Day: June 7, 2010

After my trip to the National Cathedral I made my way back to our hotel.  Having walked multiple miles, most of that in the heat, I was completely exhausted when I got back to the room.  Laura, on the other hand, had just gotten out of her meetings, and was ready to explore.  so, we found ourselves back on the Metro and headed toward the Mall and the Smithsonian museums.

On the way we stopped for lunch at the Pentagon City Mall.  The area was overrun with middle-schoolers in matching T-shirts.  This, apparently, was the week for school trips to DC, and we ran into crowds of students the entire time we were here.

We got off the Metro at the Smithsonian stop and waled out onto the mall.  Large white tents were being set up for some activity, and we feared some big event on the mall for Saturday.  Regardless, we walked across the Mall to the Museum of Natural History.

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Friday morning Laura was still busy with her scientist friends, so I was on my own to explore D. C. until lunch. I decided to visit the National Cathedral, a place I’d not visited on any of trips to the city.

I boarded the Metro with the morning rush hour throngs. Even with my agoraphobia I managed to make it to the the Woodbury Park stop without freaking out. From the Metro stop it was about a mile hike to the cathedral through some really nice residential sections. I passed several nannies out walking their employer’s spawn.

As one flies into Washington D. C., the cathedral is just as imposing as any of the other national buildings. It’s perched on a high hill overlooking the rest of the city. However, it’s hardly visible as one approaches from the ground – at least, from the direction I was walking. The area is surrounded by wooded park lands and gardens, and it wasn’t until I was right on it that I could see the large structure.

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