I decided to spend the weekend in Washington D.C. It was a very spur of the moment decision and there’s several reasons why I needed to be here, and sighting seeing was a big one! A pretty jammed packed first day so far!
I woke up fairly early, 8am American time. Last night, I tried my best to stay up for as long as possible so that i wouldn’t waste my weekend being completely jet lagged. I got dressed and went downstairs, then asked the front desk where the closet Diner was. Because you can’t go to America and not have breakfast at a diner right?!
I actually forgot my phone, so I was unable to take a picture of my breakfast. I got two pancakes, two over easy eggs, fried potatoes (which were called hash browns but weren’t at all like the hash browns you get in England) and although I ordered it with bacon they bought it with sausage instead. The sausage was actually really yummy so I didn’t complain, since I’ll have plenty of time to eat bacon later. The food was delicious but I was unable to finish it.
The first place on my agenda was to visit the Smithonsonian Air and Space museum. Walking through the doors and the security barriers was a pretty big deal. There’s space shuttles and pods and planes and basically the place is huge and full of stuff. Wonderful stuff that can fly and go into space and I wanted to buy a space suit costume from the gift shop but thought better of it. I saw the Wright’s Brother’s first plane, and the red baron plane and I felt super special when I recognised the spitfire.
I also looked at bits of moon rock and listened to the speech Kennedy gave congress about putting a man on the moon. Actually, I was still pretty stunned by the fact there were bits of dirt, that came from the moon. The shuttle bits that put the men on the moon is really small! Super small and cramped, and when you watch the rocket being launched it’s kind of amazing to see how much rocket you need to get that tiny shuttle thing into space.
To be perfectly honest, the whole idea of flight is amazing to me. Somehow we managed to build a working flying contraption out of wood and cloth and metal gears. Then we made it bigger and with more metal. Then we made it bigger yet, and someone got the ingenious idea to launch it off ships. And land them on ships. In the middle of the sea. Giant ships for big planes. When you think about it, it’s pretty crazy.
I could have spent the entire day there, I really could have. Or gone to one of the other museums all lining the area. The new Native American Indian museum looked interesting, but I had other things to see. I went to the Capitol building but something important was happening so paths and roads were blocked and I couldn’t get that close. There were police everywhere! I managed to make it into the library of congress though and that’s probably the best part of my day. I really love libraries and this one has to to be one of the prettiest in the world. It’s also very amazing simply from the sheer volume of books it holds. I wish I had a proper card to go into the main bit with, you can get them no matter where you’re from. If I come to D.C again, I’ll definitely come back to the library to read a book.
Finally I took a trip to the Great Falls Park. The sun was shining and the day was bright, making it the perfect time to go. It’s amazing how rapid the water flows over the falls and I can understand why so many thrill seekers want to kayak down them. I can also understand why so many of them die. I also saw a part where there were icicles hanging over the river in the place the sun hadn’t thawed it. The park is truly stunning and I spent a long time just listening to the water.
I also saw a hawk for the first time. I mean, the first time I’ve seen a wild hawk. It was beautiful and playing around on the air currents. I bought a soft pretzel which I ate with mustard and had my first ever ice-cream sandwich. They are delicious.
Now I’m very tired, I want to take a nap, then go for a swim in the hotel pool before going to dinner. I’ll be on cam tonight, so I can tell you guys about my day in much more detail!