National Zoo

As you can probably tell from the pictures and the title I went to the zoo yesterday, which was free. It was a pretty decent zoo, not quite as good as OKC or Fort Worth, but still nice. 

The biggest attraction is the Giant Panda, which we almost didn't see. As we were walking out of the Panda House we stopped at the end were they have a research center of sorts. There are a lot of cameras set up throughout the panda habitats to watch them, and we saw one coming out of the back area so we went to find it. 

It sat down right in front of the glass and licked its paw for about five minutes. It wasn't terribly exciting, but they're beautiful even still.

The zoo also has a lot of different monkeys and what is called an "O-line." We didn't get to see it in use, but the Orangutans can use it to move around in the zoo. The lines run all over the zoo over visitors' heads. 

All in all a pretty decent zoo, but going to zoos always makes me a little sad. 

After the zoo we decided to go to the Holocaust Museum (probably not a good way to boast my morale). When we got there we discovered that you had to have timed tickets to see most of the exhibits. They're free, but you have to get them in advance. 

We did walk through the Hall of Remembrance. It has an eternal flame in the middle marking a marble block that holds soil from 38 concentration camps as well as ashes of some of the victims of the Holocaust. The soil and ashes were placed there by survivors. The walls of the hall are marble in places with the names of camps.

We finished off the day with a visit to Honest Abe and dinner at The Tombs. It's the first sit-down restaurant I've really been to since I've been here. It was a lot like a Keller, in that it is in a basement. The food was good, a little pricey, but we probably made up for it with all the water we drank.

I probably got a little over excited about this when I saw it. I thought it was a buddy bear. It's not. I had forgotten what they looked like exactly. It's actually something for the zoo's Giant Panda exhibit. Still it seems like a bit of a stolen idea. That's Matt, by the way.

Michael Bloomberg

Here's the article from the meeting I was in with Michael Bloomberg. 

Ouch!

I'm glad all it costs me to get to work is $1.35 and some calories. Sorry guys.

Rosslyn Area

Here's a picture I forgot to post the other day. It's of the Rosslyn area at night. Rosslyn is in Virginia, just over the Potomac River from Georgetown. I take a bus over the Keye Bridge everyday to get on the metro there.

Botanical Gardens, etc.

My roommate Matt, his girlfriend Catie and I went out into the city today. We started out at the National Botanical Gardens. They were pretty impressive, though having never been to any other botanical gardens it is hard to compare. They were beautiful none the less.

After spending a little bit of time in the gardens we wandered down the mall to the Air and Space Museum. It's massive and they have exhibits on everything from the Wright brothers (including Wilbur's report card) to an exhibit exploring all the technology we gained from space exploration.

The best artifacts in the museum, in my opinion, are when you walk into the museum — space capsules from NASA space program.

After that we decided we still weren't done. So we decided to go to the National Aquarium. On the way we passed the National Archives. We decided to take a detour there, but since the line was out the door, reconsidered. I'll probably go one day after work. It doesn't take that long. 

We then proceeded to the Aquarium to again be disappointed. They stop selling tickets at 4:30, but they feed their carnivorous sea-life (sharks, pirañas and the like) at 2 p.m. on different alternating days. So that might be something worth going for even if the tickets are $5. 

After that Catie and Matt decided to head back but I have been here for two weeks and still hadn't seen the White House and we were only two blocks away. So I took off on my own for a little bit to join the pack of tourists crowded in front (well, as in front as you can get with security the way it is) of Presidential Palace. There seemed to some kind of a party going on. I couldn't tell who was there, but a crowd of people were gathered on the White House steps.

That pretty much did it for the day so I walked to the Metro station. When I got there I realized I was only about two blocks from Ford's Theatre so I figured, "While I'm here..." The museum is closed for renovations, but I saw the house Lincoln died in and the theatre from the outside.

What is lost shall be found

I found my phone. Actually the bus driver did, but I have it again. Okay. That's all.

Around Campus

I needed a break from studying and a little time to chill so I thought I'd walk around a little bit with my camera, and figured I'd show you around a bit too.

This is a block of townhouses right outside the front gate. Just to give you a taste of what Georgetown looks like, most of the community consists of similar townhouse in a wide array of colors, always with a different colored, but matching, door. It seems to be something in which the owners take a lot of pride. This block has nine houses with nine different colors.

This is the building my apartment is in.

This is the main building on campus. You see it right as you come in the front gates.

Photos

I've been posting some of my best pictures on the posts here, but if you want to see more of the pictures I'm putting them on a different site. Here's the address: www.Jonathan.CannonPhotograph.com.

Arlington National Cemetery

So in case you can't tell I made it to Arlington National Cemetery today. It was pretty impressive. I got to see the changing of the guard and the wreath changing ceremony. The precision was very impressive, but I did find myself doing what I always do now when I'm traveling: comparing it to Europe.

It was definitely more touristy than Normandy was and it was nice just to be able to walk across the grass at Normandy. However, Arlington is so much larger than Normandy; the size is incredible.

As I was leaving the cold front that was supposed to come through today got here and the wind picked up. By the time I got out of the metro station at Dupont Circle it was raining (thanks for the umbrella, Mom).

I had an original cheesesteak for dinner and now am just hanging out. All in all, a pretty good day.

...

There's so much to say; everything is so incredible here. I met New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today. Actually I just shook his hand, but it was still cool. Though I did get to hear him talk in a very small news briefing with the National Journal writers. 

I also got to listen to two economic reporters from Newsweek at breakfast in their D.C. office. It's right down the street from the capital. We went out on their balcony (of sorts) and you can see it and the Washington monument. Also one of the guys pointed out where the Pentagon was from there.

In other news, I'm going to get a new phone tomorrow. Maybe I won't lose this one; I hope.

Also I realized something about my daily commute yesterday; I take the metro toward Vienna everyday on my way home. Granted, it's Vienna, Virginia, but I still thought it was worth mentioning.

Tough Times

So it's been an interesting few days. I've had my first class and my first full day of my internship. I feel better about them, but I'm still nervous. 

I did have a stressful day yesterday, but it was unrelated to work or classes. I managed to lose my cell phone. Yea me! I've never lost my phone before and I come to D.C. and lose it on a bus. As of yesterday afternoon they hadn't found it yet. I did manage to suspend the service though, in case someone found it and decided not to turn it in, but even that was an ordeal.

I called to cancel it and had to give my pin code, which I didn't know. So they asked me a security question. That, I also got wrong. So they told me go to a Sprint store. Do I know where a Sprint store is in D.C.? (In case you don't know the answer to that is, "No.") I found them online and then managed to make it there. 

I got there after they closed, but the guy was nice enough to let me in anyway. And he helped me suspend my phone. The one cool thing that came out of this so far is that I climbed the stairs that were featured in The Exorcist on my way back. I didn't know that's what they were till someone told me when I reached to top. It was A LOT of stairs.

Monument Tour

I played tourist today. I went on a guided monument tour that was provided to us by the program. It's normally not the way I like to see things when I travel, but the guide had a lot of really cool facts. Plus the buses had AC.

I'm not going to go into all the details of the tour, but here's a picture of the Capitol Building.

Hello again

So I’ve decided to rekindle my Vienna blog for my time in D.C. I know I’m not the best about writing, but I’ll try. It never hurts to get a little encouragement though.

Anyway, by the time I post this I’ll be in D.C., probably in my apartment. I’m writing this on the plane for now though.
It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling. I go from excited to scared about every five seconds. Hopefully I’ll have calmed down by the time I’m posting this. It probably doesn’t help that I had to get up at 2:45 this morning. That’s right a.m. My flight left 6:45 and of course you have to arrive ridiculously early, but I’m not knocking airport security I know it’s essential, just frustrating.

I have had a fairly interesting flight however. These some kind of girls’ sports team, at least I think that’s what the group is. It’s not very big, but they’re junior high-aged girls and they keep calling this one guy, “Coach.” Seems pretty obvious, huh? But they’re driving everyone crazy, especially the flight attendants.

Coach was sitting in front of me, but in a very cozy version of musical chairs, he and two other people moved around so another guy could have a window seat. Seemed like a lot of moving, but no one seemed to mind. After the guy moved I figured out why everyone was going to so much trouble. I overheard someone, on the phone before the plane took off, say it was Terrell Owens. I think he’s a football player, but I better check before I post this, lest I look uninformed.
I’m also sitting next to a to a couple that’s in love with crosswords. They’re both working on different ones, and sometimes they work on one together.

I helped on one of them. The clue was “sharks and jets.” They kept saying it over and over. The guys what thinking it had to do with sports like the New York Jets, but I knew without even looking. (Aren’t I smart? ☺) In case you haven’t figured out it’s Westside (still don’t know if that’s one word or two) Story, though it was actually just Westside.

Now that I'm here I have a short bit to add: My roommate's name is Matt; the stairs I have to climb to my apartment are Vienna all over again; and on the way in I pass the Iwo Jima memorial and the French Embassy.