Washington Behind Closed Doors...Day 1 Review

As I write I am looking out my hotel bedroom window. It's Saturday morning, March 14th. Immediately across the street is St. John's Church, often referred to as the "Church of the Presidents". By taking advantage of a recession time special offer and a complimentary upgrade through a friend of my wife's, Jean and I are ensconsed at the famous Hay Adams Hotel on Lafayette Square, literally across the street from the White House. In fact, we are so close to Mr. Obama's house that if I was even a very average golfer a reasonable shot with a five iron would land my golfball outside his front door. What makes staying at the Hay Adams even more exciting for us is that the President and his family stayed here for a couple of nights before officially moving into the White House.

Jean and arrived in to Washington's Dulles airport (I still haven't figured out if it was named after former CIA Chief Allen Dulles or his brother, former Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles) on Thursday evening, March 12th. Dulles is an ugly airport and about a 30 minute drive from downtown Washington. The other major Washington airport is Reagan National, which is much, much closer to town and the one into which, our cab driver reliably informed us, the politicians fly. He also told us that flying into Reagan typically costs a few hundred bucks more than flying into Dulles. Good to know.

On the trip from the airport to our hotel, our cab driver, an Indian man who previously lived in New Jersey, pointed out the landmarks and famous buildings that could be seen in the darkness...the Kennedy Center, the Watergate Hotel and finally the White House. Friday morning, March 13th, we slept in until 10:30am. Remember, our bodies were still on west coast time so the first morning we had a little readjusting to do. Then it was on to the sightseeing.

As you walk out the front door of the Hay Adams you are surrounded by history. The Church of the Presidents is directly across the street. If you look over your right shoulder, the magical and awe inspiring sight of the White House is fully visible in all its glory. Regardless of the time of day or night there are always people to be seen congregating at the railings bordering the property; tourists snapping pictures (include us in that category), some lobby group or politicial action party protesting against something or regular Washingtonian's strolling past on their way home or to happy hour. Later in the morning, Jean and I walked around to the opposite side of the property and took some pictures of the south lawn of the White House and the place from where Marine One collects the President when he is being flown out to Andrews Air Force base to take a trip on Air Force One.

Immediately behind the south entrance to the White House, and within a few hundred yards of its railings, is the National Mall. Completely dominating the landscape is the Washington Monument. Built in honor of the country's first President, the sand colored obelisk was completed in 1884 and its stands 555 feet tall. Surrounded by a circle of huge American flags, flying from plagpoles dozens of feet high, the monument is awe inspiring both in its construction and imagery. As I turned and looked over my right shoulder, images from a dozen different movies flashed across my mind. Off in the middle distance is the unmistakable and beautiful sight of the Lincoln Memorial, a beacon of democracy and symbol of all things good about America and her ideals. The famous reflecting pool that lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II memorial is today a worksite where dozens of maintenance men are sweeping gravel, sand and dust across the broad expanse of the empty pool, no doubt getting it ready for the advent of spring. As you walk the length of the pool between the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Memorial you can't but think of Dr. King's famous march on Washington in August 1963 and the famous "I Have A Dream" speech that he gave from the steps of this wonderful monument. At the top of the steps you enter the body the Memorial itself and there in front of you sits President Lincoln is all his magestic glory, a face carved in humility, the father of black emancipation and savior of the Union at the time of its greatest danger.

At this point, Jean and I couldn't take anymore in, so we prepared for an evening of exploring the nightlife of Washington. After an aperitif at a cool, trendy wine bar called "Cork" (that had an impressive collection of French and Old World wines by the glass, we had a couple of glasses of Cremant), we ate at a traditional Greek restaurant called Mouraya on Connecticut Avenue. Today, we head to Capitol Hill, the National Museum of American History, the Vietnam Memorial and a couple of pubs I am sure.

More tomorrow.