Three years ago, my friend Jen and I came to the great city of Washington D.C. to live and work for the summer. It was a blast. It was probably my first experience not only visiting a new city but also living and working there. Staying in a place for an extended amount of time really clues you in as to what makes the city and its people “tick.”
Fast forward to the present, and I am still in love with D.C. The famous monuments, the old houses, the way everyone walks everywhere, and so on. I knew I wanted to visit my old stomping grounds for at least a day, but wasn’t sure about a place to stay. I also knew that camping spots would be pretty slim in the city. So, not wanting a Vegas repeat, I finally swallowed my pride and emailed Darren, my long lost friend from the summer of ’06. He and his good friend Noah were probably two of the biggest reasons Jen and I had a blast that summer. We were introduced through a mutual friend also from Ft. Lauderdale, so Darren and Noah immediately became our unofficial tour guides, showing us the local’s favorite hangouts and answering all our phone calls begging for directions. We were the fab four, the four musketeers, the fantastic….well you get the idea.
Darren, probably the most “connected” guy I know, answered my email the same day I sent it. Not only did he offer his pad as a place to crash, but also gave us the scoop on all the newest additions to D.C., and, drum roll, please……..free parking (usually nonexistent in the city).
We arrived on a Sunday night just in enough time to head to the pool. Afterwards we hit up the 24 hr. grocery store that sits at the bottom of his apartment building for some ingredients to make the heavy and fattening, but oh-so-delicious chicken fettuccini alfredo…from scratch. Yum.
The next morning Craig and I caught the metro downtown to first check out Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. They just finished a two-year renovation and it is now a beautifully updated version of all the old favorite exhibits and many new ones as well.
After that we hit up the Museum of Natural History just to get a glimpse of the famous Hope Diamond, a 45-carat beauty. They have changed the display case since I last gawked at it during my 8th grade class trip. Now it stands in the center of the round room, surrounded by glass and sitting atop a rotating pedestal:
We also paid a visit to the dinosaur and mammal exhibits, stumbling upon a couple interesting sights:
Next we walked around the monument loop, taking in the size and grandeur of some of our favorite ones:
After lunch in Georgetown, we hopped on the trolley to my old neighborhood, where Jen and I lived the summer of ’06. Then we walked over to Embassy Row to check out the New Zealand embassy and get a few more questions answered:
After an exhausted metro ride back to Darren’s, we ended the night with phenomenal pizza from Pizza Paradiso and some exciting pro football on the tube.
D.C. was a blast, and once again, I owe it all to my perpetual tour guide, Darren. Go Team!
Next Stop: Charlotte, NC
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