DC Observations

Well, I'm back from my DC trip and it was a real mixed bag. I actually did have some time on Friday and Saturday to sightsee. I thought about coming home early, on Saturday, because I had basically had enough but it would have cost my firm almost $250 more for me to come home. That was more than the cost of the extra hotel night, especially since they reduced the room rate due to the lack of hot water for two days. The way the airlines operate makes me crazy. If I'm traveling to the same destination on the same plane, why should it matter what day I travel on? Why should a flight on Saturday afternoon cost $150 more (plus a change fee) than a flight Sunday morning? What difference does it make to the airline? If you have two empty seats and one passenger, either way one plane is going to take off with an empty seat. Why does it matter which plane that is?

Here's some other observations I had about DC:

1. The Smithsonian Institution should itself be placed in a museum. I haven't been to the Smithsonian since 8th grade. It has not changed. At all. Literally. I basically went into the Natural History and the Air & Space museums. I don't believe there are any exhibits in either place that weren't there 30 years ago. Well, there's a couple new additions to the Air & Space but they seem useless. Most of the exhibits were woefully outdated and both museums were way too dark and crypt-like.

2. The National Aquarium is an embarrassment and not worth even the $5 admission.

3. The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial is the the best and most moving war memorial I've ever seen. Unlike most of the others that seem to glorify our heroism in various wars, this monument that simply lists 58,000+ names of deceased soldiers is a perfect metaphor for the war it represents. No big statues, no grand pronouncements. Just 58,000+ people who died. It's a perfect sum of the accomplishments of war.

4. Georgetown is a cool city if you like shopping and eating.

5. Mass transit in DC works efficiently and reasonably. Why does this seem like such a struggle in Cleveland?

6. Drivers in DC are addicted to their horns. Even when the car in front of them is impeded by a half mile of traffic, people still blow their horns as if it will help. It reminds me of people who push the elevator button more than once. These people blow horns more than folks in New York.

7. The stairs used in the filming of "The Exorcist" are still creepy, even if filled with trash. Everything about that movie is still creepy and walking up the stairs still makes you feel a bit squeamish.

8. Monuments like the Capitol building and Lincoln Memorial are really cool but they still look like they don't belong. When I see them, I always think about how breathtaking ancient Rome must have been when all the public buildings looked like this. Of course, DC smells better. Or maybe not.

9. Despite a couple people telling me that DC has a major rat problem, I did not see one rat while I was there. I also did not see our President. Coincidence? I think not.