Day 3- Exhaustion, Metrorail,Thomas Jefferson, and a Beatle...

The temperature outside was more pleasant today, but still HOT! The humidity had lifted a bit so walking wasn't so bad......

Things I've observed:
Living in the city is like being a pack mule......one must walk EVERYWHERE.....even to your transportation...and carry EVERYTHING.....and I'm not talking the 10 ft walk to your garage or driveway....2 or 3 BLOCKS...and these aren't small blocks!! And if you ride Metrorail, you have to walk down into the bowels of the earth and figure out what ramp you need to stand on....it's all quite simple and the signage is GREAT....but then they go and do things all wonky during rush hour which can confuse the little suburbanite that I am.....

Trip 1- almost a mile to Bed, Bath, and Beyond this a.m. and schlepping my haul back almost a mile to the apt....
Trip 2- Hauling myself to the U St. metro station almost a mile away.
Trip 3- Capitol South metro to Library of Congress- best walk of the DAY.....plus it's RIGHT there when you get off the Metro ! :-)
Trip 4- Reverse the trip except get off at Columbia Heights Metro- Right next to Target for today's grocery run..... (yesterday's foray to the only close-by market.....organic= REALLYSUPERDEEDUPER expensive!!)
Trip 4- Carry two soup cans, dozen eggs, butter, spaghetti sauce, pasta, salsa, tortillas, cheese, and a bottled water almost a mile back home......doesn't sound like a huge grocery list....but felt like 100 lbs growing exponentially as I trekked back to the apt.

I've done mini-journeys like this for three days.....makes me appreciate my 10 ft. walk to the car in my garage......and my ginormous Kroger trip AND Sam's trip AND any other errands I want to run and throw into the car to haul home and schlep 10 ft. from my garage...

In anthropologist mode, I realized that EVERYONE up here looks unhappy.....scowls, serious looks, or sheer exhaustion is what you see....and I found myself feeling the same way......tired, hot, and exhausted.......However.....the beauty for me is seeing all of the amazing sights that surround me. In talking to people who live here, you realize how much they take it for granted and cease to notice it after a while....and get caught up in the busyness of their lives....which up here is a lot of hard work!!

Not that I'm not always thankful for home, but boy does this experience teach you to appreciate having your car 10 ft away from you!!! :-)

If I ever wanted a Harry Potter power, today I was wishing I could apparate.....or for a little floo powder.....hmmmmmmm....wonder what Obama would have thought if I flash-banged out of the White House fireplace??! :-)

The best part of the day however was the Library of Congress....I cannot even express to you how immense and beautiful this building is.....the craftsmanship that went into making it along with the incredible collection donated by Thomas Jefferson to replace what the Brits burned was the highlight of my day! I can't wait to go back and get a "reading " card so I can actually go IN to the famed Reading room...if you've seen National Treasure 2, you'll know what i'm talking about....

Then as we toured, we saw a major event setting up in the main lobby of the LOC....turns out that my invitation must have gotten lost in the mail....b/c the night before Paul stopped by the LOC to get the Gershwin Award.......oh you know Paul..........as in "Sir Paul"......as in PAUL MCCARTNEY OF THE BEATLES!!!!!! And he was performing TONIGHT at the White House!!!!! Oh for that knowledge in advance and oh how I wish I knew what strings existed to be pulled!! So after trying unsuccessfully to wheedle out of the staff what they were setting up for....I flat out asked (y'all know me!), if the event was for Paul.....I got a wink and "we can't say"....which pretty much told me YES it was for Sir Paul and I was being shuttled out of the location as I was too lowly to stand in his presence....I did try to tell them my invitation must have been lost.....but I think my touristy look gave me away.....oh well.....I can at least say I stood in the room that Paul had been in less than 24 hrs ago....That's something, RIGHT???