D.C. remains one probably the most beautiful city in the country, in my opinion. One can’t come here without feeling a sense of pride and patriotism. There are so many great structures here that you can spend an entire trip just admiring the architecture. Driving into and around town was a breeze – a few wrong turns here and there, but nothing we couldn’t recover from easily. We immediatey made for our digs for the stay, at the beautiful Capital Hilton. Thanks to Laura’s cousin Myles, we were guests of the general manager for all three nights of out stay. The hotel itself has a great history, having opened in 1943 just a few blocks from the White House. (From the hotel brochure) Originally known as The Statler, the hotel has been visited by every president since FDR, and has hosted Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth and Charles Lindbergh… and now, the Reedy boys. We had two full days and three nights here, and a lot of free time before the game on Tuesday.
Monday was a lot of walking – The World War II Memorial, the Mall, the National Museum of Art, West and East Wings, and the Capitol. Things have definitely changed since the last time I visited here. I remember Laura and I and the kids going to the Capitol and getting to sit in the Senate balcony to watch the proceedings. We then decided we wanted to see the House, which was also in session. We more or less found a hallway and scampered unimpeded from one chamber to the other and were able to get into the viewing area. 
This time, no such access. We lined up outside at a tent where we were assigned to the 2:45 group. When our time came, we approached the south end of the building where we entered a temporary building where we went through security screening. (I had to hide my trusty pocket knife in a tree on the grounds so that it didn’t get confiscated.) After security, we got into another queue where we were matched with a very nice guide who have us a very nice tour of the Rotunda, the Hall of Statues and the crypt area below. It’s sad that all the openness is gone. Two more pins, beers and appetizers and we called it a day.
Tuesday, we went out to Dulles to see the Steven F. Uday-Hazy Air and Space Museum. This is basically an annex to the main facility on the Mall, and it is excellent. It is, essentially, a massive quonset hut with three main wings – planes are displayed on the floor and suspended from the ceiling. The “big draws” are an SR-71 spy plane, the Enterprise space shuttle (never flew but used for testing), a Concorde, and the Enola Gay. This is a great museum if you like planes, rockets and flight. On the way back into town, we stopped by the Jefferson Memorial, arguably the most beautiful of the presidential monuments
Then, after brief stop at the Capital City Brewery (disappointing beers and food), it was off to Nationals park. D.C. traffic was horrible (which is the norm, I think) but we cabbed it so we didn’t have to pay attention. After waiting in the wrong line for ~10 minutes, we were re-directed to a different entrance, our tickets, and a private entrance to outstanding seats behind home plate. The ballpark was great, the seat were excellent – they even had food service you could order from your seat – and we got back on track with our jinx – Nationals 1, Phillies 2. A quick Metro ride got us out of the park and back to the hotel in no time.
THE NATIONALS PARK EXPERIENCE
I gotta say, we didn’t explore much here, so it probably isn’t fair to comment. Overall, we liked the park – it is urban, and there are views into the surrounding neighborhood in the outfield, which makes it feel more open. Rumor has it you can see the Capital from the park, but you definitely couldn’t from where we sat. There was a good selection of beers to choose, and we didn’t partake of the food options. If you’re sensing a theme here, it’s that my observations are diminishing as my brain gets more overloaded with ballparks and I take longer to write about them. Of course, taking notes would solve that but, then, this would start feeling like home work.
