Summer 2012 - Day 2

My travels really messed with my normal medication schedule, so I awoke on Day 2 feeling really freaking weird. Friend's Husband was making omelets, which were not yet ready, so I showered in the second bathroom, then dressed, all the while feeling very out-of-it. I dressed, and emerged to eat my omelet and drink coffee, but realized that I was used to Bay Area Coffee, and that this was not normal. See, Bay Area Coffee just means that the coffee is rather strong, and apparently, coffee in other parts of the US is not, so I needed a second cup. Friend arrived home later, from running, and we all consumed breakfast and talked.

Eventually, we set out for the Metro, and were on the train to downtown DC to go to the Post Office. The Metro station that we got out at was by a building named for my cat, reminding me of just how remarkable that little guy really is.

Then we passed by some people working for the "Microsoft Store" and we got free pens and yo-yos. When we got to the post office, I dropped a letter in the mail to my roommate, then we went through the metal detectors and got inside.

First, we stopped at a tourist shop so I could procure some basic DC souvenirs, including a Seal of the United States of America shot glass, marking the fact that I had been to the United States, but not DC, so much. We then went over to see of we could go up into the tower for free, and we could. We took some trips around ropes, and then into an elevator to the 9th floor. There, we could either take a smaller elevator, or go up the 132 stairs to the top of the tower. Since I didn't trust the other elevator riders to follow the "8 people maximum" rule on the elevator, I suggested that we take the stairs, and we did. We paused briefly at the bell-area, then continued up the staircase for what started to seem like an eternity until I found the end of the stairs. I got some good photos of DC from all four directions, and we were ready to go down.

This time, I wanted to take the elevator, because I dislike going down stairs. Friend's Husband took the stairs while Friend and I waited for the elevator to the 9th floor. Then we took the other elevator to the 1st floor, or maybe it was the 2nd, whatever.

Friend and I lost Friend's Husband, so we just stood in the middle of the tables at the food court until I decided that I needed to go off and find a water fountain. I found one, then returned to find Friend and her Husband, and we decided to leave the building. Our next destination was to be the National Archives, where we saw a copy of the Magna Carta, but skipped the most famous documents due to the huge-ass line to see them. We went into the exhibit area and saw a bunch of other old documents, including the Homestead filing of Charles P Ingalls (ZOMG, I totally read about when he filed that, OMG OMG! And I was really looking at it! EEEEE!). We made it to the gift shop, where I purchased several important souvenirs, and finally made our way out of the building.

At this point, which was actually pretty late in the day, food was required, so we walked to a restaurant that, unlike other restaurants we passed, did not seem to be very well known or something. However, it was really good, and I was reminded of why it is good to have friends show you around a place. I had a lobster roll, and paid a pretty penny for what seemed like not a lot of food, but it was indeed yummy and filling.

I also wrote some postcards, but resolved that I should wait until Monday to send them, so that Roommate would not get the letter AND the post card on the same day. I also did not have stamps for the post cards, which would make sending them impossible. I shouldn't have had to type that last bit, but I totally did, and it isn't like typed words can be removed quickly from a computer.

We were on our way to the Metro when I said that maybe we could take a jaunt through Chinatown, since I love Chinatowns, and we did just that. DC has a small Chinatown, whereas the Bay Area has two whole Chinatowns, each with much more to offer than this one. So DC has a better airport tram, but we totally win the Chinatown contest.

We also went to a Target so that I could get some socks and random travel sized toiletries.

We were going to try to go to the Chocolate Bar, but it started raining, and we decided that we were too delicate to try to go downtown during the rain. This was ok with me, as I can be one lazy-ass $*%&$*#(@$^. Lots of time passed, in which I read all of my internet things. Having read the whole internet, I then looked at my money, and then decided to update my dating profile. The most important addition was the phrase, "I am awesome-sauce and I am a little afraid of my own ego....", which should bring ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD.

After all of this, bedtime happened, and Day 2 was done.