A Few Thoughts on Washington: Part 1

About a month ago I was approached with a very interesting opportunity to spend 5 weeks in Washington, DC as a part of a mini-rotation through one of the groups at my work. After some deliberation I decided to accept the offer and I now find myself as a temporary resident of the Capital City! I love it here! It’s a vibrant city. Alive and bustling and full of character! And although I haven’t had too much time to go see the sights that make this city famous, I still feel like I’ve been able to make a few observations:

1.Hummus. Hummus is everywhere. Every menu I’ve seen (with the exception of the one Mexican restaurant we’ve been to…yum…Mexican…I digress…) has offered hummus as an appetizer or somehow as an entrée. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some chickpeas, but I never realized that it was so popular that it would be offered with every meal. That being said, I ordered hummus and pita bread from room service last night and it was delicious.

2. Speaking of room service (and this is not an observation but rather a funny story that just needs to be told), after I enjoyed my delicious hummus I went to place the tray back out in the hallway and as my door was slamming shut I realized that I had not had the forethought to bring my room key with me, or to place a door stopper to keep the door from shutting. Which is how I found myself standing in the hallway (barefoot) wearing my pink and purple striped pajama pants and men’s size t-shirt. Oops. After silently evaluating the situation, cursing my lack of common sense, and eventually accepting that I didn’t have a whole lot of options I hung my head in shame and padded over to the elevator and through the lobby to get somebody to let me back in. Mind you that this is a hotel in the middle of downtown that is full of business travelers and other patrons dressed smartly, or at least not in their pajamas. Bear in mind also that it was 19 degrees and here I was without shoes on. It was a proud moment. I was politely escorted to my room by a security guard who, after making a joke or two about my outfit, proceeded to tell me that at least I had clothes on at all and launched into a hilarious, albeit slightly awkward, story about one poor guy who wasn’t as lucky.

3. People here walk. A lot. Want to go to dinner? Forget the cab and walk there! Time to go to work? Better start walking. Need to pick up a few things at CVS? Obviously you would walk there. I’m guessing it’s the result of the traffic, the ridiculously expensive parking, and the general convenience of simply being able to walk to places. Either way, I’ve done my fair share of walking already! Including an unfortunate series of events that resulted in a 30 block walking search for dinner in 20 degree weather. I’ve never desired a cab so badly in my life.

4. I also think its related to the whole “public transportation” thing. Which is brilliant by the way. Its just so convenient and practical and cheap! This kind of thing could really take off. Wait, what’s that? Public transportation is huge and crucial in most large metropolitan cities? Oh. You’d never know based on Texas’ use of mass transit systems.

5. You have to pay for plastic bags here. The first time I noticed this I was at CVS (having walked there of course) and the lady finished ringing up my 20+ items and asked if I would like a bag. I’m pretty sure I asked her to repeat herself 2-3 times, because I simply must have misunderstood. Why in the world would I NOT want a bag for the large quantity I was purchasing? Did she think that I would masterfully stack my items and balance them along my body on my windy walk home? Surely not. Then after I checked the receipt it dawned on me that I was charged $.05 per bag. I figured it was a CVS thing until I went to Macy’s and was again charged a nickel to bag my purchase. So apparently bags are not free here. If you want to avoid being charged you had better bring your own. Lesson learned Washington DC, lesson learned.