DC Trip

“AND I’M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, WHERE AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE!”

My shouts echo through all of Maryland on my drive to DC for my 4^th of July trip. Haha, just kidding. That’s a little joke. What a fun good time we’re having right now. I’m scared to meet the psychopath who really plays American anthems on their solo road trips and isn’t a normal, well-adjusted person like me.

Last year, I spent my 4^th of July week off from work completing my move to Columbus. With my move to Pittsburgh starting on the 18^th of June, the transition was already winding down and I wanted to make the most of my holiday. Rather than take a week to decompress and get more familiar with my new environment, I was ready for another hostel trip. What better place to go to celebrate America’s birthday than the Capitol?

The first thing I did was weigh out my options when it came to time, place, and transport. My new address put me less than five hours from DC and the math said that driving was going to be the cheapest option. After reserving a pod at the I Street Hostel based on its price and proximity to the National Mall, I reserved a spot in a garage not too far from it. The plan was to get there on the 3^rd, do some sightseeing and take advantage of any unique 4^th events that were taking place until I left later on in the day of the 5^th .

I made a list of locations that I wanted to see. On it was the Lincoln Memorial, Whitehouse, Washington Monument, Capitol Hill, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Natural History, and the International Spy Museum. Everything except the Spy Museum was free or practically free and the International Spy Museum was more of a break in case of emergency spot if I ran out of things to do. I went to each location’s website to see the ticketing policies. The Air and Space Museum, Holocaust Museum, Capitol, and the Washington Monument all needed reservations. The first three were easy to book. The 4^th was a challenge.

The Washington Monument has some tickets available on the day of that you can try and get as soon as they open. The primary way to get tickets, however, is online. They are released in two batches with the first batch opening 30 days in advance and the other the day before. On top of this, the monument was closing at noon on the 3^rd and was to remain closed all of the 4^th. This meant there were only two time slots to get tickets for the 3^rd, 10am and 11am. The odds were against me, but I took every precaution to maximize my chances of getting a ticket. If I didn’t get one for the 3^rd, I would have to reserve a ticket during my trip for the last day I was there. I created an account for the website, saved my payment information, and made sure I was logged in and waiting on the webpage right before 10am on the 2^nd. I was standing in front of my garage after coming back from a swim at the Y when it was time. I pressed the button to reserve tickets as soon as it turned blue and I got one! I agreed to the ToS and clicked purchase when… I got an error. “Request failed with status code 429.” The site had too much traffic. The ticket was still in my cart, but the 15-minute timer only getting closer to 0, my ticket was about to be taken away and be made available to someone else. I quickly went inside my apartment and logged onto the website from my laptop. Still in my cart was the ticket and I was able to complete the transaction. 11 o’clock reservation for the Washington Monument on July 3^rd. Now what time do I have to start driving to make it there on time? Wait…

I woke up on the 3^rd of July at 4am. This gave me time to get dressed, brush my teeth, and head out the door for the estimated five and half hour drive. Because of the holiday, my ride was expected to be 45 minutes longer even when leaving at such an outrageous hour. After stopping for gas, I ate a bag of teriyaki beef jerky that I bought at Target two days prior. I was making a much better time than Google Maps predicted and was already set to arrive in DC before my garage reservation started. I stopped at the South Mountain Welcome Center in Maryland to use the restroom and see what was in the vending machines. I attempted to purchase a watermelon Monster energy drink but what came out was a Monster Arnold Palmer. It tasted okay and I was initially upset until I saw on my bank statement that I was charged only $1.50 instead of the $4.50 posted on the machine. I edited my parking reservation so that it started 30 minutes earlier at 9:30 so that it would be ready by the time I made it to DC. Spot Hero was kind enough to not charge me extra for this.

I couldn’t see the sunrise as it started to get brighter with all the mountains and woods around me. Every time the road reached a summit, I was able to see that I was surrounded by even taller nature. For the entire drive, it was impossible to see the horizon through the scenery which was complimented by the beautiful morning weather. If I had the time and a place to park, I would have been tempted to stop and enjoy it all. The view was so deafening that I almost didn’t notice my ears popping every five minutes.

I arrived at the garage right after 9:30 and started to make my way to the Washington Monument when I realized I forgot to buy sunscreen. There was a Wawa on the way that sold travel sized sunscreen bottles at the register. I shielded myself from the UV as soon as I left the store and continued to do so for the rest of the trip.

It was barely past 10 when I reached the Washington Monument. I asked a park ranger where I should be at 11 and he pointed out a bench with a sign next to it that was labeled, “11am tour.” He suggested that I sit on the other side of the building for the time being where I would be shaded. I did and waited until 10:30 to be the first person sitting on the bench for my time slot. Another way I had prepared to deal with the heat was by using an umbrella. I deployed it only for the wind to pull it away from covering me properly. I looked ridiculous, holding it at the top of the rod, an inch over my head so that it wasn’t being pulled by the wind. It was more of a hat than an umbrella at that point. A park ranger came up to me, sitting alone on the bench and asked if I had a ticket for 11 o’clock. I said I did, and he saved me by saying that I could go in. I went in at the same time as another family who made it a point to tell another park ranger that I wasn’t with their family. The ranger never asked if we were all there together either, so I was a bit confused and insulted by the comment. (Not seriously though.)

The elevator ride went smoothly. The top room was very cramped. I was the only solo traveler there and it was frustrating trying to get a view out of the windows and having to wait for every family there to take their selfie at every view. I looked out every window and took in the city. I saw the White House from 500 feet up and it didn’t look like something I needed to see any closer with how out of the way it was. I didn’t spend too much time on the museum floor as I was getting a little claustrophobic with all the people there.

My reservation at the Air and Space Museum was for 1 o’clock so I headed to a Panera to eat lunch at before then. The Panera was located inside the International Food Court which required me to go through security to get in. I enjoyed my macaroni and cheese with bacon and candy cookie complimented by Diet Pepsi.

The line for the air and space museum was extremely long but thankfully took no time at all. It looked like almost half of the museum was closed for renovation. Disappointing as that was, there were still a great number of exhibits to walk through. In the first hall, starring the Wright Brothers, there was an employee guiding a tour group. I don’t know if this was an impromptu event or if this was something people signed up for. Regardless, I leeched onto the back of it. Another man who had the same idea asked if I was part of the group. I told him I was along for the ride like him. I thought I had already found another solo traveler until his friend joined the group five minutes later. The guide talked us through the Wright Brothers first successful flights, some of the first space missions including the Apollo ones, and a brief history on some of the planes used in commercial airliners like the Boeing 247 and 747. The 247 was hanging from the ceiling and the front of the 747 was coming out from a wall. By the end of the tour, the group had dwindled to just over a handful of people which I thought was ridiculous because this tour guide was the best. I saw the Gemini VII capsule, Apollo 11 command module, and Neil Armstrong’s suit that was still dirty from moon dirt. After the tour, I went through the exhibits that the guide didn’t take me through. I spent just under three hours there before walking out to go check into the hostel.

On my way to the hostel, I stopped at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that I saw earlier as I was making my way to the air and space museum. Some guys were skating on a gated stage at the Streetwise tent. They had a small half pipe and some blocks to grind and jump over. With how much I saw these skaters bail in just a short time it’s safe to say that none of them were competing in the X Games. The environment at the Streetwise tent was distinct from the rest of the festival. At the other side of the tent there were two lowriders showing off their hydraulic suspension. There was also a little remote-controlled lowrider. In the more central part of the festival there were smaller tents with speakers, events, and shops. I sat at one about the Myaamia Lunar Calendar. I left that tent after about five minutes as I wasn’t particularly interested in the subject. On the main stage, I watched a group of kids whose ages appeared to range from four to late teens that were doing Native American dances. I believe they were descendants of this tribe although I can’t be sure since I missed the introduction. The Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers were dressed in what looked to be traditional garb. They danced, chanted, and made rhythms with their drums. A rattle they used for some of the dances was made out of shotgun shells that they used to hunt birds which I found amusing. My final stop for the time was at the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists (ABOP), who were, surprise, surprise, playing percussion-based music. It was a performance/rehearsal with someone there giving feedback to the performers when they finished their setlist. For a free performance, I had no notes. On my way out, I stopped by an intern who asked me if I wanted to complete a survey for a discount at their food tent. I obliged and took the Qualtrics survey on the iPad she provided. I let her know that it was really well designed. I saw at the Streetwise tent, the adults that were bailing out earlier were now giving lessons to kids. Some of them might have been better than the teachers based on what I saw.

At every tent with a speaker, there was an ASL interpreter and live captions being generated. I wasn’t sure why both were necessary. Accessibility was not taken lightly at the festival. There were mini ramps that connected the gravel path and grass that made it easier for people in wheelchairs to get on the different terrain. I noticed this because I saw someone in a wheelchair using them. I thought it was insane that all of these accommodations were made for a free festival for tents with sometimes less than a dozen people when I don’t even think my college graduation had captioning. While I didn’t need it, I also appreciated the free sunscreen that was available for people to use at the center of the event.

I passed through a sculpture garden on the way to the hostel. When getting the walkthrough, I discovered that I had booked a top capsule which I had forgotten about. In the kitchen, there was a box of plastic utensils with sharpie writing on it saying, “Do not throw away utensils. We will wash them.” This was not the only thing that concerned me. All of the capsules in my room had wires hanging out of them. The lockers mentioned in the listing had not been built yet. Most of the capsules hadn’t even been built yet. One room on the first floor was full of metal frames, wooden panels, and mattresses. There was a constant ratcheting sound coming from somewhere in the hostel as capsules were being built at the last minute for the 4^th. In the common space with the tv, people were asleep on the couches. I hydrated in the kitchen, refilling my water bottle a handful of times. There was a couple who looked to be in their 40s and sounded Russian or Ukrainian although my ears aren’t the best for picking up accents. They ask me where the bread is. I don’t know. My only thought now is, “This is not the hostel I stayed at in Philly.”

I decided to go back to the festival. I see a stranger attempt to make eye contact with another stranger that they are about to walk past. They looked racially similar. They weren’t smiling or anything. I interpreted it as an acknowledgement of some kind of unspoken connection. On these trips, especially when I’m alone waiting for something, I spend a significant amount of time observing strangers. It wasn’t the first time I had seen this interaction but that doesn’t mean it’s a universal practice either for people who look like they might have a similar background. I wondered if I would ever get to experience it. Is there a group I belong to? What would make us distinct enough for us to recognize each other on the street? As Pokérap starts to play through my earbud I come to terms that I will never have this.

At the ABOP tent, there is now also Mariachi Tesoro de San Fernando, and they are playing the opera song Carmen. When they finish, I go to another music tent where Sugar and the Pan are hosting a jam session. The first few minutes are tiring where they sing the same verse over and over where they switch out one word with a different animals name each time. Although they keep encouraging it, audience participation is virtually nonexistent. The majority of people around are local elderly at this point in the day. Two mariachi violinists joined the circle as the group started to play some instrumental music. At 4:30, I made my way back to the main stage where there was a poetry jam session scheduled. A teacher and three of his high school students read their poems about DC. The only one I resonated with was about the different foods in DC as the others were all heavier in their subject matter. The band, Let’s Go-Go, came to the stage and started to play some go-go music. The gnats had been going crazy this whole time I was at the main stage, so I left after two songs.

When picking my spot for dinner, Panda Express, I did not consider the distance I was continuing to travel away from the hostel. After I got my order and set directions for the way back, I saw that I had an over 30-minute walk ahead of me and my battery was close to dying. In my exhaustion from the day, I forgot that I was staying in China Town where I could have gotten a more authentic meal for a far shorter journey. A homeless man on a bench that I had passed earlier in the day asked if I could help him. I could not. He kept repeating, “fish fries,” over and over. I made it back to the hostel with 10% of battery to spare which was too close for comfort for somebody who got to the Washington Monument an hour early for their appointment.

In the hostel kitchen I met Germany who was talking about going out that night with the hostel hostess who checked me in. I asked if I could tag along when he went out and he said yes. Germany grew up close to Frankfurt, near the border of France and recently moved to El Paso for school where he was a psych major. Knowing German, French, and English, he quickly picked up Spanish there. He wanted to see the national anthem performed live while he was in DC.

The hostess had recently been laid off from their job in the hotel industry and had been living in DC for three years. She suspected that the DC chapter in her life was about to come to an end. She grew up near Chicago and had family in Sewickley where I have my YMCA membership. Her mom, in the kitchen with us, was there for the 4^th of July holiday.

Two men, Yorktown and France, came into the kitchen later. France was studying for their graduate degree in Houston. Yorktown was in DC for the day with some friends before heading to Yorktown to celebrate the 4^th with his family. He had unusually large calves that he claimed came from the way he lost weight as a former obese person and riding his dirt bike.

Us four boys, staying in the Capitol, got into a long discussion about war and global politics. We talked about what might start another civil war and what that could look like, how would the US divide itself the second time around. France talked about how supposed political rivals in France only argued for show and could be found being friendly with each other in their personal time. The discussion, and the half cup of wine Germany gave me, reinvigorated me after the wear of the day had started to set in. Before we leave, Germany lets me use some of his cologne to mask my scent of sweat and sunscreen.

Yorktown, Germany, and I first stop at Rocket Bar at the recommendation of the hostess where I drank a pint of Rocket fuel. When ordering my Guinness, the bartender accidentally gives me Yorktown’s Rocket Fuel that I mistakenly start drinking. The solution- he gives me both drinks for free. Closing her tab, a girl reveals her last name is Gay. I give her a sympathetic look and she reaffirms it by saying that the teasing was as bad as I imagined. Germany wants to dance somewhere, and the bartender recommends we try Decades.

On the start of our 30-minute walk, I ask if there’s a dress code because Yorktown and I were in shorts. I looked online and there was a dress code and a cover charge. We make a stop at a Mexican restaurant and bar to use the restroom. I inform two waitresses of our dilemma and ask if they know anywhere we can go so that Germany can dance and flirt with girls. They bring in an older manager and dishwasher to bring us two recommendations- Ultra Bar and Wok and Roll. The former being a traditional nightclub and the latter being a karaoke bar.

We avoided cover at Ultra Bar when Yorktown threatened to return to the hostel. The bouncer lets us know not to come tomorrow dressed in shorts and that we were lucky we came on a Thursday. Inside, Yorktown sticks close to the exit while me and Germany tear up the dance floor. I have a rum and coke and two Coronas so that I am inebriated enough to embarrass myself to the fullest extent possible. Against the wall there was a bench which I stood on top of and started dancing on. I invited Germany up and soon we were joined by more strangers. Around one in the morning, Germany and I headed back to the hostel. Yorktown had left earlier as it was not his scene. When we get back, we drink water and have a spoonful of peanut butter to soak up the alcohol. I end up spitting most of it out in a bathroom sink after finding myself unable to swallow the glob. I drunkenly got ready for bed while making the most noise possible. I had been awake for over 21 hours.

My alarm goes off and I am, understandably, a little hungover. I make it to the Capitol for my 9:10 tour where I have to throw out some Nature Valley bars that I had in my backpack because the Capitol doesn’t allow food in it regardless of whether it’s sealed or not. I even had to dump out my water bottle. Some people had to throw out their sunscreen because it was an aerosol. If the government is intent on dehydrating and starving me, the least they could do is give me a smidgen of free health care. After the tour, which was nothing extraordinary, I stole some paper towels from the bathroom to put in my backpack and filled my water bottle at maybe the coldest water fountain in all of DC. I then set out to kill some time and eat before my ticket time at the Holocaust Museum.

I walked through an area of parade floats and found that there was soon to be a parade. Duh. I had known that there was one near the Capitol that I had missed that morning because of my tour time so this was a welcome surprise. I listened to America the Beautiful being performed at the National Archives before the parade started. I got to watch an hour of the parade before I realized I was about to be late for my time at the Holocaust museum. The highlights for me were the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile and the Sikh float where the guy with the megaphone kept shouting, “God bless America! USA, USA, USA! We love America!”

At the museum, an elevator takes me to the 4^th floor where the first thing I see when I walk out is a picture of a pile of charred human bodies. It took me a minute to even realize what I was looking at. I liked the design of the Holocaust Museum because everything in there felt very intentional. Other museums will have a lot of text that you can’t read all of but there it felt like every piece was a highlight that you wanted to look at and I never felt overwhelmed with how much was in one space. I didn’t get to eat before the museum, so I started to feel ill after finishing the 4^th floor. I quickly went through the 3^rd and 2^nd floor before leaving. There was a space for the Nuremburg trials, but I didn’t see any signage about operation paperclip or the US businesses that supported the Nazis.

I paid $21.85 for a Halal cheese steak at Gyro Brothers food truck. I sat on the windowsill of a building while I ate. There were French fries in the cheese steak which I wasn’t a fan of. Close to the Washington Monument, I made my way towards the reflecting pool that I planned to walk along to the Lincoln Memorial. Disappointingly, the whole reflecting pool area was fenced off for the fireworks and it wouldn’t be opened back up until July 9^th. This also meant that I had to take a long detour around to the Lincoln Memorial and go through another bag check. When I made it to the Lincoln Memorial, the inside was also fenced off! I saw Lincoln’s head from the bottom of the steps.

Dripping in sweat, I decided to make one last stop at the American History Museum to rest. The most interesting exhibits were on the top floor. There was a lot of pop culture memorabilia like Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers, Walter White’s hazmat suit, Captain America’s shield from Winter Soldier, Kermit the Frog & Fozzie the Bear, C3PO & R2D2, and the timer from 60 Minutes to name a few. The Price of Freedom exhibit had displays for some of America’s biggest wars. There was a uniform worn by George Washington and oh boy was that guy tall.

When I made it back to the hostel one of the workers let everyone know he was heading to the U Street sister location where there would be free food and drinks if anyone wanted a ride. I was the only one who took him up on his offer and figured this would be a good way to put myself around people. After a short drive in his Tesla, we made it to U street where I had a hot dog and a piece of chicken with two seltzers. I had a short conversation with two guys while I ate before seeing that Germany and France were there. He, and a group of other people, were playing Cards Against Humanity. I opted to not join and kept quiet while I recovered from my travels.

The group got ready to head to the Capitol to watch the fireworks and I was hesitant to tag along since I hadn’t really been talking with them. I bite the bullet and decide to take the risk since I at least know Germany well enough. I began to interview everyone that I hadn’t spoken to yet as we started on our way.

India was raised in India and came to the US to get his master’s degree at U of I. He worked as a TA there and had been working as a software engineer at Capital One in New York where he commuted from New Jersey. I chose to talk to him first as he had been the least vocal out of everyone there. This was his first hostel trip and hopefully he had enough fun to want to have another.

Indonesia went to Catholic school in London where they still use rulers. He spoke English with a British accent and had trouble listing all the languages he was able to speak fluently. There were at least five of them. It seemed that he had lived all over the world in his 26 years. He got his degree in Nuclear Physics in Switzerland and was now working on another in Environmental Science. He longed to be a lifelong student and dreaded the thought of eventually having to get a job.

South Africa was the only girl in the group. She was an au pair, spending a lot of her time with children. Like Indonesia, she was also vegetarian.

St. Lois was the only other American in the group. He worked for big pharma and his job primarily involved communicating with physicians. This sparked a conversation about the American economy and Indonesia was shocked to find out that the minimum wage of 44,000 francs in Switzerland was double of what someone in America would make. I let him know that the hourly minimum wage in Texas is less than a carton of eggs.

I got so consumed in conversation that I barely realized we were at the Capitol bag check already. We used the metro to get there since it was free after 5 for the 4^th. One of the great things about traveling with a group is not having to worry about navigation for a change. We waited together for the fireworks to start while watching the stage where the A Capitol 4^th concert was going on. We took a group selfie that I won't post for the sake of anonymity. The fireworks didn’t disappoint and all of us except St. Louis made it a plan to go out for drinks afterwards.

For a breather, we journeyed to the I Street Hostel. I talked with Indonesia about different American slang on the way. I learned that he and South Africa both called soda Fizzy or Fizz and that soda referred to sparkling water. They also called the faucet the tap more often than we do here. One question I got asked by Indonesia that I loved was why I didn’t have a cowboy accent if I was from Texas. South Africa said that, earlier in the night, she thought Germany and I were the most intimidating people in the group. I thought this was funny because I looked like a ridiculous mess with my wild hair. My silence of recovery was mistaken for a solemn nature which I fixed on the walk when I put my conversational skills to work.

Back at the hostel the group found another Cards Against Humanity game, and I again abstained. Two Floridians joined us this time, one who was originally from Puerto Rico. The hostess busted out some Miller Lite and seltzers that we all helped ourselves to. She joined us as we head out to the town where we again find ourselves at Rocket Bar where I refuel with some more Rocket Fuel. Germany sees a person with a German flag shirt who he introduces himself to. China lived most of his life in Boston, China, and Germany. He found himself in Germany for his job as a network engineer where he spent his entire time in Chinatown, so he didn’t need to learn German.

It isn’t until almost two in the morning that we leave and make a stop at 7/11. I get a pack of Rips and Indonesia gets Funyuns and El Tapatio ramen. When we get back to the hostel we continue our conversation in the kitchen. South Africa talked about the imbalance of sex in many African countries. She talked about how a man would have to pay her family to marry her and because she was educated that she would be worth a lot of money. She said that she thought American women were hypocritical in what they wanted. Saying that some claim to want independence while also wanted to be taken care of and not have to work.

China made a reappearance, coming in with a girl staying at the hostel who grew up in Indonesia. This excited Indonesia and the two started to talk. I excused myself at around 3:30, tired and socially fulfilled.

I called it a day on the 5^th. I couldn’t see myself walking around DC the whole day and making the drive back. My trip had peaked the night before and I was content with all I had done. I charged my phone in the kitchen and talked with the two Floridians and another man from Maryland. The app used to unlock doors in the hostel had ended my reservation, so I wasn’t able to get back into my room to get my shoes. Luckily Maryland was in the same room as me and let me in. I stopped at Panda Express on the drive home. When I got back to my apartment, not dead yet, I installed blinds on my living room windows before falling into the deepest sleep I’ve ever known.

My first day in DC I walked 11.3 miles according to the Apple Health app. The second day, 13 miles. The third, 1.1 miles by the time I got in my car at the garage. The blisters all over my feet are not of mysterious origin. The total cost of the trip was $410.41 including the price of gas. It would have been $328.51 if I hadn’t had anything to drink. All in all, I think it was a great value for what I’ll get to remember. The beginning felt a little rocky but as soon as I started to put myself out there everything began to fall into place.

There’s enough in DC for it to warrant another trip. Next time I go, I’d like to go with someone. I didn’t get to properly look at the reflecting pool or the Lincoln Memorial. I also missed the National Museum of Natural History along with the other Smithsonian’s and the National Gallery of Art. The Nation Archives wasn’t even on my list this time around.