About DC
Have I mentioned before how much I love living in the nation’s capital? I love that every time I come downtown, I drive right by almost every major national symbol that’s still around. The White House, the Washington Monument, the Capitol…they all lay themselves out before me when I drive along Constitution Avenue. If I’m coming in from another direction, I get the Jefferson Memorial and the Pentagon too. It’s just all so beautiful.
I grew up a smidge closer to Baltimore than DC, so sometimes I say I’m from Baltimore. But if I ever move away from here, I’ll say I’m from DC. Because I love my city, even if I live in the suburbs. (You can get away with that here, because most people live in the suburbs.) I am a DC girl, even if I’m not a DC resident. My phone number may be 703, but I represent the 202, baby.
Filed under daily life | Comment (1)On the Water
Right now I am sitting on the Potomac River. My kayak was fine, still there, a bit cobwebby after two weeks unused (I don’t have a cockpit cover), but fine. I got it halfway down the stairs by myself and I could have made it the whole way eventually, but fortunately one of the employees at the boathouse helped me out.
I have to say, one of my favorite things about living here is the views. I am sitting under a big tree that’s hanging over the river, and it’s very peaceful, but I can turn my head to the right and see both the Watergate hotel and the Washington Monument. My favorite view is driving up 395 into the city, when you can see the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial all laid out in front of you. It’s just beautiful.
I’m really enjoying my new Manta Ray paddle by Aquabound. It’s got a fiberglass shaft, so it’s much lighter than my old Flaire which had an aluminum shaft. I’ll probably keep it around as a spare, but the Manta Ray is nice. It’s going to take some getting used to, so I’m going to put the Sidekick back in my PFD pocket and get back to paddling.
Filed under kayaking | Comment (0)Birthplace of a Nation Tour
I have a question for those of you who live outside the National Capital Area (loosely defined as between Richmond, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland). Does this guided tour (
) look interesting to you?
My partner and I went to Turkey with Go Ahead Vacations in 2001, and we get their vacation catalog quite frequently. In fact, it’s a little too frequent - the catalogs are basically all the same. Today, though, we got a special “New Tours” catalog, and it included a tour called Birthplace of a Nation: Williamsburg to Gettysburg. For a nine-day vacation they are asking $1,999 which just seems really expensive to me. But it occurs to me that maybe it feels expensive because I’ve lived here my whole life. I have been to every stop on the tour at least once, and sometimes more than once. So I’m wondering - does that look like an interesting tour to non-locals? Would you pay for the convenience of having a packaged tour like this? (Obviously the whole thing could be done for less money if you stayed with friends, etc.) If money were no object, would you want to go on this tour?
Filed under travel | Comment (1)No Flat Tax for DC!
A friend of mine who is a resident of DC sent an e-mail to all of his non-resident local friends asking us to write to our senators on his behalf. I want to bring his request to a wider audience. Those of you outside the DC area may not realize this, but DC residents have no representation in Congress. Their only voice is Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is a “Delegate” in the House - she has no vote, meaning DC is subject to the whims of the federal government.
The latest bright idea to come up in Congress is from Kansas senator Sam Brownback, who wants to institute a flat tax for DC. As the chair of the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommitee for DC, he gets to use the city as his personal testing ground for tax reform. Both Eleanor Holmes Norton and DC’s mayor Anthony Williams are opposed to the idea, but without a vote it can go ahead anyway.
Statehood for DC may be a long time away; even getting a vote in Congress may be a long time off. This means that DC residents need our help! If you live in the United States but not in DC, you have a voice in Congress. To help those without a voice, find your Senator’s contact information and send an e-mail asking him or her to oppose Brownback’s plans for a flat tax for DC.
Filed under washington dc | Comments (2)Fall Cleaning
My spring cleaning is finally here, about six months late. I’m tackling my closet today. A organized it for me three or four years ago, and since then I’ve been stuffing clothes in every which way and letting them fall on the floor, etc. But today I am reorganizing, which first involves getting rid of stuff I don’t want. Some of these items are cute clothes that people might actually want, but I’m not taking the time to mess with them - they are all going to a thrift store. I also took clothes I haven’t worn lately (but don’t want to get rid of) out of my main closet and put them in the portable closet. I have put all the t-shirts in one area and the work shirts in another area and everything else in the third area. My next step is to swap my Things And Stuff and my pajamas, because the pajamas really should be where the Things And Stuff currently reside, so they are easier to access and don’t get as messy. Then I have to get all of my bags - work bags, backpacks, duffels - back up on top of the upper shelf where they all fell down from.
A comes back tomorrow! She e-mailed me this morning saying they were due into Union Station around 5:30 and would take the metro, and I immediately e-mailed back and said I would pick them up downtown. So she’s going to call me when the bus gets to Baltimore (the cruise started and ended in Bayonne, NJ) and then I can get ready to head into the city and hopefully not have to hang around too long out front - oh wait! I just realized I can park in that little lot off to the side and go stand out front, rather than waiting in the carpool lane for who knows how long. I think that lot is supposed to be for employees of somewhere-or-other, but I have parked there several times before without incident. I think as long as you’re not there too long, you’re fine.
Filed under daily life | Comment (0)From Minneapolis
I’m in Minneapolis! I had to change planes after all, which surprised me. If they’re going to put you at a different gate on a different plane with a different crew…why does it have the same flight number? Seems silly to me. I didn’t have time for much in the airport; by the time I got from one gate to the next (plus a bathroom stop) I only had a few minutes to sit before it was time to board again.
Flying out of National was pretty cool. 
I have only ever flown into it, and only once, so I hadn’t seen the view. I could see the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the WWII Memorial (which I have yet to see in person), the National Cathedral, the Watergate hotel, both the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and so forth.
This has taken me so long to write that it’s almost time to turn off electronic equipment again!
Filed under alaska | Comment (1)
