Slow it down, Willy Boy (Washington D.C.) (9/19/2012)

The next morning we took the subway from Alexandria to D.C., a cleaner, better transport than in New York. We stepped out onto the National Mall (basically the strip between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, lined with various museums), took a breath of fresh federal air, then a confident step into the first of many museums, the Air and Space. Inside, we explored the wealth of actual planes on display, including Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers' Wright Flyer. Also on display were the space suits worn by Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and, I think, Michael Collins during the Apollo 11 mission. So many historic items in one place; it was very humbling.

Afterward, we headed over to the National Gallery of Art, which was pristine and held a good collection of American art. We also dropped by the capitol building, with the epic Grant Memorial out front. After this, we went over, off the main mall area, to the National Portrait Gallery and finally got to see some classic Hudson River School works--which was classic. With so much stuff to do and only one day, we just kept going, moving at a quick pace over to the White House to stare mindlessly through a fence with security in every direction. Regardless, that was cool. Walking down past the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the reflecting pool, we entered into the fairly sacred Lincoln Memorial. Once we walked past those pillars and stared up into the giant face of old Abe, it was actually pretty harrowing. There is little writing in the building, say for an inscription of the Gettysburg Address to the left, his second Inauguration speech to the right, and an epitaph above his head, dimly lit, that reads:

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.

That was the closest thing to governmental sanctity I've ever actually felt; it was definitely my highlight of D.C.

Following this, we decided we'd cap off our night with something very Chesapeake: crab! So we walked down to the local fish market, just before closing time, and had ourselves a feast of crabcakes. It was damn good, and Franco says it was his favorite meal of our trip (which is really saying something).

We took the subway back to Kelly's, satisfied, both in our stomachs and our minds. We felt we had seen most of what we wanted in D.C., using our time economically. We both agreed the city was clean, beautiful, and that we would even consider living nearby.