Washington Capital, July 18th
Might as well start today’s story early while sitting in the Daily Grill, no not having a beer in the middle of the afternoon, but a root beer float which sounded good at the time and because I’m sitting next to the Sprint store that is seeing about getting my phone fixed. Asked like I do at the Harley shops if there’s anyway they can give me priority since I’m from out of town and traveling thru and they were great enough to oblige. Was getting a little pissed today trying to call Sprint info and find a store closest to where I was, but although it was pretty frustrating, it must be happening for a reason…not sure what, but heard about this downtown Washington DC store, that I can find that…have become pretty familiar with downtown even though haven’t spent a lot of time driving around in it.
Got an early start since I had an appointment, a 10:15 meeting with Norm Coleman. Ok, I’m not worried about party lines, but for those of you who are, hey, whichever senator can help me out, I’m on their side. Anyway, was early after a late night, but sometimes it ends up being late working on these blogs. That reminds me, thanks to those who comment and send me emails along the way because sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps me going, but after the Yankee game was talking to my roommate, well house-sitter since she’s moving out this weekend about stopping the blogging all together because of having problems getting motivated and in the frame of mind I should be to put a positive spin this trip deserves because of some other things I’ve been dealing with lately…no, not going there cuz that’s a whole other story and you’ve gotten snippets along the way. Well, thanks to her she told me how so many people have told her how they check up on me everyday and even the neighbors have been enjoying my travels and stories. Sometimes I do wonder if my writing is worth reading or getting carried away, but all I can do is put down what’s on my mind a the time and ok, might be getting a little carried away with some things…and some know what I’m talking about, but that might give you an idea of what’s on my mind a lot during the day. All I can say is life is to short not to live it to the fullest and treat everyone around you with love and respect…cuz, isn’t that what they say makes the world go round – love?
Ok, back to the Capital tour and the traffic into downtown wasn’t bad at all that made it with plenty of time to spare so might as well take the bike to the sites I scoped out yesterday and get a picture. That didn’t take long and this morning was definitely the time to do if for as hot as it’s gotten since…and that’s why I’m sitting here in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, having a beer, a root beer float. Oops, just remembered that someone said the Holocaust Memorial is definitely worth seeing, but it’s closed by now. Well, can’t see everything around here in a few days that there’s more to cover on my return visit, you know the one, where I get to share and that’ll cover some of the other sites I decided against seeing today…more on that later. Well, got front row parking in front of the Hart building where Norm’s office is and since I’m early just hung out in the lobby...and probably shouldn’t have cuz when I was heading towards Norm’s office he was heading to the elevator…got a ‘Hi’ in and maybe I can get a picture when he’s done. Ok, sat in the office and talked with Stefani and Lauren and Stefani is from New Hampshire, yep I was there, went to school in Boston, there too and has been here for a few months I think she said. Don’t remember for sure cuz also found out our tour guide, Ross has been here for two months and is flying home next week Thursday…home being Alexandria MN and school UW-Madison...a great party school.
Check out the pictures and not sure which ones to talk about, but it was a pretty cool building to tour and Ross did a great job telling us what we needed to know. Many of the rooms were pretty loud, but that’s because all the other senators had interns taking people on tours that when everyone is in the same room trying to give their spiel, it’s loud. A couple of things though was the subway from the senate buildings to the Capital, someone got sick of the walks in the 60’s that they had to do something…reminded me of the tunnels in St Paul and how most of them lead to the river, and brothels in their time…ok, show me where else this tunnel goes. Made it into the capital and the paintings were something else to see. Apparently when this place was built the idea was to have paintings of everything, but it got to a point that someone decided they needed to save space for future events, and that’s just what they captured, if you’ll notice the Columbia shuttle pictures in pics, 6190 and 6191. Most of the rooms in the hall were used for the different committee meetings, but have since been shut down and are only used for storage. There was one that is still in use and got a picture of what that looks like, but most meetings that are needed take place in the new senate buildings now instead of the capital. The chandelier was another one of those gifts from some country and I believe Ross said France, but I just remember hearing that it is now worth over 2.5 million dollars…there’s something we could salvage if this country ever needed the money. Oh, and the grate in the floor is how they use to air condition the place, they’d put blocks of ice under the grate and that did the trick…not sure that would’ve worked on a day like today so well and with all the people running around the place. Every state has two statues somewhere in the Capital and we were able to see only one of them from Minnesota…nope not sure who it was, but think the last name was Rice, the one we couldn’t see was of some prominent female in her time. A lot to see and like most, you’d have to experience to appreciate it because the pictures don’t give it the grandeur it deserves. There was one thing about the small brass circle in the middle of the floor. That was where one of the presidents desks us to sit, kind of like the other two square ones of Franklin Pierce and Abraham Lincoln, but by the round one you can stand at the other end of the room and have a conversation at your normal tone and hear it as though they were standing next to you. At first thought there was a pipe thru the floor from one end to the other with a hole in it that would carry the sound, but nothing of the sort…it was the design of the arch in room and how that would carry the sound from one side to the other…ok, I thought I was pretty cool. And one other thing was the crypt room downstairs. Well, that was what they had planned it for, the room with what looks like a white star in the middle of the floor, but since Washington and others decided they wanted to be buried somewhere else, they nixed that idea…the star is suppose to be the center of Washington DC though – maybe in their time, but not sure whether it still is today.
Another place I wanted to check out today was the Spy Museum and that wasn’t far from where I was that headed that way. On my way out though noticed a cop pulling up on a Harley Sportster so had to get a picture of that. Told him I don’t think he’d be able to catch me with that thing and he did say it doesn’t have a lot of kick, but that force does have the bigger bikes…I know, I’ve seen the others around, but never a cop on a Sportster – at least it was the 1200 and not the hugger. Well, off to the spy museum and at least in this town there’s plenty of free parking for bikes. Just pull it between, behind or in front of some parked cars and I’m good to go…did ask the officer on the bike across the street if it was ok, and yep, I’m good to go. The spy museum was pretty interesting and will easily take over a couple of hours just to see and read everything there is to know…or almost everything there is to know. Again, the pictures don’t do it justice…wait, there aren’t any pictures – ok, that’s because no photos thru the place, hell, they don’t want someone giving away all our secrets do they? Well, it was a fact that no pictures were allowed, but it was still worth the $15 to see. I tried to get the Intelligent Person discount for $14 cuz I told the lady I was an intelligent person, but I didn’t pass the test…needed a card to show that – next time I’ll have to get that card.
Saw what I needed to that instead of walking to any more memorials for as hot as it was, thought I’d take a bike ride out to Mount Vernon, it’s only 14 miles out that can see where Washington use to live and on the way there, made a stop at Arlington National Cemetery. Had thought about walking around there, but since parking isn’t free and it’s so hot and uncomfortable, that can wait for another day…maybe tomorrow since it’s suppose to be 10 degrees cooler. I know back home there’s record breaking heat, so I have to deal with it just the same, big different though? I’m not working in an air conditioned place…hell, better yet; I’m not working at all. Anyway, headed to Mount Vernon which was a very nice ride thru some pretty country side and once there also decided it was too hot to pay the $13 to tour the 50 acre place. Sure the main house has AC, but that’s a small piece of what you can apparently see that again, will save it for another day.
Ok, better see about getting my phone taken care of because I’m really gonna need it. Have some phone numbers, like the couple in Canada that I have to connect with and without a working phone, or at least one where I can see who I’m calling, could jeopardize cutting this trip short. Well, called Sprint info and asked for the closest Sprint store to downtown Richmond which they didn’t now, but connected me with one of them in the vicinity. That took a few tries before I finally got a person on the phone and told them I just need the nearest Sprint store near where I was. They didn’t know of one near downtown and said they were about 20 minutes out that hell, I’m a lot closer to Washington DC and know that there’s one on 18th street so that should be easy to find and thank God it was. Also thanks much to Brandon and Sabrina for taking such good care of me. Told them my situation and that I really needed the phone to continue on that once they determined it couldn’t be fixed, they just happen to have a new one that they can load and give me. Great, a new phone would be nice getting a new camera like this, but anyway they can load my phone numbers from my dead phone to the new one so that’ll help much. Got that taken care of so headed back to the Grill to pickup my laptop…remember, I started this blog early, and made a call only to have problems with the speaker, and the call. Well, back next door and they had another new one that they would be able to load for me, so hey, get-er done. They took very good care of me and I was happy getting my contacts and numbers loaded, but pretty bummed to find out the pictures and especially some of the text messages I had kept would be lost forever…well, lost to read and only left as a memory – it must be telling me something, but I’m still searching for what that is.
Time to have something to eat and wanted to experience the Washington DC thing that they sent me to Sam&Harry’s, they being the bartenders at the Daily Grill. Looks like a pretty good place to eat, but when saw the price of a piece of meat walked out and figured I can find something else. Ok, so I asked a guy walking by, remember, I have a hard time meeting people and like he said, this is pretty good that you should really try it that oh well, it’s only money anyway that I might as well give it a shot and their right, it was a great piece of meat. From there and since they didn’t have draft beer figured it’s a good time to get closer to home…remember Mary Ellen’s home, so headed back to one of my favorite places, Gordon Biersch, hey they have high speed internet, great bartenders, tonight Lori and Jay and some pretty good scenery, Sarah and Kat, sorry about the read eye, but I did have the camera set to reduce it, must be a little devil inside though. Tomorrow depending on the weather either heading north or going to see more sites…let’s just see what tomorrow brings. Capital Pictures.
Got an early start since I had an appointment, a 10:15 meeting with Norm Coleman. Ok, I’m not worried about party lines, but for those of you who are, hey, whichever senator can help me out, I’m on their side. Anyway, was early after a late night, but sometimes it ends up being late working on these blogs. That reminds me, thanks to those who comment and send me emails along the way because sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps me going, but after the Yankee game was talking to my roommate, well house-sitter since she’s moving out this weekend about stopping the blogging all together because of having problems getting motivated and in the frame of mind I should be to put a positive spin this trip deserves because of some other things I’ve been dealing with lately…no, not going there cuz that’s a whole other story and you’ve gotten snippets along the way. Well, thanks to her she told me how so many people have told her how they check up on me everyday and even the neighbors have been enjoying my travels and stories. Sometimes I do wonder if my writing is worth reading or getting carried away, but all I can do is put down what’s on my mind a the time and ok, might be getting a little carried away with some things…and some know what I’m talking about, but that might give you an idea of what’s on my mind a lot during the day. All I can say is life is to short not to live it to the fullest and treat everyone around you with love and respect…cuz, isn’t that what they say makes the world go round – love?
Ok, back to the Capital tour and the traffic into downtown wasn’t bad at all that made it with plenty of time to spare so might as well take the bike to the sites I scoped out yesterday and get a picture. That didn’t take long and this morning was definitely the time to do if for as hot as it’s gotten since…and that’s why I’m sitting here in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, having a beer, a root beer float. Oops, just remembered that someone said the Holocaust Memorial is definitely worth seeing, but it’s closed by now. Well, can’t see everything around here in a few days that there’s more to cover on my return visit, you know the one, where I get to share and that’ll cover some of the other sites I decided against seeing today…more on that later. Well, got front row parking in front of the Hart building where Norm’s office is and since I’m early just hung out in the lobby...and probably shouldn’t have cuz when I was heading towards Norm’s office he was heading to the elevator…got a ‘Hi’ in and maybe I can get a picture when he’s done. Ok, sat in the office and talked with Stefani and Lauren and Stefani is from New Hampshire, yep I was there, went to school in Boston, there too and has been here for a few months I think she said. Don’t remember for sure cuz also found out our tour guide, Ross has been here for two months and is flying home next week Thursday…home being Alexandria MN and school UW-Madison...a great party school.
Check out the pictures and not sure which ones to talk about, but it was a pretty cool building to tour and Ross did a great job telling us what we needed to know. Many of the rooms were pretty loud, but that’s because all the other senators had interns taking people on tours that when everyone is in the same room trying to give their spiel, it’s loud. A couple of things though was the subway from the senate buildings to the Capital, someone got sick of the walks in the 60’s that they had to do something…reminded me of the tunnels in St Paul and how most of them lead to the river, and brothels in their time…ok, show me where else this tunnel goes. Made it into the capital and the paintings were something else to see. Apparently when this place was built the idea was to have paintings of everything, but it got to a point that someone decided they needed to save space for future events, and that’s just what they captured, if you’ll notice the Columbia shuttle pictures in pics, 6190 and 6191. Most of the rooms in the hall were used for the different committee meetings, but have since been shut down and are only used for storage. There was one that is still in use and got a picture of what that looks like, but most meetings that are needed take place in the new senate buildings now instead of the capital. The chandelier was another one of those gifts from some country and I believe Ross said France, but I just remember hearing that it is now worth over 2.5 million dollars…there’s something we could salvage if this country ever needed the money. Oh, and the grate in the floor is how they use to air condition the place, they’d put blocks of ice under the grate and that did the trick…not sure that would’ve worked on a day like today so well and with all the people running around the place. Every state has two statues somewhere in the Capital and we were able to see only one of them from Minnesota…nope not sure who it was, but think the last name was Rice, the one we couldn’t see was of some prominent female in her time. A lot to see and like most, you’d have to experience to appreciate it because the pictures don’t give it the grandeur it deserves. There was one thing about the small brass circle in the middle of the floor. That was where one of the presidents desks us to sit, kind of like the other two square ones of Franklin Pierce and Abraham Lincoln, but by the round one you can stand at the other end of the room and have a conversation at your normal tone and hear it as though they were standing next to you. At first thought there was a pipe thru the floor from one end to the other with a hole in it that would carry the sound, but nothing of the sort…it was the design of the arch in room and how that would carry the sound from one side to the other…ok, I thought I was pretty cool. And one other thing was the crypt room downstairs. Well, that was what they had planned it for, the room with what looks like a white star in the middle of the floor, but since Washington and others decided they wanted to be buried somewhere else, they nixed that idea…the star is suppose to be the center of Washington DC though – maybe in their time, but not sure whether it still is today.
Another place I wanted to check out today was the Spy Museum and that wasn’t far from where I was that headed that way. On my way out though noticed a cop pulling up on a Harley Sportster so had to get a picture of that. Told him I don’t think he’d be able to catch me with that thing and he did say it doesn’t have a lot of kick, but that force does have the bigger bikes…I know, I’ve seen the others around, but never a cop on a Sportster – at least it was the 1200 and not the hugger. Well, off to the spy museum and at least in this town there’s plenty of free parking for bikes. Just pull it between, behind or in front of some parked cars and I’m good to go…did ask the officer on the bike across the street if it was ok, and yep, I’m good to go. The spy museum was pretty interesting and will easily take over a couple of hours just to see and read everything there is to know…or almost everything there is to know. Again, the pictures don’t do it justice…wait, there aren’t any pictures – ok, that’s because no photos thru the place, hell, they don’t want someone giving away all our secrets do they? Well, it was a fact that no pictures were allowed, but it was still worth the $15 to see. I tried to get the Intelligent Person discount for $14 cuz I told the lady I was an intelligent person, but I didn’t pass the test…needed a card to show that – next time I’ll have to get that card.
Saw what I needed to that instead of walking to any more memorials for as hot as it was, thought I’d take a bike ride out to Mount Vernon, it’s only 14 miles out that can see where Washington use to live and on the way there, made a stop at Arlington National Cemetery. Had thought about walking around there, but since parking isn’t free and it’s so hot and uncomfortable, that can wait for another day…maybe tomorrow since it’s suppose to be 10 degrees cooler. I know back home there’s record breaking heat, so I have to deal with it just the same, big different though? I’m not working in an air conditioned place…hell, better yet; I’m not working at all. Anyway, headed to Mount Vernon which was a very nice ride thru some pretty country side and once there also decided it was too hot to pay the $13 to tour the 50 acre place. Sure the main house has AC, but that’s a small piece of what you can apparently see that again, will save it for another day.
Ok, better see about getting my phone taken care of because I’m really gonna need it. Have some phone numbers, like the couple in Canada that I have to connect with and without a working phone, or at least one where I can see who I’m calling, could jeopardize cutting this trip short. Well, called Sprint info and asked for the closest Sprint store to downtown Richmond which they didn’t now, but connected me with one of them in the vicinity. That took a few tries before I finally got a person on the phone and told them I just need the nearest Sprint store near where I was. They didn’t know of one near downtown and said they were about 20 minutes out that hell, I’m a lot closer to Washington DC and know that there’s one on 18th street so that should be easy to find and thank God it was. Also thanks much to Brandon and Sabrina for taking such good care of me. Told them my situation and that I really needed the phone to continue on that once they determined it couldn’t be fixed, they just happen to have a new one that they can load and give me. Great, a new phone would be nice getting a new camera like this, but anyway they can load my phone numbers from my dead phone to the new one so that’ll help much. Got that taken care of so headed back to the Grill to pickup my laptop…remember, I started this blog early, and made a call only to have problems with the speaker, and the call. Well, back next door and they had another new one that they would be able to load for me, so hey, get-er done. They took very good care of me and I was happy getting my contacts and numbers loaded, but pretty bummed to find out the pictures and especially some of the text messages I had kept would be lost forever…well, lost to read and only left as a memory – it must be telling me something, but I’m still searching for what that is.
Time to have something to eat and wanted to experience the Washington DC thing that they sent me to Sam&Harry’s, they being the bartenders at the Daily Grill. Looks like a pretty good place to eat, but when saw the price of a piece of meat walked out and figured I can find something else. Ok, so I asked a guy walking by, remember, I have a hard time meeting people and like he said, this is pretty good that you should really try it that oh well, it’s only money anyway that I might as well give it a shot and their right, it was a great piece of meat. From there and since they didn’t have draft beer figured it’s a good time to get closer to home…remember Mary Ellen’s home, so headed back to one of my favorite places, Gordon Biersch, hey they have high speed internet, great bartenders, tonight Lori and Jay and some pretty good scenery, Sarah and Kat, sorry about the read eye, but I did have the camera set to reduce it, must be a little devil inside though. Tomorrow depending on the weather either heading north or going to see more sites…let’s just see what tomorrow brings. Capital Pictures.
posted by Dalej Webb at 10:18 AM
1 Comments:
Dale, keep up the good work. It is very interesting hearing your daily adventures, and great pictures. miler
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