Michelle and I have been friends since high school and our families live in the same neighborhood. She works for USAID as a program officer and is leaving for Kenya at the end of month. I believe she will be living there for about two years.
Ahmadou (Dou for short) attends Howard University full time and studies Civil Engineering. He has an internship with the DC Department of Transportation. He also works a second job at Whole Foods.
I'm very glad I was able to visit with her and her husband before she leaves the country. DC is a great city and I was only able to enjoy it because of their generosity of sharing their home with me.
Day 1 - Saturday:
The first day consisted of driving to Indianapolis to catch my flight to DC. The flight was fine with no surprises. That's always good. Michelle and her parents who were visiting from home as well greeted me at the airport. I got to experience my first metro (subway) ride in DC on our way back to Michelle's apartment. Michelle made us a delicious dinner and I was able to relax and chat with everyone.
Later that evening we went to see some attractions at night. We saw the Washington Monument, the White House, and Michelle's work at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Michelle and I in front of White House
Day 2 - Sunday:
On Sunday afternoon we set out for the sites. We visited the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. Later that evening we went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Afterwards we ate dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. The meal was served on and with a soft fermented bread. A person eats with their hands by tearing pieces of the bread and using that to grab bits of the food. It's a very intimate way of eating with others since everyone shares from the same large serving plate.
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
View from the front of the Lincoln Memorial
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Day 3 - Monday (Labor Day):
On Monday morning very early, Michelle's Family left for Fort Wayne. They had driven to DC so they wanted to be able to get out of the DC area without any traffic problems. Later that morning, Michelle, Dou and I went to the Smithsonian National Zoo. We were able to see the Panda bears out and active since it was early and not yet at the heat of the day. The Pandas were definitely the main attraction for many tourists visiting the zoo. My camera batteries died after my third picture at the zoo, so I don't really have a lot of pictures after that.
Later that afternoon Michelle and I went to the Washington National Cathedral. It was interesting to see that a lot of the limestone that was used to build the cathedral is from Bloomington, Indiana. We then left for the National Archives and saw what is called the Charters of Freedom. It consists of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.
We then went to Union Station to have dinner. From there we were able to catch our Monuments by Moonlight tour by Old Town Trolley. The tour was 2.5 hours long and by the end, we were very tired. Our day was very long since we left the apartment at 9:30am and returned around 10:30pm.
One of the Pandas climbing in the tree
Info about the limestone for the Washington National Cathedral
Most of the pictures from the night tour were blurry. This one was taken when the bus stopped for 15 minutes. It's of the Iwo Jima Memorial.
Day 4 - Tuesday:
On Tuesday Michelle was back to work and I was able to get out on my own for a little bit. I was able to navigate the Metro well (it's very user friendly) and did not get lost. I went downtown and met Michelle during her lunch hour at the Washington Monument. We then were able to ride the elevator inside to 500 ft and enjoy the DC view.
After Michelle left for work again, I ventured to the International Spy Museum. It was quite fun and took me several hours to make it through the entire museum. Afterwards I met up with Michelle and we headed back to her apartment for a quiet evening.
Day 5 - Wednesday:
On Wednesday morning, I went to the National Museum of Natural History. I enjoyed seeing lots of dinosaur bones, lots of jewels including the Hope Diamond, and an exhibit of nature photos by National Geographics. I also had a really good lunch consisting of an asparagus and mushroom wrap from the cafe. Even though the museum is free, the food was very expensive.
I then headed over to the National Air and Space Museum. I really enjoyed seeing the first TIROS and GOES satellite models since I was somewhat familiar with them from working at ITT. Since the National Museum of American History was closed for renovation, they had at the Air and Space Museum the prized pieces from the American History collection. I saw the original Ruby Slippers worn by Dorothy, Abe Lincoln's top hat, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and Seinfeld's puffy shirt.
That evening Michelle and I met at the National Museum of the American Indian for dinner. We had heard from several people that the food was very good and it turned out they were right. I had a buffalo shank, a tomato watermelon salad w/ minted jalapeno vinaigrette dressing, and fried bread. The museum closed at 5:30 so we had a very early dinner that evening.
We returned to the apartment and had a fun evening reminiscing about our school days.
Day 6 - Saturday:
My flight on Saturday was at 9:40 so I wanted to be prepared to leave early in the morning. The flight home offered no surprises. The drive from Indy was fine as well. I saw lots of Colts jerseys while in Indy and the bus driver of the parking lot shuttle talked endlessly about the concert that evening to kickoff of the game. Definitely a buzz in the air at Indianapolis.
I was very happy to see Brian and Harris when I returned to Fort Wayne. Harris really enjoyed the stuffed Panda Bear I purchased at the Zoo. He gave it lots of hugs and slobbered on it as well. I went to bed at 9:15 that evening, the same time as Harris. I was very wore out from traveling and all the walking I did while site seeing.
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