Last week my husband had to go to Washington D.C. for a meeting – he’s important like that. As I mentioned, I have a friend who lives pretty close to DC (Awesomesauce!), so I hitched a ride with him so I could spend the day in our capitol with her.
But that’s only part of the reason I wanted to go.
Years ago, one of my old running buddies* told me about this “2-mile loop” in DC that goes by all the monuments. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to run this loop. I’ve been to DC a few times in the recent years, but I’ve never actually seen any of the famous landmarks. None of them!**
This was the perfect opportunity. In the morning, I had breakfast with my husband in the hotel lobby, then he went off to his meeting and I figured out how to maneuver the Metro to get over to the main part of the city. I didn’t really have any problems, but I got off earlier than planned because I saw “White House” on a sign outside the window at one of the stops. I’m such a kid, sometimes.
I got off the Metro and followed the sign up the steps. When I got off, there it was: The White House. I truly didn’t think I would be as excited about it as I was. I’ve seen it hundreds of times on TV and in photos, but that just doesn’t capture how amazing it is in person. I would love to tour the inside some day.
I didn’t really know what this ‘loop’ was exactly, but I looked it up on the interwebs and talked to some others about it. It sounded like it was a pretty well-known, easy to find/do thing, and it went from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and back. So, I asked one of the guards standing on the street in front of the WH how to get to the Capitol Building. They pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way!
The next thing I saw was not the Capitol Building though. I turned a corner, and there in front of me was the Washington Monument! Holy cow is that thing big! I stopped running for a few minutes to take a picture.
Then I was off again! Next up was the World War II Memorial, which was cool, but not as awe-inspiring as the other two – probably because it’s not as famous.
Kept running in the same direction, because I could see something big and white in front of me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew it was something! When I got closer, I discovered it was the Lincoln Memorial!
And in it…
And then I turned around…
I was looking for the Reflecting Pool ever since I ran by the Washington Monument. I expected it to be really close! It was very neat, but not as nice as Forrest Gump made it out to be…
I set off running again, not knowing where I was going. This so-called “loop” was not very clear. It might look clear on a map, but not when you’re running it. There were paths and turns all over the place! I asked for directions to the Capitol Building again.
Shortly thereafter, I ran by a man sitting on a bench taking a picture of himself and apparently having issues getting it just right. I offered to take the photo for him. He thanked me – in an Australian accent! – and I took a picture of him with the Jefferson Memorial in the background. I like to think that I gave him a positive impression of all Americans :)
Jefferson has always been my favorite. The Declaration of Independence really gets my juices flowing :)
Once again, I asked directions to the Capitol Building, since this alleged “loop” supposedly went from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building, and I had really hoped to see the Capitol. But alas, I discovered that it would take too long for me to run there, take the Metro back to my hotel, then shower and change in time to meet Awesomesauce, so I had to abandon the Capitol and head back.
“Loop” my ass.
Regardless, this was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t say it was a great training workout (even though I sweat my butt off) because I stopped so frequently to take pictures, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. With a slightly more planned out route so I could finally see the Capitol.
*I miss you, M-Cat!
**Not true. One year, my husband and I got lost looking for our hotel the night before a Kung Fu tournament and wound up in the parking lot of the Capitol Building. But it was dark. And it was just the parking lot. It doesn’t count.
