Last night, I went to a reception where an award was presented to a dear friend of mine. The reception was held in a building on the U.S. Capitol grounds. I was so happy for my friend who certainly deserved the award she was presented by a well-recognized national organization and before several Members of Congress.

It was a pleasant evening. After the reception was over and award presented, I decided to walk to the Metro station at Union Station to go home. As I walked by the U.S. Capitol Building, I noticed that the light was on in the rotunda. That is a signal that Congress is still in session.

It never ceases to amaze me — I pinch myself sometimes — here I am, walking down the streets of the capital of the free world, right past the building where important legislation is debated. Regardless of one’s political beliefs, it still is quite special to think about the work that goes on there and its affect on our country and the world.

This is where I work, and live in the suburbs nearby. What a very special place, this city which serves as our nation’s capital.

[Sorry the photos are a bit fuzzy. There’s only so much you can do with a camera in a Blackberry.]

Life is short: appreciate your surroundings

Yesterday began in its usual way with a gentle snuggle with my partner at dawn, then rising to prepare a nice big breakfast, then caring for my aunt for a while. At noon, I went to a park where my bike club was having its annual picnic. Despite dire forecasts, it didn’t rain. I chatted with my buddies, had a little bit to eat, then left.

When I got home, my partner told me that “somebody” came by and left a message. It turned out to be someone I grew up with. I called her on the phone, and she asked me to go with her into downtown DC to watch Senator Ted Kennedy’s funeral procession and prayer service at the U.S. Capitol building.

Ordinarily, I try to avoid these types of things due to the crowds, dealing with the heat, and challenges with getting anywhere with a view. Usually, you can see things like that on TV better than in person.

But my friend really wanted me to go with her, and gave me an ultimatum: “you be ready because I’ll be there in five minutes.” I didn’t even change out of my jeans and Chippewa Firefighter boots … I just followed orders.

We had a long talk while driving there, about what the Senator meant to her, what she learned by working for one of his colleagues and working with his staff, and what he meant to me, too, and our country.

My friend had a place to park waiting for her. We were able to stand right on the street and watch for the motorcade.

The motorcade was about an hour and a half late, and in that heat and humidity, it was a bit of a struggle to wait for it. Thank goodness those boots are so comfortable. We sat on the curb for a while, and my friend found a street vendor who sold her some cold sodas and a couple hot dogs.

The spirit of the crowd was palpable. Lots of people had many stories to share — my friend included. We talked with a lot of people around us, each of whom had an interesting anecdote, humorous remembrance, or tale of the late Senator’s legendary accomplishments and how he did his work. I remember meeting him once when he came to the office where my mother worked when I happened to be there, but that was a long, long time ago.

Soon I heard the rumble of some police Harleys, and then the hearse drove by with the Kennedy family in limos behind it. I was seeing history in the making. It was fascinating to watch. The crowd broke out into spontaneous applause as Mrs. Kennedy got out and greeted a bunch of people across from where I was standing. Her family also briefly visited with his staff who were waiting there. A priest said a few prayers, one of the Senator’s children thanked the staff, and then they left to go to Arlington National Cemetery where the Senator will be buried with the Late President J. F. Kennedy and the late Senator and Attorney General, R. F. Kennedy — his brothers.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take us much time to get home.

I am glad my friend asked me to go with her. So many things happen in DC that are history-making. I’m close, but I do not live in the city, and avoid going into Washington on evenings and weekends if I can avoid it due to the noise, crowds, and hassles with security (and simply the fact that I am not an urban guy). But as I think about it, I realize that I am among very few who can witness history in person — events like this one or daily history of just what happens in Washington DC — and how fortunate I am to live near our country’s capital, and work right in its heart. Kinda amazing, when you think about it.

Life is short: work toward your goals and never give up, as Mr. Kennedy did. May he rest in peace, and God bless his soul.

I blogged before about gaydar, so today I am blogging about “touristdar.”

What is “touristdar” you ask? Well, you can not find a definition in Wikipedia, or in a dictionary. But you know what it means: simply identifying people you see on the streets and public transit of Washington, DC, as tourists.

It is easy to identify the people who compose one of the strongest economic engines of our nation’s capital. Begin first by those who stand staring dumbfounded at the map of our Metro transit system. I, too, have stared at maps of transit systems when I have traveled somewhere. However, there seems to be an unwritten rule that one has to stare at a DC Metro map with one’s mouth agape. Honestly, I haven’t seen anyone stare at the map with their mouth closed! LOL!

Then, of course, due to the heat and humidity in August, the requisite clothing is comfort for the climate: shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops or sneakers. The vast majority of tourists are so attired. I understand why. It’s hot out there! (However, they might find hiking boots more comfortable, because, after all, they are hiking throughout the city!)

Another way to tell that you’re looking at tourists is that they travel in herds, mobs, gaggles, or clumps. Seldom do you ever see a tourist by him or herself. They are usually in groups of four: two adults, and two absolutely wrung-out, bedraggled, tired, and cranky children. The parents have that tired, wrung-out, bedraggled look about them, too. It is not easy trying to fit in visits to a million things in a few days. Pity the tourist who brings children requiring strollers on these visits. Kids that young won’t get anything out of a museum.

There truly is so much to see, much of it free, in Washington. But it’s sad that people try to fit so much in during such a short time. I hear them on the Metro complaining that they spent three hours at one of the 19 Smithsonian attractions in the city, and only saw a fraction of the one they visited. They had to waste a lot of time in lines and dodging other visitors that they had very little time to see the exhibits on display.

Finally, our tourists seem to wander without much of a plan. Then they encounter a long line somewhere, and just get in it and wait — not realizing that another equally attractive sight is open with no queue.

I will summarize with some hints from a local:

• Plan your visit to highly visited museums and attractions late in the day. Usually groups with children are gone by then. The few attractions that charge an admission fee often give late-in-the-day discounts.
• Use on-line tourist assistance, such as visitor’s information for the Smithsonian Institution, the Capitol Visitor’s Center, the National Park Service (most of the national Mall and its memorials are actually national park sites), the experience DC site
• Plan visits to open-space attractions early in the morning before it gets really hot. This includes the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial.
• Get an on-line ticket for a tour of the U.S. Capitol via the Capitol Visitor’s Center for mid-day. Go on the tour and have lunch there in air-conditioned comfort. Lunch is cheaper there than at the Smithsonians. That is, unless you like hot dogs from street vendors.
• Don’t bother trying to visit the White House. Tickets are scarce, and only available through a Member of Congress by writing to her or him months in advance of your visit. Then you don’t get to see much on the tour. It’s a waste of time and you can see a lot more of what the city has to offer in less time and with less trouble elsewhere. (Sorry, but you can’t just walk up to the front door of the White House, knock, and ask, “May I see Barack and Michelle?” LOL!)
• There are 43 law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction in the city. Best boot watching is over by the Capitol Building or around the mall, especially of the Park Police Equestrian Unit. Secret Service and Park Police motorcops wear nice tall boots; most other cops — even on motorcycles — wear short tactical boots.
• The best time to visit Washington, DC, is in October. The weather is pleasant and usually dry, and the crowds are much diminished. If you can wait, you will have a much more enjoyable visit then rather than during the oppressive summer heat of August.
• Please, when looking at a Metro map, close you mouth.

We warmly welcome tourists which are the second-most driver of our local economy (the first being our federal government.) And have no worries, we know who you are, and look forward to showing you our nation’s treasures.

I usually take a walk at lunchtime. Yesterday, while strolling the streets of Washington, DC, I saw this nice-looking guy in a shirt, tie, suit jacket, matching suit pants, and…

OMG!

Flip-flops.

I did a double-take. So did many others who were waiting to cross the street as I was. There this dude was, all pretty-as-you-please, in a suit, dress shirt & tie, and those gawd-awful things on his feet.

Lawdy-lawd, gimme a break! I thought I had seen everything… until now.

I got a chance to take a walk over by the U.S. Capitol yesterday to see the cherry trees in bloom on the Capitol grounds. It was delightful … and not too crowded. Most of the tourists coming to see the trees in DC go to the Tidal Basin, and don’t know that there are cherry trees in other places in the city that are just as gorgeous.

I generally avoid going to tourist places in DC during peak tourist season, which has started in earnest. However, I work in the city and there are so many things that are nice to see during Spring that I still try to get out to see them. DC is such a walkable, beautiful city, especially in springtime.

I posted more pictures that I took here on my website.

One of the things that is sort of magic about working in Washington, DC, is the potential for chance encounters with well-known people.

The best time to go see tourist sites in DC is in January through early March, before Spring break when the throngs of tourists start to arrive, and keep coming through summer. Except for the occasional group of school kids on a field trip, you usually find the museums, monuments, and other attractions uncrowded in the bleak winter months. You can take your time to stroll around and not get jostled by others, or be asked to “move along” by building guards because you’re holding up the line.

On Tuesday, a colleague from work and I decided to go explore the new Capitol Visitor’s Center, which was built underneath the U.S. Capitol Building. This monumental behemoth, which cost $621M ($440M over budget) to build and took three years longer than planned to open, now serves as the gathering place for tourists wishing to see the Capitol Building, and for visitors who have business with Congress in the actual Capitol Building. (Most visitors who have business with Members of Congress meet with them in their respective offices, which are in nearby Senate or House office buildings).

When you get to the Visitor’s Center, of course you have to go through a magnetometer. I even had to “get wanded” since my Chippewa Firefighter Boots I was wearing set off the alarm. I just rolled my eyes and endured it, and tried not to remember the happy-go-lucky days of my youth when you could walk right into the Capitol Building and wander around on your own.

You make your way to a ticket desk. The clerk was delighted to tell me that they had “a few walk-up tickets available.” Yeah, right… “a few.” The place was fairly empty. We decided to pick a time for our tour a little later, so we could walk around and have lunch, too. The restaurant in the Visitor’s Center is nice, but it is pricey. Even the Smithsonian eateries are less expensive than this place. Perhaps they’re trying to make up their cost over-runs on the backs of visitors. But I digress….

When we queued up for our tour, we were escorted into a large theater, where we were shown a movie about the Capitol and Congress. As one would expect, the Capitol’s history is as storied as it is magnificent. And Congress thinks the world of itself. But I digress….

After the movie, you exit the rear of the theater and are given a wireless headset. A tour guide briskly walks you around and you end up in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. The Guide explains the art and frescos, and some of the history of the building. Even though perhaps I’m jaded about Congress, I still remain in awe and stare with wonder at the Capitol, especially from the inside. It is indeed magnificent.

As I was staring gape-jawed upward at the art within the Rotunda, I heard a Capitol Police Officer say rather loudly, “stay here, don’t move!” I looked around, and saw that my little tour group was being herded against a wall. We were told, “just wait here a minute.” I thought that perhaps the Vice President, who is the President of the Senate, might be walking by.

Well, yes, he did… and so did the President! I actually got to see and wave at President Obama. The President had come to the Capitol that day to plead his case for the Economic Stimulus package. It is not common for the President to come to the Capitol to press for passage of legislation. But this legislation is the biggest thing that Congress has considered in quite some time, and is very important to the President, and to our country.

So here I am, standing there, gape-jawed again. The President really looks like he does on TV. His smile is warm and gracious, he seemed quite friendly and affable. He reached over to shake hands with a couple kids who were in the front row of our group. Then he quickly walked down the hall into the Office of the Speaker of the House, which is right off of the Rotunda area.

Wow… cool, huh? This doesn’t happen every day to us commoners.

The Capitol Visitor’s Center is nice. However, except for some statues and large paintings, the place is rather barren. The movie is nice. The tour, however, is really short. You don’t get to see much. But heck, it’s free, and it’s our Capitol, where the people’s work is done. If you visit, live, or work in DC, go see it. Your visit should take about an hour to 90 minutes. You can even get tour tickets for free on-line in advance at this link. I strongly recommend that after you tour the Capitol through the Visitor’s Center, to use the tunnel and go visit the Library of Congress, just across the street. Now that is an amazing place. Enjoy!