A Week in Washington – Part 2

Our first day in Washington began with a trip into the city on the Metro and a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. "The Smithsonian" is actually a collection of nineteen galleries and museums and one zoological park. Admission is free. Not only are these first-class institutions a national treasure of the American people, they are a gift to the world.

Later that afternoon, we took a bus tour of the city and saw such national monuments as the Capitol (a truly impressive building), the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. At a brief stop at the Capitol, as we witnessed a demonstration by No Labels, we spoke with a Capitol police officer who assured us that an agreement would be reached at the eleventh hour on raising the debt ceiling. The news networks should hire this guy.

The following day we drove to Baltimore, where we walked around the revitalized Inner Harbor and took the water taxi to Fell's Point, an area of shops, restaurants, and bars. That evening, we watched the Orioles defeat the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. Opened in 1992, it is designed like the older ballparks of the early 20^th century, and is situated only two blocks from the birthplace of Babe Ruth. There's a museum you can tour, and also nearby, the Maryland Sports Legends Museum. One ticket gets you into both.

The third day, we went to the National Air and Space Museum's Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center on the Virginia side of D.C., near Dulles airport. This is a bigger facility than the museum on the Mall and houses such larger items as the space shuttle Enterprise, an Air France Concorde, a Boeing 707, and dozens of other air- and spacecraft.

The next day saw us back in Washington for what was the highlight of our trip. One of the couples in our traveling group has a family connection to a member of the management team at the Park Hyatt Washington, home of the famed Blue Duck Tavern. When we arrived for lunch, we were welcomed with champagne, just like VIP's (if you knew us, you'd find the incongruity hilarious), and treated throughout our luncheon with the utmost courtesy, consideration, and kindness. The food's not bad, either. I can personally attest to the Braised Beef Rib (melt in your mouth), and the Hand Cut BDT Triple Fries (the third frying is in duck fat – yum). The Cabernet Sauvignon by Catena from Mendoza, Argentina goes very well with both.

The pastry chef, Peter Brett, insisted we try all his desserts and all were excellent. The Blue Duck is famous for its apple pie, but the Nectarine, Blackberry, and Almond Crumble with Crème Fraîche stands out in my memory.

The food and the service certainly made our meal memorable, but we also got a story. We were told that the back-corner table we were seated at was the one where President Obama and the First Lady celebrated her birthday. The story must have gotten a little jumbled, because reports I've found, say it was their seventeenth anniversary. Whatever. My tush may have touched the chair that held the tush of greatness.

The group split up for the rest of the afternoon for visits to the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Hard Rock Café.

Our final destination on this trip was the Maryland state capital, Annapolis. Built largely of red brick in the 18^th century, Annapolis escaped major fires, and so boasts hundreds of well-preserved colonial-era buildings. We took a short bus tour, had lunch by the harbour, and toured the United States Naval Academy. Here, some 4,500 young men and women undergo a rigorous four-year program in maths and sciences to prepare for careers as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.

After a day of outlet shopping in Hagerstown, MD, we headed for home.

All that week, I was reminded that we were not just surrounded by monuments to the past, but that we were in the midst of history unfolding. The negotiations then underway in the Capitol will shape the economic future of not only the United States, but to a great extent, the world, for decades to come. And we were at the Air and Space facilities on the days that marked both the forty-second anniversary of humans' first steps on the moon and the end of the space shuttle program. It was hard not see an omen in that.