This year for Spring Break, Ben and I actually had the same week off of school! Since Patrick's just recently moved to DC (as a member of the President's Own Marine Band) we decided a trip there would be perfect. Neither of us had been there before, and we got a really positive reaction from everyone we mentioned it to. I mean, really positive. Glowing. Like, "Oh! DC is wonderful! I'm thrilled you get to go! You'll have such a good time!" and on and on. It was almost comical by the time we heard the fourth or fifth person talking about it.
It was wonderful. For lots of reasons. The first being that we got to stay with Patrick (great accommodations as long as you don't mind sleeping on an air mattress in the freezing cold sunroom and fighting off Paco the attacking kitten). We also got to hear the Marine Band concert, which was a treat. They played perfectly, with a beautiful, full sound that filled up the auditorium. Not that I expected any less; it's just nice to hear live music that feels..perfect. I love being with my brother. We used to joke that we were twins, born three years apart. I think Ben can attest to the fact that we have very similar discussion styles and ways of thinking. We don't agree about everything, but we can talk about everything for hours at a time.We went to several Smithsonian Museums, and probably saw a quarter of what was there. We also spent one day at the Mall, walking around and seeing the Memorials. I think I enjoyed that day the most. I mean, you know about the sacrifices that others have made, you watch movies or read books about war, but it's just something to see 4,000 stars, each representing 100 men who died in WWII. Or seeing Vietnam casualties' names inscribed on a wall. Very touching. I was impressed too, with how reverent people were, for the most part. I have a renewed feeling of gratitude. It helped that we listened to Flags of Our Fathers on the eight hour trip there and back. It put us in a good frame of mind.
As a side note - I would strongly recommend that book. I was so engaged in what I was hearing, it made me forget that I hadn't stretched my legs or moved my bum in four hours. It's written by James Bradley, a son of one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima. His father almost never talked about his experiences in the war, and the book is written based on research James Bradley did after his father's death.Ben and I didn't spend much time prepping for our trip, since we knew we'd be staying with a local. We probably should have considered the fact that our local has only lived there for two months and he still does not have "the interwebs" as he calls it. Who can live without internet access, honestly???
Interesting Facts for People Who Haven't Been to DC and Who'd Like to Learn from our Naivety
1. Read something about what you're going to see before you go see it. Particularly memorials. They're beautiful and touching on their own, but it really helped once we figured out that most of them had little buildings nearby with brochures that had some background info (Ben: What's that little building? MG: Probably a bathroom...).
2. Prepare for slightly warmer or colder temperatures than you expect. Ben and I froze one day, not because of the temperature, but because of the wind. We were pretty ill prepared. In fact, I think it was that day that Ben's face got sun/windburned! Ha! He looked like he'd spent a day at the beach.
3. Do not expect that going to a museum means you'll actually see everything you want to see in that museum. It's too big. Or maybe my brain is too small. After a while, I found myself wandering around in that dazed, I've been shopping too long, kind of stupor.4. Some museums close at 5:30 just like the sign on the door says. Others don't. Isn't that weird? I think we were in the Natural History Museum until about 6:30 one day.
5. Don't accidentally lose your Metro card...still not sure how that happened.
So, overall, a wonderful trip. I'm so thrilled we got to go! We had such a good time...I guess I've joined the leagues of DC lovers who gush about it.
