DC Travels, Day 2

I woke up the next morning and the weather report was true, the sky had started to snow. I went to the gym, but it was even worse than the one in my apartment complex. The dumbbells went up to 25 pounds, and there were three pieces of cardio equipment along with those ridiculous inflated balls. Terrible. This is no 4 star hotel.

I had heard about K Street Bagel so I walked through the snow about ten minutes to get there. When I arrived, there was a homeless dude sleeping right in front of the door and the lights were off. Guess they weren't open. So there went breakfast. So I hopped on the red line to the Metro Center and went to Ford's Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. I walked through timelines of Lincoln's day as well as John Wilkes' Booth day. About 50 of us sat in a replica theater and then a park ranger came on stage and basically gave a 30 minute speech recapping what led up to the event and how it happened. I then went across the street to a boarding house, which is where Lincoln was taken after he was shot and then died the next morning. It was such a small bed, I remember thinking to myself. In that house, they've also added tributes to Lincoln's leadership. there's even a stack of books written about Lincoln and it extends four floors. Unbelievable sight!

Then I walked two blocks east to the International Spy Museum. This is definitely one of the most interactive museums I've ever seen. I'd recommend searching Groupon for admission though. When you enter, you create your cover, basically choose 1 of 16 identities. Nobody asks you the details, just remember the information at the optional kiosks. The highlight for me was the Bond villain exhibits. I saw amazing artifacts like Jaws' teeth and the tarot cards from Live and Let Die. Besides that, there was a good amount of war history and there were a few crawl tunnels which were fun to navigate and spy on people through the tiny windows. The museum can be a little tough to follow at times in terms of where to go next though. 

I hadn't eaten yet and it was almost 1, so I decided to try Astro Chicken & Donuts. The show was really coming down so I was looking forward to sitting down with a hearty, unhealthy meal. Well,  walked inside and was surprised to see it was nothing more than a counter. Not a table, not a chair, not a stool. I ordered chicken fingers. They came in a cardboard box, about six or seven small tenderloins. They were certainly juicy, not incredibly crispy on the outside. I liked the smokiness of the BBQ sauce on the side. I tried two of their standard donuts: the maple bacon and the crème brulee. Both were incredibly soft and airy. There was a good amount of chopped bacon, enough to counter the sweetness of the maple. The crème brulee one was fine, but I'm not the biggest fan of cream-filled donuts.The only drinks were lemonade, coffee, and iced coffee. No iced tea unfortunately. It was a decent experience, but next time I'm in DC, I'll probably try other places.

From there, I went to the Newseum. As I shuffled through the snow, I saw a display of various US newspapers from that day framed outside the entrance. Clearly they make it apparent that they value the press. I did have to pass through a metal detector and pay about $26 to get in. 

One of the hard parts about museums is you don't know where to start and then struggle to navigate the best path through the building. That will not happen here. I was directed downstairs where I watched a ten minute orientation video on how to travel through the museum as well as highlights from each of the six levels. And on the bottom level are parts of the Berlin Wall, along with a small section you can actually touch. I never expected this piece of history to be in the United States, but you can find it here.

I took the express elevator to the top floor and the first exhibit I saw was Camelot, which showed many photographs of the Kennedy family. After walking on the snow-covered outdoor terrace, which offered a great view of the Capitol building, I went back inside and saw a display of the current day's newspapers from around the world. There is also an extensive display of the history of reporting in terms of technology and the different factors that have influenced media. I was caught by the kiosk where I could examine newspapers going back to the 1400s. And this I never expected to see: the suit OJ wore when he was acquitted is on display!

After watching a JFK film, I went through a Civil Rights section. They had a lot of interactive video clips. But the absolute hardest part for me was the 9/11 exhibit. Now it didn't have a ton of artifacts. There was the flag that flew over the Pentagon, a piece of the antenna and maybe two or three other items. But it was watching the 12 minute film about the journalists who covered the horror as it was happening. I saw an angle of the second plane crashing into the South World Trade tower that I had never seen before. This was the moment I lost all emotion and felt tears stream down my cheeks.
They had a large map of the world that is color-coded to reflect which countries have free press. I have to admit I was taken aback how many countries have restricted or completely censored press coverage. There was also a wall dedicated to journalists who died in the line of duty, a section for First dogs in the White House. There's also a virtual reality section, not many people were hanging around this section though. I got to step into a broadcast booth and record a broadcast from Nationals Park. Of course I finished it with a "Let's Go Mets." After watching a sports broadcasting film for 30 minutes, the museum was about to close. My visit took four hours and they were well worth my time.

I had a 6 pm dinner reservation at Bobby Van's, and I walked back to the hotel, about 20 minutes or so. The snow still hadn't quit! I picked up my bags, changed into nicer clothes, and headed three blocks east to the restaurant. $40 for $80 worth of food and drink. Another Groupon score! I arrived  with a backpack and suitcase in tow, and the staff was gracious enough to store my luggage near the coat area. I was given a corner table, with a nice cushioned seat. If I had to knock anything, some of the waiters' accents were a little hard to understand. However, they were always smiling and enthusiastic. They really seemed to enjoy working there. Then again, with the tips I'd make working there, I'd be smiling too.

My starter was the Harry's salad, which doesn't have any lettuce in it. It has chopped tomatoes and roasted peppers, with cold shrimp, green beans, and thick cut chopped bacon tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. The vegetables were very fresh and I could really chew the bacon, it wasn't overly crisp. I could really taste the vinegar, but the warm bread was a great way to mop the rest of it up.
Onto the main event. I ordered the New York strip, cooked medium rare plus. It was cooked spot on: lightly charred on the outside, pink and juicy on the inside. I don't know the ounce portion, but I would guess around 16 ounces. It was a perfect size, cooked as well as I've had in a while. They served it on a bed of potato sticks which added a nice crunch as well as a side of greens, which I promptly discarded. I also ordered asparagus, and I got a huge portion of sauteed asparagus, enough for 2-3 servings. They were cooked well, but needed some salt and pepper. In terms of the menu, the only thing I'd like to see added are some German or Lyonnaise potatoes. For dessert, I simply got a scoop of cinnamon ice cram for two dollars. Not a bad deal at all. 

Part of me wanted to stay out and go hear some live music. But with the snow still not stopping, and knowing I had a three hour drive ahead of me to make that night, I decided to head home. I then took the Blue line from McPherson back to Franconia-Springfield. Amazingly, there was no parking charge even though I saw that it was $4.95 per day. No too shabby!