I WANDERED DC BY MYSELF AND IT WAS AMAZING

I took this trip a few weeks ago, and even though I must have posted three 'grams that day, I still have a bunch of pictures, memories, and travel advice to share!

FRIDAY MORNING METRO

Rachel Rohm

The first leg of my adventure was the Metro. Fortunately a friend of mine had been interning in Arlington all summer and had 4 (yes, FOUR) extra SmarTrip cards with (probably) enough on them to get me through the day. I also was fortunate enough to crash on my friend's couch in Alexandria and have her drop me at the metro station that was literally across from the building she works in. Score!

FROM METRO TO BREAKFAST

Rachel Rohm

I got off of the Metro a stop or two before I really needed to, because it started to fill up again and I was scared I would have to fight my way off. The plan had been to get off near the Library of Congress and turn around the corner to go to Starbucks. Instead, I walked about a mile, towards the Starbucks. I walked along the street under the National Mall (which I've walked before and suspected would be crowded). It was interested to see the "back" of the Mall, and I was intrigued by this building, complete with a lavish, walled garden. Turns out it was a House of Representatives office building. Them dudes got it made in the shade.

BREAKFAST

Rachel Rohm

By the time the Starbucks sign was in sight, I was very hungry and thought I should try out a local option. Burrito Brothers it was! For about $8, I got a delicious plain coffee with cream and a medium egg and cheese burrito. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this restaurant was that she literally pulled the pan out, cracked the eggs, poured the milk, and mixed in the cheese right in front of me after I ordered and paid for my food. So fresh! I headed out with my yummy breakfast and scoped out a spot in the shade of the Library of Congress (Thomas Jefferson building).

Rachel Rohm

the weird bench-and-not-fountain thing I sat at. There was another one on this side of the Library, and there may have been two on the other side as well. I'm not sure what these are supposed to function as, but it sure worked as a quiet, shady, but view-supplying spot to have breakfast.

CAPITOL CONFIDENCE

Rachel Rohm

Maybe it was the caffeine getting to me, but even before I had officially seen any of the sites on my list, I was pretty confident that I could take on this city all by myself.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Rachel Rohm

Literally not sure just how I went more than 20 years without visiting this wonderful building. It's not only architecturally astounding; it has interesting exhibits that bring light to how books and the written word have impacted our history and lives. I see some sort of research term based in DC in my future - that way I will actually have access to the GORGEOUS gallery of the library.

Rachel Rohm

Oh! And look at this historical artifact I found on my way to the bathroom! This made me laugh perhaps more than it should . . .

Please laugh at this with me.

Or you could laugh AT me since I spent THREE DOLLARS on a lousy pen from their gift shop. I was livid.

U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING

Rachel Rohm

I took two tours of the Capitol, because I wanted to see more. I would have done more tours had the second one not been slightly repetitive and had I not been running out of time. What I most wanted to see was Caesar Rodney's statue (see next picture), and I got to walk by it twice and pose with it!

A highlight of my visit to the Capitol was hearing and seeing international guests marvel at the different displays and parts of the building. One 10-year-old German boy lead his parents to a display of the National Mall in some certain decade, saying something excitedly in German. (look! Over here! I'm not sure, I don't speak German...yet). Also an Indian lady got on an escalator behind me when she wasn't part of my tour and either complete ignored or could not understand the security guard that yelled up to her that she was not allowed to go up there with us. I had to hold in the laugh!

Rachel Rohm

I'm sure Abraham Lincoln was honored to have his bust so closely positioned to the statue of Caesar Rodney in the Capitol's crypt. DID YOU KNOW they wanted to put George Washington's body down there, buuuuut long story short no one wanted to move him from Mount Vernon.

Rachel Rohm

GOD BLESS this hot dog cart, which provided me with sustenance between my tours at the Capitol.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING

Rachel Rohm

You need to go here, especially if you want to see the signatures on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, because THEY ARE FADING OFF OF THE PARCHMENT! I know, it sounds unreal and like we should have done a better job preserving these, but the fact of the matter is that it's really really hard to see almost anyone's signature now. And not just because the signature's are fading, but ALSO because the room they're displayed in is very crowded, even though they make you wait in a rope line while a guard lets 10-20 in every 5 minutes or so. This was definitely a place where I was glad to be there alone; if I had been with a large group I probably would have given up trying to see what I wanted to see in hopes of just getting out of there alive. LET THE LITTLE KIDS IN FRONT, PEOPLE! They really can't see over you; you're not see-through, either.

WHITE HOUSE

Rachel Rohm

From the National Archives, I took a rather long but still enjoyable walk up to where I knew I would have a view of the White House from the front lawn. Fun Fact: I didn't see President Obama at his house, but I did see him earlier in the day in an intro video at the Capitol building. It was a short clip of the senate floor, and who do you think was right there in the bottom right-hand corner but Senator Barack Obama! I actually said (out loud): "Hey, it's Barack!"

I am a very respectful person. But I did take a selfie with the White House.

MUSEUM OF NATIONAL HISTORY

Rachel Rohm

Fun Fact (that one of my Capitol tour guides told me): this statue used to be out in the National Mall - before the Lincoln Memorial and big shallow pond were there. It very obviously suggests Washington as a Roman god. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Now you can see this statue in the Museum of National History. I had been here before, so I only did a quick walk around while I waited for my friend to meet me after work.

I also went to the Renwick Gallery, but I didn't take any pictures. Highly recommend!

GO TO DC, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO GO bY YOURSELF

Rachel Rohm

For my final stop, I went to the Jefferson Memorial with my friend, as the sun was setting. It was great to spend a day in the Nation's Capitol, doing exactly what I wanted to do and getting to be a fly on the wall instead of part of a large group. Here's to many more solo adventures (but also I would always welcome friends to come along)!