Travels with No Shoes: Washington - POTUS and a Shutdown

I was expecting to wake to jackhammers and shouting this morning as the hotel is having roadworks and building stuff going on outside. I think that's one of the reasons I got a really good deal here. Also, they supplied complimentary earplugs - right on the pillow. But nothing. I'm not complaining.

Watched more discussion on the shutdown. They don't know how long it will last. Sort yourselves out already!

I got directions to the White House and off we go. It's deceptively hot - very humid and muggy and horrid. Washington has wide footpaths and large grey buildings. Lots of homeless. Lots of African Americans. Lots of Mexican (the men are all short). And a heap of loonies.

I reach the back of the White House (back or front - the one on Pennsylvania Ave). The entrance is barricaded off, which either means something or it's all part of the shutdown. The police/security guy I ask is very evasive. Round to the grounds at the back (front?) where there are a lot of tourists (mainly Asian) posing for photos of themselves in front of the White House.

I noticed there were a lot of cars up there, and two big stretch ones. So I waited and watched. Suddenly there's a flurry of guys getting into the vans behind the limo ones and I'm thinking he's coming out, I like to think he's here, in the white shirt (coz that's what he's wearing at the press conference he went to).

They got in the car, and drove off. There were 15 to 20 vans following the two limos, then a couple of tank type things and then a fire truck. And there were sniper types on the roof and a helicopter circling. So that was exciting. And whether that was him in the white shirt or not, he was there somewhere and I'm saying I saw him!

Then began the long, hot walk. Walked up Constitution Avenue, quite lovely, wide road with trees and parkland on the left. Up to the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool. The Washington Tower was being repaired from earthquake damage. And of course, you can't go up to Lincoln.

Very annoying to see this...

So this is as close as we could get. I don't understand why they had to close them off. They're open spaces, why do you have to rope them off??? Lots of police everywhere to make sure no one crosses the lines. Could get up close to the Korean Memorial - though I don't think we were supposed to.

This is the best I could do with the Thomas Jefferson memorial.

I decide, as I'm up this far already, to go over the bridge to Arlington Cemetery. This was actually on my list of things to do, so,that's good. It's just soooooo hot. Cross the Potomac, which is a really wide river. Up and into the cemetery. Sit for a bit in the entrance area - air conditioned! Up and through.

The John F. Kennedy and Jackie O graves - they're doing work here so they're partially closed off too.

Back to cool off in the entrance area - which also has a gift shop - before heading down to catch the Metro. Another confusing train system. I worked out I needed to go to U Street but wasn't sure how to go about it. Went up to information and asked how to get to U Street. Information Man said, "get a ticket to U Street." Yeah, thanks for that.

They have a card system here to where you buy a credit card type thing and keep it topped up with money. So if you want just a temporary paper ticket, it costs $1 for that!!! It's only $1.70 for the ride but it costs $3 - $1.70 ticket, $1 extra for paper ticket, and I'm guessing 30 cents tax!

So onto the train. Off at U Street and to one of my must-dos of Washington - a chilli dog from the place Obama went to when he arrived in Washington - Ben's Chili Bowl. It's famous and they make vegetarian chili dogs.

The place is buzzing - crowded but moving along. Order a veggie dog with veggie chili and onions. Sit and wait, not too long.

And here it is...

Looks...a lot worse than it tastes! It is delicious. I did worry when one of the waiters walked past as it was being served to me and he asked me if I wanted a drink. I said I had water and he got me a cup of ice to pour it into. I was a bit worried he thought it was going to be way too hot and I would need ice. But it was fine. And yummy.

Back into the Metro for the next stop (and another on my to-do list that wasn't affected by the shutdown, except now there were a LOT of people there) - the International Spy Museum.

This was really cool. You were taken by lift to the Covers and Legends room were you pick a cover identity to memorise. I went with Carol, 42, from Santa Monica. an architect visiting Russia...

From there, you went through all the different displays, many of which were interactive - spot the threat and the innocent, pick the man in disguise, listen and send a message in code, etc. really cool stuff.

They had displays of hidden cameras, recorders, weapons - in all manner of things - cigarette holders, kids toys. Here are gloves, a torch, umbrella, newspaper.

They show the history of spying, right back to the Trojan horse. The use of pigeons as message carriers, Cold War spies, videos of interviews with 'retired' spies, female spies, poisons to take if you're caught, and so on. There was so much to look at and do. It was great.

Towards the end, there's a display on 50 years of James Bond villains. This was fabulous. They had costumes, props, video clips, heaps of stuff, all with Bond and Bond villains. The whole thing was really well done and, like a lot of these places, you could spend days in there looking at everything.

Just around the corner was Ford's Theater, where John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln. He didn't die here. The theatre was not a nice place and they didn't think it right that he should die here so they carried him to a house across the street, where he died the next morning.

This was closed!! Don't know why, it's not a government park.

This was as much as I could see...

I asked the lovely girl at the desk if the theatre was right behind that door behind her and couldn't we just peak in. She laughed and said she couldn't even get in. I laughed and said I was giving to tell Australia she was the person who locked up America. She laughed again, thankfully.

Back to the hotel, turn on the TV to the news that some loony has tried to take on a White House barricade with her car and has been shot. Great. Thankfully I was nowhere near all the action.

I head back to the Metro to go a few stops up, to Union Station to go on a Monuments by Moonlight drive - around as many of the lighted monuments as we can. We set off and coma number of loops of the city, looking at all the sights, and it's all very pretty. We have to go round about ways coz half thencotynos blocked off, thanks to the loony earlier in the day.

Here are some of the sights...

The Capitol...