Nationals Stadium

Since the Nationals season opener was yesterday, we decided to take a ride down to the Nationals Stadium today after our morning walk to see how things look in the neighborhood. We used to live just a few blocks from there when we lived in Capitol Hill. None of that even existed when we moved to DC in 2006. We have been experiencing extreme weather lately - breaking heat records and heavy rain. Of course, the rain ruined the game last night too. The place looks very different from when we lived there. The contrast between it and where we live now in northern Virginia is stark. Of course, nothing really looks the same with the pandemic all around us. A lot of it is probably psychological. All the streets around Nats Park are under construction; the high rises continue to “rise,” and the streets are still pretty empty. More people are wearing masks as it is required in the district. One of our favorite restaurants Tortilla Coast closed. Everything looks so dreary! One bright spot was seeing the toddlers walking together with their day care “class” across the street. That looked a bit normal.  The weeds are taking over and the old neighborhood looked ragged. Driving in to town isn’t what I ever imagined it could be these days. 

DC City Views

It’s been a couple of weeks since we drove in to DC. The last time was for my haircut. We haven’t switched out our doctor, dentist, or haircut providers since we moved from Capitol Hill to northern Virginia in April. Saturday we decided to see Muchael Beschloss at the Library of Congress Book Festival at the Convention Center. It was after dinner so we headed out close to six in the evening to catch the seven pm event. It’s a good feeling to know our way around town. We usually take the same route we always did when we drove home to Capitol Hill. We get off the GW Parkway at Arlington and cross Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. Then it’s on to Independence Avenue past the MLK Memorial and the Washington monument - which is now open since the earthquake took it out of service several years ago! Because we were going to the convention center we swung by the African American museum to Constitution Avenue, past the Archives and other events along the way, to seventh street and the Verizon Center and Chinatown, straight to a parking space we found a couple of blocks away. I, unlike my husband, dislike metro and will find any excuse not to use it. I know one of these days we will eventually take the silver line in, but this place is on the yellow/green line and changing trains isn’t my cup of tea either. At least the silver line takes us directly to our old neighborhood at Capitol South - which would be more tolerable. So until that time comes I like taking the car in and meandering about. Maybe the next time we go to Tortilla Coast we can attempt it? Then again - maybe not. 

 

Discovering Washington

Whenever there are shows or movies about Washington DC on television, we always watch for views of our house. It is not unusual to find it in the overhead shots. Most recently we were watching “Discovering Washington” on PBS for the sole purpose of seeing our house. All the footage of the sites were so familiar because we have now lived here almost twelve years, and see a lot of what the show was describing on our daily walks along the National Mall. Every time we see these programs my husband comments about how much he loves living here and would be very sad if we ever left. When the aerial views of the Capitol came on we paid very close attention to the surrounding area. And for about five seconds we could see our house on the far right side of the screen. The building has after all been around since the 1870’s - which is both good, but also bad in terms of living on picturesque Capitol Hill. We are here because of the neighborhood - not the sound infrastructure of our building! What once was a home for single girls working in the area - run by the nuns - was converted to condos. It’s a very pretty place and anyone who walks by takes a good look at it. It’s nice to be in such good company. Not everyone can point their house out on tv. 

The Stinky Corpse Plant at the US Botanical Garden

I remember going to see the stinky plant in 2013, but it either wasn't blooming or there wasn't any publicity about it. For whatever reason, it's a huge hit this year. Since it only blooms for a very short time, one needs to calculate when to see it. So we thought last evening would be quiet after 8 PM. They kept the botanic garden open until 11 PM last night and tonight just for this purpose. Were we wrong about it being "quiet!" The line wrapped around the entire block and then some. So we decided to go home and try again this morning. It was around 9:30 when we got there on our morning walk and we got in line and waited until it opened at 10 AM. It was displayed front and center in the main hall as you walk in. Was it all that we expected? I guess so as far as plants go. It was very tall, but it didn't stink, and you couldn't get really close to it. It might be more interesting to see it once it starts to fade. There is a live cam on the plant, so I'll probably watch it here and there before it says goodbye. It always seems there is more excitement in the anticipation. But I'm happy to say that we were a part of the excitement, and it was only two blocks away. 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours the happiest holiday season!

The National Mall Turf Restoration Project

A few years ago, the east end of the mall was blocked off for turf restoration. The grass does look a lot better, and it supposedly is a more functional and efficient water drainage system. I remember having to walk around the enclosed area, because it was fenced off. This lasted for at least two years. Now the west end of the mall is having the same thing done - and this morning there was evidence that the project has already begun. It will stretch from seventh to fourteenth street...all the way to the Washington Monument, including the area with the iconic merry go round and Smithsonian Castle. Luckily we don't walk that far very often, and when we do we'll just have to take an alternate route. Now if anyone wants to hold an event on the mall, they need to also protect the already completed space with special mats so as not to mess up what had to have been a very expensive project. It seems wherever you turn there is some construction or repair work going on around us. As long as it doesn't interfere with our daily living it's not so bad. But sometimes it can get a bit noisy. 

At the Capitol - May I Have a Picture?

Today was a good day to capture some of the unusually unique architectural features around the Capitol. But half way through our walk I realized it was more entertaining to watch all the visitors and locals alike taking photos of their friends and family on New Year's Day. The youngsters were intrigued with all the seagulls scattered all over the reflecting pond, and someone was out for a photo shoot in a pretty golden sweater and flowing long hair. An Italian cyclist was doing a selfie on the east side, while three guys were trying to get their subject to pose at just the right angle so it looked like he was "holding" the Capitol Building in his hand. But the one thing I didn't get a photo of, even though it didn't have anything to do with my intended theme of the day - and more out of respect than anything else - were two runners coming towards us. They were tethered together with a bright green wrist band, and on the shirt of one was written "blind" in very large letters. It was probably the sweetest thing I've seen in a while. What a great way to start the New Year. 

A Very Dreary Washington DC

So this is day 10 of the government shutdown, or day 8 working days off for me - a furloughed government employee. It's dreary enough with a pretty empty town, but the rain makes it even more dreary. And it is expected to last another several days. The rust is more obvious, the sandbags cover the metro access grills, construction has come to a halt. The only bright spots are the neon colored orange cones that are blocking the way to every park entrance, the neon yellow rain gear of the Capitol police - who appear to be the only ones working- and the somewhat colorful umbrellas of the few foreign visitors (who must be really disappointed!) arriving by the fewer and fewer bus loads only to view things from a distance. The neighborhood sidewalks on Capitol Hill are empty. It is very strange around here, and both my husband and I have had a flu/cold thing since it started. It kinda all goes together - don't you think?