortunately, I actually missed the rally itself and only witnessed a line of protesters trudging across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, blaze orange impeachment signs in hand. So, I followed them, eavesdropping on conversations laced with disagreement, hate, and St. Patty's day drinking plans. Somewhere on the other side of the Potomac I found Georgetown, a quaint yet higher end feeling shopping district. Oh, there's a university there too.
I traveled home as the sun dipped behind the horizon.
Being that it was St. Patty's Day and I wasn't wearing a lick of green I did celebrate the holiday at the Ruby Tuesday which can be found down the street from my hotel. I partook in the drinking of some coconut rum, which was good, and some sleep in my personal Wingate Inn king sized bed. It is so wonderful.
That was Saturday, Sunday is at the top of the page. You can read it again, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'll be leaving this grand location of Maryland on Wednesday, the 21st, destined for the dreaded "dirty south".
Pray for my soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment