DC Road Trip Part 4 – Sightseeing in Washington DC!

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After arriving home last night from the Qatar Airways event, I spent some time getting to know my CouchSurfing host. We chatted about many things including the current state of CouchSurfing now that it’s a for-profit business, as well as his most interesting CouchSurfing experiences through out the years.

The following morning I slept in a little bit before heading out to see Washington DC for the first time! I hopped on the metro at King Street (Blue Line) and hopped off just a few stops later at Arlington Cemetary

As I walked out of the metro station and down the road towards the cemetary I couldn’t help but notice these two hitchhikers.

Needless to say when I finished my walk through Arlington Cemetary an hour later these two cuties were still desperately thumbing for rides.

After watching this couple fail I thought to myself that if I was to hitchhike I would at least do my best to look presentable. It’s hard enough to find someone that will pick up a random stranger on the side of the road these days nevermind if you’re dressed like these two above.

Arlington Cemetary

To say that the Arlington Cemetary is huge is an absolute understatement. There graves here are of veterans and military casualties ranging from all the way back to the American Civil War to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s as if there are tombstones for miles…

The grounds are immaculate and although you would think it’s pure common sense to be respectful when visiting our nations most sacred shrine, there are still those who walk through laughing and cracking jokes. I actually witnessed an Asian tour group walking through laughing hysterically…

I visited the grave site of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. This was one of the most popular sites in the cemetary. There were people lined up taking photos of the eternal flame next to the graves of John and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Lincoln Memorial

After a long quiet walk through Arlington Cemetary I made my way towards the mighty Lincoln Memorial. I’m not a lover of history in any way shape or form so I can honestly say that I don’t know much about Lincoln or our presidents from the past. I will say that the architecture of the Lincoln Memorial is nothing short of incredible.

Here’s a look at the construction going on with the Washington Monument in the distance.

Note: There used to be water where the construction is going on right now. The Washington Monument used to reflect in the water sort of like the Taj Mahal in a way.

Vietnam War Memorial

As you can see in the photo above, this shows the entire Vietnam War Memorial from start to finish. The memorial is set into the ground and the names of 58,272 (as of May 2011)  have been etched into a beautiful stone from Bangalore.

When a visitor looks upon the wall, his or her reflection can be seen simultaneously with the engraved names, which is meant to symbolically bring the past and present together.

The Vietnam War Memorial was one of my favorite memorials in DC. Just seeing all of the names on the memorial brought back memories of my visit to the Vietnam War Remnants Museum in Saigon, Vietnam.

Washington Monument

Next up was the Washington Monument. I didn’t actually walk right up to the monument as I was on my way to the White House but I did get to see it up close the following day while on my Segway Tour with City Segway Tours DC!

Did you know: The Washington Monument is the worlds tallest stone structure! (555 ft)

White House

Once I got within a half mile of the White House I quickly noticed the presence of the Secret Service. They were certainly out in full force.

When I first arrived at the White House, I was completely confused. At first glance I thought that there was no way this was the actual White House. It couldn’t be! Honestly it was about a sixteenth of the size that I had imagined it to be. I guess I’m just used to seeing it on television and in photos and it seems so much bigger.

I mentioned this to a few people who live in DC after the fact and they all said the same thing. A lot of people are shocked at how small the White House is when they visit DC. At least it’s not just me!

Check out the security guard on the roof with those high tech binoculars.. COOL, right?

The President’s Neighbor

Directly across the street from the White House there was a disheveled old woman standing next to two giant yellow signs.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that this old woman better known as Concepcion has been standing here 24 hours per day through the rain and snow since 1981! Seriously!?

Concepion and her protesting goes way back, you can read all about her and her mission on her website called, coincidentally enough, The President’s Neighbor

Concepcion wasn’t the only protester out there, although she’s the most well known. Check out these characters as well…

District of Pi

After all this walking around it was time for lunch. I jumped on my phone, opened up Yelp and immediately found a brand new pizza joint that was only a few minutes walk from the White House. The reviews seemed good so I headed over District of Pi for a Chicago style deep dish grilled chicken and garlic pizza.

Overall I thought the pizza was pretty decent. It definitely wasn’t as good as the reviews had raved. The crust was tasty but there was just way too much sauce for my liking!

While there, I met Dez (bartender/server) also known as “Dez the Prez”. Dez is the lead singer in a group called The Cabinet. You can check them out on Facebook here: The Cabinet on Facebook.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

After lunch I headed towards the Smithsonian American Art Museum which happened to be right down the road from District of Pi.

I enjoyed walking through the American Art Museum. There is so much to see at this museum if you’re into fine art, modern art and even digital art.

National Air and Space Museum

I finished up my day at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in DC. The NA&S Museum has the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world!

They have the original plane (Lockheed 5B Vega) that Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic as well as nonstop across the US. Both were first for a woman.

I was completely exhausted after walking around DC all day. It was time to hit the metro and head back to my temporary home for the week in Alexandria.