When I’m traveling, I usually try to milk a day for all it’s worth, going from one thing to the next without much of a break, until I collapse in a pile of exhausted accomplishment at the end of the day. It’s how I operate, and it’s tempered by Aimee’s presence when we’re traveling together, as she reminds me to take a rest every once in awhile, re-energize, and slow down. Apparently Scott is even more ready than I am to make the most of a day, and Saturday ended up being one for the books.
We rose around 6:30 and headed to the Library of Congress for some early morning research. We stopped for a bite at a little cafe nearby (one I would have been well served finding the day before, instead of settling for pretzels and trail mix from a snack machine before my tour) and were at the Madison Building right before it opened, at 8:30. We got our reader’s cards (my first, a replacement for Scott) and then visited the microfilm room, where Scott enlisted me to look up some old city directories for his book. I was inspired by the research I had done at the Freer/Sackler to look around in some directories for my own research, and found some intriguing stuff.
Around ten, we headed over to the Mall to join the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Not surprisingly, we were met by the sight of a sea of people. I couldn’t really tell where we were, or where we were supposed to be, or where we were going, but we cut in towards the middle through a gap in the fencing behind some porta-potties, and angled our way towards a spot with a bit of a view. We could see the stage, we could see the jumbotrons, and we could hear, which was I think more than could be said about a lot of people there. Judging from how long it took for the “Mythbusters”-led wave to reach us, I’d say we were abut 1/4 to 1/3 of the way from the front of the crowd, which wasn’t bad.
I’ve never been around so many people in one place, but the whole thing felt fun and communal and not as claustrophobic as I might have thought. I’m glad we stayed to the end – I wouldn’t have wanted to miss Jon Stewart’s closing bit or Tony Bennett’s – and while I was starting to flag a little from standing in one place, there were more than enough entertaining signs to keep me occupied.
The view from our spot:
We made our way to the Capitol South metro stop (along with a few thousand other people…), and then back in towards the center of town, where we changed trains and headed up to Columbia Heights to pay a visit to the newest 826 store, the week-old Museum of Unnatural History. Now I can really and truly say I’ve been to all eight 826 stores around the country, and though I hope they open more, they don’t need to do it anytime soon.
Photos from all eight stores here.
With lunch (empanadas) in our bellies and our minds full of unnatural history, we weren’t finished with the day yet, and headed back down into the crowds of downtown to catch The Social Network at a theater in Chinatown (or “Chinablock”). We enjoyed the film, and marveled at its ripped-from-the headlines freshness. To think I was at Harvard, and only partially aware of what was going on, that whole time.
I had scoped out Churchkey, a restaurant with a tasty menu and an impressive beer list, before flying out here, so I lead us to it, not far from our hotel, after we braved the crowds through the Metro, some parts of which were shut down due to the still surging crowds hours later. Churchkey was as packed as a Metro station (har har), but we managed to find a little ledge to rest our plates and pints on, and enjoyed dinner, cask ales, and the sight of Halloween costumed folks coming up the stairs and being carded. “Please remove your mask.”
We finished off the day by watching Liam Neeson joylessly knock off dozens of Albanian baddies in Taken, which was on TV when we got in. A strange end to a very long and enjoyable day.
