After the high-rise impact of New York, the capitol seems incredibly flat. As someone completely unfamiliar with city laws restricting the height of buildings, the lack of skyscrapers took me completely by surprise. In fact, I had to double check the metro names to make sure I hadn’t stopped off in the wrong town. It was late afternoon by the time I arrived at the hotel, but after seeing the pinnacle of the Washington memorial from my room window the urge to explore proved too strong to resist. With no real destination in mind I found myself following the sound of loudspeakers to Capitol Hill and as it turned out, the site of a gay pride rally. Before arriving in the states I didn’t know a great deal about gay rights in the country, but after tuning in to CNN from my hotel in New York I found news reporters discussing little else. There’s a great deal of controversy surrounding a policy introduced by the Clinton administration called ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ which effectively prohibits openly gay and transgender people from serving in the military. No doubt an improvement on the previous legislation which only allowed heterosexuals into the army, the draft still needed a lot to be desired. There was unsurprisingly little change to this during the Bush administration but in the lead up to his election, Barrack Obama stated that he would abolish the controversial policy. Despite the huge drive for Obama from the LGBT sector during his White House bid ousthere has been little progress and supporters are becoming (understandably) a little impatient. Such it was that I found myself watching the sunset behind the Washington memorial while surrounded by rainbow flags and guys wearing just a tad too much makeup.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’ve already acquired a bad habit since arriving in the US. I’m not proud of the fact and I feel dirty admitting it but I’ve started buying coffee at Starbucks. I don’t know whether it’s the shameless attempt to sell commercialism in the disguise of your friendly neighborhood coffee-shop or whether they’re just so damn reliable, but it’s got to the stage where I walk around a corner and feel affronted when there isn’t one there. I started the day with a mocha and particularly fine cinnamon bun (but didn’t feel good about it). After a short walk past the White House (no photo opportunities unfortunately as some inconsiderate bugger had pitched a marquee in front of it) I got a call from my Peace Corp friend in DC, Elise. Running to a pretty tight schedule as it was (she had just found a property in the city and was getting ready to move the next day) we made plans to grab a late lunch. Ben’s Chile Bowl is something of a Washington institution. A regular haunt of Bill Cosby (reputably the only person allowed to eat free until the Obamas were recently added), the restaurant served the policeman during the infamous riots which followed the assasitnation of Martin Luther King Jr. and construction workers during the metro constructions. Mr Cosby is reported to have taken his girlfriend on dates to the Chile Bowl back in the 60’s when business was probably a lot quieter. Today we were greeted by a queue stretching two lines down the counter but I was assured that it would be worth the wait. I have no idea who first came up with the chili dog but it’s an incredible invention which does exactly what it says on the tin; someone obviously had the epiphany (no doubt after a heavy on the town) that the only possible way to improve a hot-dog would be to smother it in Chili, and it works. There remains no greater indicator of the American dream than its food.
Washington DC Is generally defined by its monuments; from the Lincoln and Washington memorials to the reflecting pool they’re the icons which define the capitol. They also provide by far the best photo opportunities, and though I thoroughly enjoyed standing at the foot of the Lincoln memorial imagining the scene from Forrest Gump panning out before me I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking around a giant cemetery. After a walk around the Vietnam Veterans memorial I decided to cheer myself by checking out Natural History museum. After the monuments, the Smithsonian series of museums is one of the best things Washington has going for it, they really are spectacular. I made a point of checking out the Natural History museum in New York while I was there and it felt a little second rate in comparison with its DC counterpart. Then again, I may be slightly biased as The Smithsonian museum of Natural History has one of the best collections of rocks and minerals in the world, around 40,000 specimens to be exact. From the hope diamond to Iron Meteorites and every flavor of ore you can imagine there’s something here for the rock geek in everyone. While looking through some particularly good specimens of Malachite (copper oxide) a little old lady next to me exclaimed “they’re amazing aren’t they? I’ve never seen anything like them”. I was spared the explanation of how I had actually seen some particularly good examples in the oxide section of the open pit a few months ago when she turned around and visibly started; “I’m sorry, I thought you were my husband!”
Tomorrow we’re off to Denver Colorado. It’s cold up there at the moment so wrap up warm.
