A Week Later My DC Trip

Last week I went to DC again. On this trip I planned to get a SmartTrip card so I could just add money to it whenever I am in town. Unfortunately for me even though I love to quote the line "Reading is fundamental." when it is evident that someone didn't read instructions. I bought the wrong type of card. All of the Metro employees that I had to go to in order to fix MY mistake were very friendly & helpful.

I wanted to tour the area around White House & the Memorials. To do the area justice I probably needed more than a few hours. I walked to the Washington Memorial and sat in the shade, because it was a very hot day. So I really didn't do much but people watch and drink water.



I did buy a few post cards at the store that is at Washington Memorial & mailed them before I left town. I'm just mad that I didn't keep at least 1 of my favorite postcards for myself. I guess I have to go back & get another one.

Arlington Memorial is a stop right before the airport and I took a quick walk around there as well. I just stayed close to the entrance. I guess I need to concentrate on 1 thing on these short day trips. I did find that there is a tour bus that I can get off at various places in that area including Arlington Memorial and then board another tour bus. So maybe if I don't have to walk so much to get to each place I will get to see more.

Thursday Day Trip

Well, I did another Quick Trip, and no it wasn't a ride on MARTA to Buckhead. I have wanted to eat a chili half smoke from a well known DC landmark (<-- see link) for quite some time. And I planned my trip around eating there. Everything else was secondary. Oh, so that-- is near there-- ok maybe I'll go there. (<--How I thought it out in my head & when printing directions from google.)

I took the yellow line train to the U street Metro station from Reagan National Airport. It's a straight shot. The fare after 9:30a.m. was only $1.60 and the return trip would have been about $1.95 since it was going to be after 3pm. I got a Day pass, which is $9.00, and I got my $ worth.

One of the secondary places that I included in my planning was the African American Civil War Museum, because it is also a few steps away from the U Street Metro Station. I went to school in Texas, so I never got that history lesson. The museum is in a small space, but the presentation by the Curator made the museum experience more memorable than my meal. Except for that moment that I was sitting there thinking, OMG I might have to trip over 2 rows of college freshmen to get to the restroom. Uh oh, I don't KNOW where the restroom is. Just breath...Whew, emergency diverted. That's what I get for eating a chili sausage before 11am.

I stayed in the U Street Historic District, and followed part of the African American Heritage trail that includes buildings in that district. Just walking in the area, seeing a black owned businesses that have been in business for 40 to 50 years was interesting and heartwarming for me. I also spent some time at the Thurgood Marshall Center/12th Street Y this YMCA is where our first black Justice met with other lawyers when planning the landmark desegregation case. My trip may have been boring to some, but even though history was not my favorite subject when I was in school. This trip was so interesting that I will probably go back to DC & take some of the other self guided tours on this trail. I have the booklet for planning with maps of each area. Actually, DC has so much history African American and otherwise, so day trips don't provide enough time to see much. But I'll do what I can do.

On the plane home, I happened to be seated next to a man that said when he was in high school he used to go to Ben's for chili dogs before it was famous. He said it was just a hang out for black teens. And he to kind of gave me a little history about DC that isn't at one of the monuments. So even the "middle seat" flight was interesting. I really hate middle seats. LOL

Tourist in ATL

What's that?! Yes, I know I live in Atlanta, but sometimes looking at your hometown like a tourist is a good thing. Haven't you ever had visitors and then suddenly hit all the at home attractions in a few days? And or realized that it has been years since you even drove past some venues.

Some I think are overpriced, but now with the internet it's easier to find bargains. Join them on Twitter or Facebook. If you don't want all their info in your timeline, open a Twitter account specifically for planning your trip & then join those pages. Then you can log in periodically to see when they have specials. Regarding your hometown & or somewhere you plan to travel, the attractions that are year round might have a cheaper fee during non-standard tourist times to attract locals. Some of our museums & the aquarium have happy hours and or music to lure you in and the prices vary. Knowing when those discount times are might allow you to visit more places. Or if it's where you live then you can do something out of the ordinary. An annual membership might be the thing for you, because the attractions have special events that are free to members.

Back to your regularly scheduled program. If you find yourself in Atlanta on a Wednesday evening between now and the end of September there is a free concert at Centennial Park. Wednesday Wind Down each week there are different artists that perform. It's an outdoor concert that is a wonderful way to get together with a group of friends with a cooler and a basket of food with music. Or if you like people watching going alone to listen to the music is great too.

The park is easy to get to from our Five Points Marta Station or if you drive there is parking close by (just some of the prices are much more than $4 RT train fare). Some Wednesdays are more crowded than others. The regulars that attend get to the park early so they can get a seat right in front of the stage. And of course it also depends on who is performing. But I've found that sitting outside of the amphitheater in the park allows you to spread out more and still enjoy the music.

Also, if you really plan on playing tourist the other venues near the park are the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, and Georgia World Congress Center for someone attending a convention. Or if you work in the area remember Tuesdays & Thursdays there is Music @ Noon. Ahh so many things to do, so little time. Enjoy!

Tourist in Chicago

This is the first in my "fast trip" series of posts. Chicago is such an interesting city to me. I guess in part because of the river that flows through the city. I know that there are other U.S. cities with rivers, but they aren't Chicago. Maybe I'm also intrigued with its attachment to Lake Michigan. Also it meets my requirements for a "fast trip."

On my last trip to Chicago I decided that I wanted to take a boat tour of the city. The most interesting to me at the time was the Architecture Cruise. I'm sure the Fireworks Tours & Sunset Cruises are exciting, but I hadn't planned to be in the city beyond 6:00 PM. I'm not sure how many different companies there are that offer cruises, and each company has many different theme cruises. In the various brochures there was everything from a Chicago in the Movies tour, to tours for beer lovers and evening Jazz tours. I think most have an Architectural Cruise of some sort. The walk up fare for the cruise that I took was $25 and it was a 75 minute tour. For those that plan ahead almost all of the companies have an online discounted fare.

I didn't realize how many buildings were built within the last few years. Many of the new buildings are residential, and very expensive places to live. The tour guide of course was funny and I think the jokes got cornier as we went along. The perspective from the boat of many of the buildings is different from just walking or driving through the city. Of course I couldn't help but envy the people that lived in the buildings that had parking below for their boats/yachts.

Getting to the dock for the tour was amazingly easy. From Midway airport I caught the Orange Line train to State/Lake station I already had a transit card from a previous trip, but round trip on the train is less than $5.00 to downtown & back. You can purchase a transit card, pick up a bus and rail map and get information all there at the airport Midway Orange Line station.

What I discovered waiting for the cruise to start is that the water taxis are an option for a quick ride on the river & much cheaper than the cruises. Of course it's without the commentary, but a week and a half later I don't remember many of the buildings mentioned in the tour. I might try the water taxi the next time I go and catch one to Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. There are soo many things to do in the city. A tourist really could spend a LOT of money. I might have to go back with a plan to highlight some of the free things to do there. Oh like maybe transportation & food for $20 or less in a day. That will take some planning. It can't be spur of the moment.

Hmm where will the next "fast trip" take me and what will I do? I hope you stop by to find out. Hopefully my son will bring back my camera & I can include some pictures as well.