I {heart} WDC!

Looking toward the National Mall from Arlington House

Things I {heart} about Washington DC:

1.  I love the Metro.  I like that I can take the Metro and walk pretty much everywhere I want to go.  It's safe, it's clean, it's easy to figure out where you want to go.

Luv my Metro stop!

2.  Tourists.  Yes, I know that I'm one when I'm here too, but I really try to not look conspicuously like one (well, except for the camera - but even that, I don't bring all 8 zillion lenses with me).  I like how parents and children are making connections over the documents, monuments, and artifacts they're seeing.  I also like chuckling to myself when parents get it wrong.

Paying my respects to President Lincoln

3.  Too much to see!  Museums, monuments, exhibits, offices, restaurants x 10 million!  There are so many things to do and see - how could you ever see it all?

WWII Memorial

4.  Softball on the National Mall.  I love that teams - law firms, offices, and congressional staffers - organize and play their games on the Mall.  Sad to say, but watching them play is one of my favorite down-time activities when I'm done with museums and monuments.

Things that I could do without in WDC:

A.  June = 8th graders on tour.  Yeah.  Avoid DC in June if at all possible.

Washington Monument, the emptied-out reflecting pool, and 9 million 8th graders and their poor chaperones and tour directors... I feel their pain, but I'm glad it's not me!

B.  Icky brown grass on the National Mall.  Yes, I know it's irresponsible to use a sprinkler system when others are in a drought... but really.  This is America's capital city.  Surely taxpayers wouldn't mind a cent or two more to cover the water bill for America's showpiece city?

The Capitol... and brown grass... ick...