Need some help finding an alternative to saying to someone that they are "doing the Lord's work". I want to compliment them but always feel uncomfortable saying that as I am hardly religious and don't want to give the impression I am. Sometimes those people are actually undoing the Lord's work, and sometimes people are doing things that they think are the Lord's work but feels like just the opposite. 'Keep up the good work' and 'well done' are nice, but am looking for something with a bit more oomph and am open to suggestion.
Am consciously not writing much about TW at this point as it is so effin hot that it makes me grumpy about the place. One thing that I've been wondering about though is why the mosquitoes attack me at the ankles. I had guessed because that is where the skin is the thinnest, but scientists think that theses pests have learned through the epochs of time where to go to get a little privacy while they suck your blood, and that their antennae are so attuned to smells that they know smells produced in different parts of the body. Will talk more about them and DEET when we hit Utah next time, but to finish off the East Coast portion of our trip...
The DC Metro feels old. When we were there in college, it was new and fresh, but it has aged quickly. The cars are all beaten up, the stations, while always a muted grey, now feel like a dreary rainy dark day, and little parts of the infrastructure, like the ticket machines and escalators, are partially broken at every station. Add a rash of crime going on and it was a big topic around town. People are citing articles from when they built it predicting such an outcome as they had great design but were using low end materials. We still used the crap out of it as it goes everywhere and we did manage to get in a smile or two while doing so.
That one was taken after we had gone to the Gay Pride festival, which was held the day after the awfulness that went down in Orlando. If you didn't know that had happened, you wouldn't have known it based on the exuberance the attendees at the parade.
Some other snaps from that day.
Wish I'd bought one of those.
The women of DC are an enigma. You can tell the ones that work in government as they wear a uniform, which is a tastefully designed dress in an awful color that does not go with their skin color. The men have it easy as they all wear the same suit, but feel for the women as they have a pressure to simultaneously keep it fresh and be governmentally professional (which is way different than the professional dress I am used to from LA and Seattle where it can be much more casual) Think it gets easier in the Fall/Winter when they can wear tweed.
There is a reason they call DC 'Chocolate City'
There are a lot of black people in DC and not being around them as much in Seattle for years, or at all in TW for the last 4, was captivated by their style and especially the ladies hair. So many colors and shapes and the amount of time and effort they put into has to be intensive. I wanted so much to take their pictures but didn't think it appropriate. One especially caught my eye as hers looked like a freshly made batch of curly fries...good crispy ones, not like those you get at the fair. Mmmmmm...curly fries. Will talk about Philly and Baltimore a bit further down, but the ladies there don't hold a candle follicly to the ones here.
Went to a couple of Nats games and won't detail the stadium here as I did it last year, but I felt the same way as I did then. Technically good, but cold. Food and music played was awful (why do they only play music the teenagers like when the entire crowd is made up of 40-60 year olds?) They can fix those things, but where the root problem lies is that the fan base is significantly transient, meaning a high percentage come from somewhere else so the Nats are their "second" team and not as beloved. Add that they've only been there for 11 years, so don't have adults that grew up on them and that even though they've had recent success, they have been bounced from the playoffs several times in ever more excruciatingly painful ways and you don't get the same intensity as with more homogeneous fan bases. I challenged many of them by riding their flaws and history and they all folded like an origami swan, with the exception of my ol' buddy Beeze. We went to a game last year and reprised it with one against the Cubs on a Wednesday 4:05 start. Great freaking game...12 innings, multiple blown saves and see-saw leads with an epic rally in the bottom of the 12 capped by every ones favorite Jayson Werth knocking in the walk off run. Beeze did his team proud by knowing all the stats, defending the 25th man on the roster, even providing a humanizing anecdote for total piece of shit Jonathon Papelbon (The DC Strangler). By the end of the game, I was a Nats fan. At least for the rest of the night.
I really hope that the girls interned some of the history/info about DC. I tried to share interesting anecdotes and offered them plenty of chances to see stuff first hand. Would try to recap each day by asking questions we learned or about things from their history classes...even bought all the kids pocket size Constitutions. Betty took Paul there for a week when they were about the same age and she expressed frustration with his lack of enthusiasm and I felt the same sometimes, but then I saw him now and could tell he did absorb it at the time as he was interested. He would take the subway to a museum after work by himself sometimes just to see stuff. The girls did get the best of me in a game of 'Which Presidents did not fulfill their entire term' game when I forgot about Nixon (for chrissakes). They are Harding, Taylor, Harrison, Roosevelt (illness) Lincoln, McKinley, Garfield, Kennedy (assassination) and Nixon (crook). One guy who won't have that concern is Bernie, whose prices for merch had been slashed by this time.
The George Washington Parkway is one of the prettiest drives in the country for sure. Is nice at any time of day, but had to take Carolyn's friend to the airport at dawn to get her to her flight, and that sunrise view over the Potomac with all the monuments lining up in silhouette...takes your breath away.
Last night in town, went to see The Cure with my friend Laurie and a couple of her buddies. Am a Cure fan since the beginning, seen 'em a few times and they are still great. Show was at Merriweather Post, which is a venue I never went to in the old days and is, without any doubt in my mind, by far the worst venue I have ever visited. First, is situated between Baltimore and DC in a place with no public transport that makes it virtually impossible to drive to during the week without being in absolutely soul crushing traffic Price gouging for drinks in a way that I'm surprised some fancy DC lobbyist hasn't figured a way to implicate them as war profiteers. Food was not only insanely priced as well but inedible to boot. We are making strides across the nation in food options at public venues but this place was firmly entrenched in 80's era hair band fare. I would have overlooked all of it, but you couldn't see the stage...from any where. And I moved around all over the lawn area from the front to the back and side to side and could not get a straight view of the stage. The did have video screens that had the most bizarre camera angles that never changed and completely missed (lead everything) Robert Smith. Was unreal and kept thinking that the architect that designed it was some kinda evil genius in the way he was able to bend light and sound to make it the most unpleasant shed in the nation. I had to look it up afterwards, and not only was it ranked a couple times in the top 5 outdoor venues by Rolling Stone and Billboard within the last decade, but that it was designed by none other than Frank Gehry. If you know any of his work (the EMP in Seattle for instance), then the torture I was put through makes total sense in retrospect. I will say that I found a sweet spot in front of a speaker just in time for my favorite Cure (and maybe any other) song. Was loud and they did an interesting version of it so the night wasn't a total waste. This cover by Nouvelle Vague is hauntingly good too.
Finally for DC, have to mention a couple of meals we had. Our first day there, Paul's boss took us to a tapas place where we had bacon wrapped dates. Oh my. This one you can try at home with no recipe.
If you've visited DC, you know that stuff is far from each other and that you get hungry. The food in the museums is Soviet era and the food trucks that line the mall, while getting better, still mainly consist of old hot dogs and...that's about it. My tip to future visitors is The Hamilton. Located a block off the mall and a block from the White House, near a ton of stuff, is giant so you can always get a seat, extremely well appointed with each room having a different theme that doesn't feel forced, nice mix of clientele with both tourist and K Streeters rubbing elbows, and a nice menu of fairly priced and interesting entrees that will make all happy. I know we ate there at least three times and maybe four. One day we thought we would try a food court that was touted in some guide around the corner, and it was so loaded with smelly middle schoolers from Indiana that we all turned to each other simultaneously and said, 'let's go to the Hamilton'. Special call out to you, Spicy Chorizo Quesadillas.
Had two of the most momentous Indian food meals in my life. One at the Bombay Club and the other at Rasika. Laurie took us to Bombay Club early in our visit and the items were both familiar yet exotic. And as it was located in the midst of government, John Kerry was enjoying a meal there with his wife. Even the girls knew who he was and seemed impressed. We wanted a photo but knew security loomed and sure enough, a quick scan of the room found three large suits with earpieces sitting nearby. Laurie was bold enough to ask them if we could ask for a photo and they kindly advised against it. Fair enough.
I was telling Beeze (whose been a foodie since I've known him...he of the story where he ordered something weird off the Chinese menu after a Dead show one night and the waitress exclaimed "that's organ," to him and he replied, "extra spicy please.") about Bombay Club and he countered with Rasika, voted top 3 Indian in the States. We made a reservation for the next night while still in the Stadium. It was fantastic as well...this time, only the ingredients were familiar but the flavors were mind blowing. And, when we got there, the lady said do we want to sit in the main dining area (which was hopping), or downstairs next to the kitchen. I think I must have given a facial expression of "don't stick us in the kitchen' when she said, "that's where President Obama sits when he comes here." Sold. Great meal and a great time. Indian food has been climbing my top 5 list to the point where it now sits solidly at number 1.
We also took the opportunity to go to a personal favorite, Bon Chon chicken. Spicy assed double fried Korean chicken wings. Check your neighborhood cause they are sweeping the nation. Babydolls friend considers herself a master of eating spicy foods, putting jalepenos on everything she eats, but Bon Chon had steam coming out of her ears. She thought her tongue was bleeding. I told her dad that he has some training to do before she reenters the exotic pepper octagon with me again.
Finally, another college friend (Hen) and her husband (King) threw a second annual crab fest. Basically, Maryland Blue Crab and Old Bay seasoning in a pot, crack 'em on the table. Am sure I mentioned before that once you have had exposure to MD blue crab, you're pretty much ruined on any other for life. You'll eat it, but will think of the real deal with every bite. Here is my dirty secret...I don't like the Old Bay seasoning. If anyone from the area reads this, I might be burned at the stake (after being rubbed liberally with Old Bay first). It isn't bad in small doses, but they put it on in quantities that would make Keith Richards OD. I can't taste the fucking crab people. Whew...confession really does lighten the soul. It was a great opportunity for Babydolls friend to experience it first hand and know she has been changed forever.
Leading up to the trip, started singing the theme to Fresh Prince of Bel Air and soon enough, we were all singing all the words as the TV station in our hotel had a station that was running the show marathon style.
We pulled into town late afternoon for a game that night. Their stadiums and arenas are all clustered together south of town, but they felt far removed from the city. When checking in, I asked the dude how do we get to the stadium and he said we need to drive and we'd better go soon cause...traffic. Seemed odd as we were centrally located and why would they put all the stadiums in one place without public transport. I had seen subway signs driving in, so asked another dude at the hotel and he said there is a station one block away that takes you right there. Puts a bad taste in your mouth when the face of your place knows nothing about their environs,
But maybe he had a point cause when we went into the subway, it was like Life During Wartime. Empty in a way that felt threatening and apparently built at the ebb of when making things pleasant for the rider wasn't a consideration in public projects. Even the name of it SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transport Authority) sounds like a toilet.
The game was fine, the Phillies are in serious rebuilding mode and got slaughtered, which takes some of the home crowds (legendary) 'enthusiasm' out of the mix. Stadium was nice in a way that all of the new stadiums are, but as mentioned, its location did not add the charm that they do in Pittsburgh or San Diego. They do have the best mascot on the planet (now that The Chicken has officially retired).
Next day was devoted to seeing the sights of Philly. The historic core is easily walkable and like the Washington Monument, needed to make an early walk over to get timed tickets to see Independence Hall and Liberty Bell. The girls are at the age where they could sleep all day, so it gave me a chance to get up and out for an early walk, which is a great time to see a city.
The other iconic building in town is City Hall and damn if I took one picture of it. I did take many of the William Penn statue at the top from vantage points throughout the city.
We did the Bell/Ind Hall thing in the AM and decided to do the hop on/off bus for the afternoon. Never a bad option to see a city if you have time constraints. Our first hop off was at Reading Terminal Market for lunch.
What would follow for the next few hours was a tour of the most/biggest/longest things in the world that Philly was famous for. It started early and never let up to the point that it was distracting. We'd drive up to a place and he'd be talking about it, and all I kept thinking about was when he was going to say it is the ___est. For example, Philly has:
- The second largest spinning guitar on top of the Hard Rock
- City Hall is the largest municipal bldg. in the world
- East State Penitentiary is the world's 1st penitentiary*
- Some statue of George Washington has the most accurate interpretation of his face
- Is the worlds 2nd most sarcastic city (after London)
- Home of the largest seated indoor statue (at Masonic Lodge)
- Broad Street "one of" the longest straight streets in world
- Love Park was home of the first Occupy Movement
This fatuation extends to signage about town.
Note about penitentiaries that we learned. They were created in response to the horrific overcrowding and toxic conditions of prisons with their design intention to create a humane environment for the prisoners. They were given their own cells and the Good Book. Very progressive in thought but soon learned that connection to reality was important and that it didn't take long for inmates to go insane in isolation.
Love Park was a great public space too...we were told that they put in these lovely fountains in response to the Occupy Movement so they could always just turn them on if the unwanted elements wanted to sit in. Deviously simple. I think if Mr Burns heard about them, he would say "excellent"
Disappointed that they moved the Rocky Statue from the top of the steps he climbed in some ridiculous decision by humorless government bureaucracy.
There is (or was) some weird obsession with Joan of Arc in Philly as they have a bunch of statues and tributes to her about town but could never figure out why.
Instantly noticeable are people in surgical scrubs and medical coats everywhere...masses of them.
We drove past the Barnes Foundation and looked at my watch, but we just didn't have the time and I knew the girls were getting tired. Huge bummer as it has just the kind of art I love and am still kicking myself for missing it. Hope the Boy goes to a school on the east coast as I need an excuse to go back and see it.
Finally, on the bus as we were driving through the theatre district (which seems quite nice, we went that night to an cool old theatre and saw Finding Dory on opening night), the guy behind me sees some theatre and says, "I saw West Side Story there in the 70's starring Leslie Uggams". The funniest sentence I've ever heard.
Drove over to Jim's, waited in the 25 minute line and we got the real cheesesteak deal. I couldn't talk the girls into getting it w/wiz as they have been raised at a time when they are well aware that kind of processed shit is toxic, but provolone is always a fine choice. Sweet dude frying it up and mission accomplished.
We returned to the place that our friend's took us to last year for crab cakes, Alchemy on 36th. Not a huge fan of food porn, but here you go.
Next day was the game, the girls and I made the 5 minute walk over and met the Boy, who had driven up from DC with Laurie, Hen and King and their daughters for a day in the park. Betty and I went with my parents to an O's game in something like 1993. My dad, a lifelong O's fan, had gotten us tix right behind home plate and we loved it. Until the bottom of the 1st when the skies opened up and a torrential rain canceled the game. Was pumped to return and for the Boy to see what I remembered was the best stadium in the biz. Plus it was both newsboy cap and Father's Day.
That's it for the east coast...we fly to Denver tomorrow.
