My First Real Vacation: Wrapping it Up
April 9, 2011
This morning was a whirlwind tour of a few places that I’d never visited. I trekked up the Metro to Metro Center, then walked over the the Spy Museum. Remember how I said that early morning tourism is awesome? Well, I got to the Spy Museum around 10AM and there was no line. I decided to spring for the interactive Spy Adventure thing in addition to the general admission, and it was worth the extra money. You get to do an interactive mission in the fictional region of Khandar and see some of the “real” things that spies do. It was interesting. The museum itself was also a good investment; I’m glad that I went.
After that, it was across the street to the National Portrait Gallery and Gallery of American Art, which were (I think) the final two Smithsonian museums that I had never visited. Not much to say about that. Anyway, after that it was a little after 1PM, so I grabbed lunch and headed toward the national mall, where I had been avoiding because of the huge number of tourists. On the way, I stopped at the National Aquarium, which, weirdly enough, is in the basement of the Department of Commerce building. It was not that great; definitely not worth the $10 I paid to get in, but you win some and you lose some.
Post-disappointment, I headed over to the National Museum of American History to sneak a peek at the Stradivarius violins. They are beautiful.
Then it was over to the National Mall for some people watching, which is where this story of the trip to DC ends. My flight back home leaves at 6AM and the cab is picking me up at 4:15 (the last subway train for the night leaves at 3:15 and doesn’t start up again until 6, so that wasn’t really an option because I hate sitting at airports for hours). Pictures will be up on Facebook eventually…I know the plan for when I get home is to have a nap. And some home-cooked food.
Overall, traveling by myself has been a great experience. I’ve talked to people from all over the country (and Canada) and gone on my own schedule. I’ll definitely be taking more solo trips in the future.
**No pictures tonight. The camera’s already packed up. They’ll go into a future post**
