Date: 2009-07-15
From: Baltimore

To: Washington DC
Miles today: 0.0

Intermission ¢ Part Two (b) Washington DCArriving early it didn¢t take long to stumble across some world famous landmarks without trying. Just walking to my hotel there on my left were the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. Yes, here I was ¢ Washington D.C.With a day and a half to play with I didn¢t plan anything too ambitious¢ walk ¢The Mall¢ with all its monuments; maybe have a few drinks; and, if the opportunity arose, catch some live music (maybe some jazz I thought). I contemplated a museum but they¢re really not my thing, preferring instead to wander about and see what, if any, feel I could get for the place.I dumped my bags and set off for the Lincoln Memorial. It was hot and the sun was beating down as I climbed the stairs and stepped inside. As memorials go it is indeed impressive, but I think it¢s as much the recognition that gets you ¢ actually being somewhere that is already strangely familiar. Visiting any world city is like that I guess ¢ New York, London, Paris. You are aware, but have no context. Strangely I remembered an episode of the Simpsons and Lisa going to ¢Old Abe¢ for some advice ¢ as I said, strangely familiar.I wandered passed the Vietnam Memorial ¢ somehow it was smaller that I imagined and perhaps less impressive as a result. The images I had been exposed to had led me to think that it was the scale, the vastness, that would dwarf my senses. Those images mislead. They also overlooked the most striking part of the memorial ¢ the reflective stone. The effect of seeing the names of the dead remaining fixed as the images of the living sightseers move slowly by ¢ like the living are spectres. I cannot get emotional about Vietnam. It wasn¢t my war but it was the war for many Americans (now being surpassed by new wars fro a new generation). I flicked through the book of names and found 16 McKenzies ¢ one from Lumberton, North Carolina, one time home of another ©migr© Scot if I¢m not mistaken, Flora Macdonald.I walked alongside the reflecting pool and on towards the Washington Monument and World War II Memorial then turned towards the White House and lunch. I¢d walked far enough this morning, I was tired and somewhat hot and bothered. I felt my sightseeing was close to an end.Lunch, the metro to U-Street and back to the hotel for a soak and to plan my evening¢s entertainment. I¢d picked up the Washington Post, the free daily and the week¢s entertainment weekly during the morning, now I needed to make some sense of it all. I managed to narrow it down to some jazz in Georgetown or Greg Laswell at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Neither completely grabbed me but both sounded like an adventure. In the end I found myself heading off, via a busy post work Irish bar and the Ford¢s Theatre (where Lincoln was shot) to whatever delights the Rock and Roll Hotel might offer. And delights they were ¢ a triple bill fro the princely sum of $10 and Pabst Blue Ribbon for $2/can. The Scotsman in me was very happy and the music lover was also well looked after. First Rosi Golan, then Elisabeth and the Catapults entertained the growing crowd. I¢d never hard of Greg Laswell but apparently his music crops up on various TV programmes including Gray¢s Anatomy (maybe Shaz from work is a fan?). he certainly seemed to be popular with the ladies who by now were making up a large proportion of the audience. When all was said and done another highly successful evening of good music in another interesting venue. For my money Elisabeth and the Catapults stole the show for getting me to groove ever so slightly and despite myself as she ripped it up.The best was yet to come though. My wandering feet set themselves for home again but this time via The Mall. It was a bit of a plod and I could have done with packing a picnic and drinking a couple less PBRs but between midnight, when I arrived at the Capitol and 1am when I finally turned my back once again on the Vietnam War Memorial I was in heaven. No crowds, no heat, complete peace. Just me, my impressions and thoughts. Each monument took on a new persona ¢ standing out in all their spotlight glory from the darkness. The dome of the Capitol, serene through the tress, flag flying stiffly in what was a still night (do they have a wind machine up there, I wondered?). The WWII memorial was dignified in its shadowy darkness. I¢d seen the detail during the day but at night, alone, in the dark it¢s easier to consider the totality, just to lean and think (or not think). That¢s what memorials should do. Maybe you need to experience both guises. I headed past the Smithsonian and on to the Korean War Memorial: me, a guy with a camera, another couple and the sculptures of the soldiers plodding through the fields on patrol, or heading towards an unknown destiny/rendezvous/ambush. The Lincoln Memorial as a much more personal experience at night. Three guys sitting on the steps, two security guards outside, me and Old Abe inside. Close up the lighting was a bit harsh and the security guards feet echoed behind me. I would like this solitude in the daylight but that¢s being greedy again. Turning away I faced what I think was the highlight. The reflecting pool had been impressive, a nice touch, during the day but at night the perfect reflection of the Washington Monument from its base to its very tip ¢ wow!Only the Vietnam memorial remained and again unseen subtleties emerge by the light of the moon. It didn¢t seem small now. As I wandered alone the white writing growing from a small pool down by my feet to a sea of text the letters forming not words but volume, a volume of dead and missing that truly towered over me. Towering over me and then dwindling again. I turned and retraced my steps. No subtle reflections now, just the whiteness of the text in the darkness. Reaching the end I turned left and was met by the spotlight sculpture of three soldiers. Once again here were the ghosts keeping an eye on their old mates.I cannot recommend a midnight stroll enough. Have an afternoon nap, pack some food and drink, take a camera and know how to use it then just wander with both your feet and your mind.