Weekend in DC

Spent this past weekend in Washington, D.C. visiting with an old friend and his fiance, who were likewise in town to visit his brother. Paul (said friend) and Teresa were recently engaged, and seem as happy as can be. His brother, John, and his wife Jaimie have two great kids--Crister (4) and Annika (somewhere between 1 and 2)--and seem to be doing very well. And they were so generous as to allow me to stay with them, providing a level of hospitality I do not often experience--thank you, John and Jaimie!

I took an early morning Saturday train, and this was really my first time out of the city since arriving 6 months ago. The train ride was not generally spectacular, though there were some amazing scenes as the sun was coming up. Arriving in Washington's Union Station, I then took the Metro out toward Alexandria Virgina, where John and Jamie live. Let me just say that the DC Metro is really quite ingeniously designed, incredibly clean, and even had padded seats. Though it doesn't have the character and bustle of the NY subway and is a bit more expensive, it seems comfortable and convenient.

In a stroke of luck, Brother Paul, a former teacher at my high school (Bellarmine Prep) now lives on the East Coast and visits John occasionally; and this Saturday morning he'd decided to come down from Baltimore for a visit. It was great to see him, reminisce a bit, talk politics (he's not a fan of the current crop), and get another taste of his great facility with language. I think the first time I really began to appreciate language and how words can be used was in his World Cultures history class. He now runs the library at a Catholic middle school an hour outside of Baltimore and does not miss teaching one bit!

We eventually headed into DC, since it was my first time in the area, and made it to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, which would have been so cool to visit as a kid, and was just as amazing (in a different way) as an adult. After a very nice meal at a lovely Indian restaurant, we walked the Mall and saw many of the monuments at night, which is the best way to see them according to some. I most enjoyed the Lincoln Memorial--it's huge doric columns, subtly wonderful murals, and well-chosen excerpts from Lincoln's many speeches. Of course, the Gettysburg Address, but also his Second Inaugural Address, given mere weeks before his assassination. It is a mastery of American statesmanship, acknowledging the hard-fought ravages of the Civil War to both sides, bearing the burden of such sacrifice and uncertainty on his shoulders, and longing for the peace that would only come after his death. I was struck by my experience of it for the rest of the weekend!

Sunday was spent in almost total leisure (besides a woeful game of tennis), which was actually very nice. A trip to mass, a quick jaunt around Alexandria, a fresh Thai meal, and a frenzied trip back to Union Station rounded out the weekend. Just one hiccup: on the way home, we were delayed on the tracks for almost an hour in the middle of nowhere in Delware; when we resumed, we were slowed due to a signal problem, and I arrived home just after 2am. Thanks, Amtrak!