Washington D.C.: Cheap is Good, Free is Better

The western side of the Mall viewed from the Washington Monument

After my failed attempt at auditioning for the winter's rendition of Tarzan in B.C. put  our North American highlights tour on hold, we headed home to recuperate and set our sights on the east coast of the U.S.

One of the benefits of the said failure was the chance to experience an 'All American Thanksgiving', something Nic and I have been wanting to do since our first foray into the holiday back in Namibia (of all places) in 2012. It was there we met Kendall and Marge, and our fondness for all things American grew into a want for more.

Kendall kindly invited us into her home for the holiday weekend, where we were taken in by her husband Taylor and mother-in-law Trina. We were immediately a part of the family, and even more immediately warned of the dangers involved in Thanksgiving. The most inherent danger was explained to us as 'over-eating' at the first gathering, an 80 year old tradition on Kendall's dad's side, as it is highly offensive not to eat at the second sitting, which was to be at Kendall's grandmother's family home. The tradition is not 'over-eating', rather the family have been getting together to celebrate for the last 79 years and we just happened to be in town for the 80th, and getting carried away with the serving size was always a trap for young players.

The second warning was of a more political matter - discuss them at your own peril, or amusement! 

We may or may not have failed to heed these warnings, but it was a day of thanks nonetheless. There was more food put together than I thought imaginable, and the desserts were too good not to indulge in, even though every fibre in my body was telling me it wouldn't be a good idea.

American Thanksgiving in all it's decadence.

The rest of the holiday weekend was spent half feeling sorry for ourselves, half been thankful we had the opportunity to put our bodies through such an ordeal. Because after all, isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? I should add that we snuck in a private tour of the Library of Congress, guided by Taylor himself who had trained to be a docent there a few years back, along with a night on the town and a Bruce Springsteen cover band gig, rumoured to be the best in the world, and although they were pretty bloody good, they were no TS rendition of 'Dancing in the Dark' good!

The Library of Congress 

Sunday brought about a tradition I had been away from for far too long - Church! Yes Sunday is to be spent in quiet reflection and thought... on what your NFL team could be doing better, or have done better. Or better yet, how good your team is doing. And better still is taking yourself to your place of worship and experiencing it live. Thanksgiving had not only given us a chance to experience the American holiday in all its glory, but Kendall's Dad had also generously given his two members tickets to Kendall and Taylor, and Kendall had even more generously given her ticket to us. And Nic didn't get a chance to be generous and let me take the one ticket up for grabs, rather I took that burden upon myself and didn't look back.

Throw in that it was one of the biggest rivalry games in the NFL and I really thought it would be wise of me to put myself in harms way and try and enjoy the game. Redskins v Giants didn't disappoint, well if you are Giants fan it did, but who really cares about the Giants. 

When Nic and I have indulged in the American sports it is usually from the nose-bleeds, but not on this occasion. Prime time seats, under cover and centre field had me thankful I had chosen to take on this burden and tried to enjoy myself.

Don't mind if I do!

With the end of the weekend, the real world called Taylor and Kendall back, but Nic and I haven't really had that dilemma for a while now, so we spent the week on Washington's famous Mall.

This is where D.C. really comes into its own.

With walking stick in tow, we perused the multitude of museums, sights, memorials, galleries, etc. on offer all for the costly entry price of nothing! None of the buildings along the Mall have an entry fee, well none we were going to set foot in anyway. Some of the museums have ticketed exhibits but you really don't need to bother. The amount of information, exhibits, showpieces, etc. already freely available is mind boggling.

I made the comment to Nic that one way or another D.C. will ruin something for you. If you had never travelled before and D.C. was your first stop, I think you would find it hard pressed to ever enter another museum again on your travels. One might think that being free, the museums may be second rate, but that is about as far from the truth as America's gun laws are to being logical. Even with the amount of museums and places we have been to on our travels, we still felt the need to check out every nook and cranny of every place we stepped inside. Yes, a lot of the exhibits were on things we had already seen, or experienced, and we may not have been as amazed as a first timer, but if you hadn't travelled before, the information on show here would be astounding.

The picks of the bunch for us were the American History, the Natural History, the Air and Space and the Holocaust Museums. Fair to say they are all worth the price of admission!

Dorothy's shoes (American History Museum), The Holocaust Museum, the Original Wright Brothers Plane (National Air & Space Museum) and Julia Child's Kitchen (American History)

And then there is the Mall itself...

The walk from The Capitol all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial is amazing. The memorials and monuments along the way are all not to be missed. The views afforded from the top of the Washington Monument are some of the best we have seen to date. And yes, entry is free.

The Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial

There is just something about been more than 100 meters higher than any other buildings that makes the vantage point just that much better.

To the south is Virginia and the Potomac River, the north has a little place called the White House, but its the views to the East and West that are the breath-takers. The Washington Monument sits nearly smack bang in the centre of the Mall and the view down to the Capitol is amazing, with all the Smithsonian museums lining the green of the Mall. But the view westward towards the Lincoln Memorial is the winner for me. The Reflecting Pool, the WWII Memorial, the Monument itself and the surrounding gardens and grounds make for scenery you wouldn't imagine possible in the heart of downtown D.C. 

The views to the East, North and West from the top of the Washington Monument

A short hike from the Mall is that place called the White House, which is more than worth the detour, as is a day trip out to the zoo if you have the time on your hands. Again, like all good things in Washington it's free, so if you come away from it disappointed there is something wrong with you.

The star of the show!

If a trip to D.C. is on your radar, book the flight - you won't be disappointed. If museums are your thing, give yourself a good week to make the most of it. If museums aren't your thing, there is more than enough to keep you amused, and one of the best things about Washington is it won't break your budget.

The White House, The Jefferson Monument and The Capitol Building 

It's one of the best things about travelling - catching up with old friends who take you in and make you family. Kendall, Taylor and Trina made us feel a part of the family from the moment we walked in the door. Being in Washington for Thanksgiving was pre-planned but we would have never thought how much fun Washington could be, and it sure as hell wouldn't have been half as fun without the MacFarlands!

Cheers for putting up with us guys.