Random Photos of Washington DC

Recently we had a chance to visit Washington DC for the first time!

We really had a lot of fun but the area is overwhelming!

Here are some random photos.  I will be following up with some more photos from specific areas.  I will also cover the Nationals ballpark on my baseball blog.

There are a few things that immediately jumped out to me about the area.

A friend told me that we would not be able to do everything we wanted.  He advised me to accept that fact.

I always plan on covering a lot of ground on my trips but I realized on day one that I would not be able to do all of the museums, monuments and other touristy things that I wanted to.  I still fit in most though!

The subway system IS easy to use.  VERY easy.  More on that later.

There is a ton of security but, for the most part it was not that big of an issue.  The security at each museum was generally friendly but efficient.  If you are cooperative and quick, the security is not a problem.  Obviously, keeping the extra baggage and jewelry in the hotel room is helpful too.

The locals we encountered were friendly.  Once, in the subway system, we were reading a sign trying to figure out exactly where to go.  A college aged kid stopped to offer help with figuring our route out!

I saw a lot of people wearing headphones/buds.  With so much going on I think locals need to tune things out often.

The area did feel very safe in general.  We saw security all over the place.  And- I almost hate to mention this but I have before- there weren't many people aggressively hassling tourists for money.  I did see people asking for money but they weren't aggressive.  If you have lived in a large city before you know that this can be an ugly issue.

I will have some more entries up soon.  I might just put photos up of some of the places we visited, mostly because some of the areas are VERY well known, and I probably have nothing to say about them that hasn't been said before. 

I actually find myself uninterested in discussing a couple of places.  I try not to mention places that I did not like, or that I was not impressed with.  However, I was very let down by a certain aquarium in the area.  In general, I love aquariums and fish (see my various posts on them here).  I have been to pet shops more interesting than this "aquarium" though.  My buddy Bob raises fish in his basement.  Go see his fish.  He won't charge you $10 to visit.  Seriously, with so many great monuments and museums in the area, I am not sure how this dark hallway with a few fish tanks in it got on the map.

So, enjoy the photos and some more posts coming up over the next few days!