Washington DC April 2015

DC is not a city with a personality.  I once read it was a city of museums, monuments, and maybe a few politicians, and that is perfectly correct.  It’s not a place where interesting people can be seen wandering the streets, mostly because it is set up into distinct areas.  Most people visit the tourist areas with the monuments and the museums and if that is the only place you travel to, then you won’t really see the denizens of DC.  In fact, when we were on our pedicab tour we asked our driver Kevin where he lived.  He lives in Maryland, said it was cheaper. 

DC is a city where you see stuff.  We went to four museums:  Natural History, Air & Space, American Indian, and the Postal Museum.  We also went to the Zoo to see the pandas.  And then there are monuments and memorials:  Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Martin Luther King, WW II and Vietnam.

There is a lot of walking, and that’s why the pedicab is ideal.  For $ 75 the driver will take you wherever for one hour.  Kevin took us around the Tidal Basin (where the cherry trees bloom) and stopped at the MLK monument and Jefferson.  He also took us to the American Indian Museum for a little bit more.  He was so helpful and knowledgeable.  The taxi drivers on the other hand were the most surly and awful people I’d ever meant.  No conversation was a good thing.  One driver said he would not take us down towards the monuments and back to our hotel.  He says, “If you asked me now to take you to Virginia I would say no.”  He complained that he did not want to be fatigued as he still had four hours of work left.  He didn’t get a tip.  Another driver (who did not get a tip) sassed me.  As I got into his car at Union Station I politely asked if he was available.  He responds with, “would I be sitting here if I wasn’t?”  Really pal?  There are many incidences where a taxi looks available but the driver is waiting for a person to get to the car.  Geez!  It doesn’t pay to try to be courteous.  Needless to say, my feelings were hurt.  I do not like to be humiliated.  That in turn makes me turn so cold my mother said she was uncomfortable and sensed that people around us can tell how I feel.  Good, I don’t like to be treated poorly and I’ll let you know!

Taking the train to DC was fun and I highly recommend it!  The North East Regional has some stops, but mostly you just keep going.  The station was walking distance to our hotel (Hotel George, also highly recommended ).

I had thought there would be more beauty, but I think it was partly because it was early spring and the winter had been so harsh that the ground was recovering.  There were a lot of pansies and hellebores out, but the winter was so cold, and the spring not much better.  The famous cherry blossoms were not open at all!  You could see that the bud was on the tree and a pinkish red, but that was it!   That’s so late that it will likely set a record for the latest bloom! 

Would I go back?  Sure, if someone wanted to, but I’ve pretty much seen what I needed to (well blossoms open would be nice).  And yeh, we didn’t even see the White House!  Nor did we see the communities where real people live.  Getting around is not as easy as NYC.  Taxis are plentiful, but the bus is non-existent on the weekend.  The subway has a weird multi-priced payment system that requires configuring mathematically before purchasing a ticket (but it is clean and timely)!

Still, mom and I had a lot of fun!  Getting away is always good and spending time with someone you love is too!

Moi OC is damn tired of this historical winter

Seriously!  Trust me, this one is going in the weather record book.  So, we have had day after day of below average temperatures.

Typically, Albany is about 32 degrees Fahrenheit in January and February.  There will be days colder and days warmer, all that averages out to around freezing.

Not so this year.

January gifted us with about 5 days in the 30's, but otherwise it hovered in the 20's.  However, it is February that is truly evil.  For two weeks we have endured temps that never reach 30.  Temps that are 20 degrees below typical.  I always look at New York City weather.  They are always a little warmer than Albany, but this year they are 20 degrees warmer at times.  Then it dawned on me...they are having the temperatures that would be normal here in Albany.  They are below average also!

I won't even talk about snow, it's more than usual, but not all that much worse.

Nope, it's the temperatures.

Look at this:

There is nothing that can be done.  If I didn't mind running up my credit card I would just spontaneously get out of here and go somewhere warm!

Instead, I took a series of winter pictures downtown.  I wanted to capture Albany while under the cold and snow of February.  I was inspired by the instagram I follow: instagram NYC

Here's my version of my city, that is so cold it should be in Ontario!

I love living in a city.  Even if it is a small city!