National Harbor

Ever since it opened we never really liked the place. We heard that a Ferris Wheel is being constructed on the waterfront, so we decided it was time to take another ride out to National Harbor. We started out in Alexandria and took the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over to our destination. That route has to be one of the biggest spaghetti freeway configurations in the country. Once there, the place looked as it always did...neither one of us cares for the typical new city construction, the shops and restaurants, or hotels and condominiums. The "awakening" art work that used to be on Hains Point just doesn't cut it in this new location. It gets lost in the backdrop. The Ferris Wheel is not finished yet. The Gaylord Nelson Convention Center is HUGE, and the condominium units all look the same. The metal art at the entrance/exit is just too modern for our taste! The most interesting sight was a human dressed as a chicken crossing the street advertising something or other. There is also talk of MGM Grand setting up a casino near this area. The outlet mall is just down the street. At Christmas time there was snarled traffic all over because the roadways can't support all the visitors. The view from here is Alexandria, a place we really like a lot. One redeeming feature is that you can take a water taxi from here to Alexandria and Georgetown. I guess you could say Alexandria is the old world, and National Harbor is the new. I don't think we'll be coming back for quite awhile. I'm sure they won't miss us.