White House Christmas Tree

It felt like we were just there. But it has been a year since we last visited the White House Christmas Tree. Of course it looks so much prettier at night with all of the lights. But we rarely go in to town in the evening. So it was a good reason to take a morning walk there. We parked at the very quiet Tidal Basin and strolled over past the Washington Momument and WWII Memorial. As is the same every year all of the states have their own tree, with the White House tree in the center. The city was rather quiet - which is how I prefer it. But by the time we were on our way back to the car the number of visitors increased. After viewing the trees we walked past the executive office building and over to the front of the White House. It wasn’t quite sunny, the wind was blowing, and the clouds were in an interesting formation. They looked like they were pointing to the White House. We have toured the White House on two occasions, and once again when I was a youngster. It would be fun to see it at Christmas. There were plenty of people who got that opportunity. On the way back we walked by Old Ebbit Grill and the Willard Hotel and saw the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue. We also saw some cherry blossoms in front of the Washington monument. It’s hard to believe this is the beginning of winter. It’s nice to be able to still take a morning walk in a place that people from all over the world visit - especially at this time of the year. 

Monuments Seem So Much Bigger

We always like to go in to town at least once a week for a morning walk, but also to try and get photos for the weekly challenge. So last week we parked by the Tidal Basin - a favorite place because no one else seems to know about it - and we walked to Constitution Gardens. The gardens are also our favorite because no one seems to know about that either. After strolling around a while we walked back to the car, but first wanted to head to the Washington Monument. For whatever reason, all of the monuments in the distance looked so much larger than usual. Perhaps it was the season, the bright cloudless sky, the overall lighting, or who knows what. But when we were standing by the Washington Monument the Capitol Building on the other side of the National Mall was so much more in focus, and just seemed larger than usual. Then walking along independence Avenue the Jefferson Memorial appeared to look even larger. The most surprising landmark that seemed like it is always hiding was the White House, which could easily be seen as we were walking back to the car from the Tidal Basin. I simply didn’t recall it being so visible from that vantage point. Anyway, it was a beautiful bright day - perfect for a morning walk. It’s funny how the same old places look different every time we visit. 

Morning Walk in Downtown DC

We know we can usually find parking by the Tidal Basin so that’s where we headed this morning for our morning walk in spite of it being Friday, high tourist season and multiple graduation set ups. The city is back to where it was before the pandemic and that means congestion, noise, and huge tourist groups that block sidewalks. I really dislike crowds and noise but my husband loves it. And he wanted to walk about downtown to see if the office buildings were still empty. So we started at the Tidal Basin and walked by the Washington monument, the WWII Memorial, on towards the executive Office building and up towards the Renwick Gallery. Then we went to Farragut Square and circled back towards the White House through Lafayette Park. Three times we ran in to the same motorcade with many policemen on motorcycles escorting an empty bus. On the way back we passed Old Ebbitt Grill. There was a lot of traffic and pedestrians congested around here - some in kilts. I’m sure the White House tours are back on. There was a haze in the sky from the Canadian wildfires. It was most obvious looking down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol. Then we walked by the African American museum and meandered back towards the Washington monument where there was an art exhibit about Millions Missing - sponsored by disability advocates. All told we walked either 2.8 or over three miles - I forgot to turn my Apple Watch on until we we were ten minutes in to the walk. What’s interesting is to see the route we took on the map - both the route and the actual map of the city. It’s hard to believe that we were at the White House this morning and back home by 1130 for breakfast/lunch. We oftentimes miss our old home on Capitol Hill but at least we can still go on when we want. 

Old Ebbitt Grill

Since we haven’t taken any trips this year for a variety of reasons, we thought it might be a good idea to become a tourist in DC and find things in town that might be interesting. It started with a trip to the cheesy Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and another to the National Gallery of Art to see Cezanne’s work. Some are close enough to walk; others are on the metro line. Some of them we combine with breakfast or lunch. Today was a good day to go back to Old Ebbitt Grill. It is located just a block from the White House and is always busy. I would consider it a tourist trap and we have been there at least two or three times before. It was our first stop after taking the metro to Metro Center and walking a couple of blocks. The timing was good for breakfast at 1030 and it beat both the early morning crowd and before lunch group. We got a decent green velvet covered seat booth near the halfway point of the very large separate dining spaces. My husband got his French toast which was sort of drippy - not so hot. I got a safer western omelette, which was okay. I never expect the food to be good, but it’s a staple in the area. From there we were headed to the Burning Man exhibit at the Renwick Gallery. More on that later.