Have always wanted to visit this area, but has been putting it off mainly because my wife (Rosemary) is not a huge fan of what this area has to offer. With the “forced” PTO at Cisco Systems, Inc. and my SouthWest Travel Funds (which were set to expire soon), I decided to do a 6-day trip to this area. I am glad I did.
Some thoughts from the trip:
(01) The Baltimore Inner Harbor is a very nice place to people-watch. There were quite a few street performers also. I enjoyed it.
(02) Man, the National Mall area is huge! My poor feet was sore for 2-3 days after the intense walking I did in Washington D.C. It was well worth it, though. I probably should have worn a good walking shoes. My original plan was to move around in the car, though my research told me that parking is not going to be easy. After 1 hour of searching, I parked in a residential area after a careful checking of signs (or so I thought!). When I returned at 4.25 PM, what do I see on the windshield? A 30$ parking ticket left there at 4.23PM! A good souvenir though!
(03) The Lincoln Memorial has some fantastic views.
(04) I wish the entire National Mall Area is a bit more well-maintained. I am referring to the grass and walkways. The buildings were all immaculate (especially the Library of Congress). Lot of random construction and not-so-great-looking grass and surroundings. Also, the Reflecting Pool looks like it needs some cleaning.
(05) The staff at the museums were very friendly.
(06) Should have booked 6 months in advance for the White House tour. But as I mention above, this trip was planned in a hurry and did not provide me the opportunity for such a booking.
(07) Philly Cheesesteaks!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Pat’s and Geno’s. I ate 3 sandwiches in one sitting! Though the restaurants are in a so-so neighbourhood, the drive down is worth it.
(08) Thoroughly enjoyed the drive through Maryland (e.g. Annapolis) and Delaware (e.g. Dover). A very beautiful area of the country, with only mild traffic (compared to California). Annapolis is one of the cutest towns I have seen in US.
I put photos from my travels in my Orkut and Facebook pages …