We went down to DC today to hang out with M's cousin for a few hours and check out the International Spy Museum. We usually just drive to the nearest Metro station and then take the Metro down to DC, but we decided that it would be easier to just drive down there. While that is probably true, it didn't make the drive suck any less. DC can be hard to navigate. I suppose as urban areas go, it's one of the easier ones, though. At least you have the logic of G Street being one block north of F Street and one block south of H Street. Or east and west. Whatever.
We did eventually find her cousin's hotel and a really good, and cost-free, parking spot reasonably close. We went to Chinatown, a mere two or three blocks away, for Dim Sum, which I guess is kinda like a Chinese brunch. They wheel around carts bearing a great many different dishes, and you pick and choose what looks good. There were two Chinese restaurants, right next to each other, serving Dim Sum (and about ten Chinese restaurants that weren't open yet.) We went with the one that had stroller-accessible ramps.
PrettyGirl sat at the table with us like a big girl in her high chair. She even got her own menu, which gave her something to play with while we dined. We ate a lot. So much that I didn't really eat much the whole rest of the day.
My fortune cookie said "You will have good luck and overcome many hardships." PG's said "You will always be surrounded by true friends."
We then went down to the Spy Museum to see if we could get tickets. We could, but we had to wait in line outside for a while because the lobby had gotten pretty crowded (probably a tour bus of people or something) and they needed to maintain some crowd control. M's cousin parted company with us at that point, as she had to get back to her hotel to get ready for the convention she was in town for. It was good seeing her.
The Spy Museum was OK. There was a lot of interactive stuff along with the displays of old spy paraphernalia and educational videos. But it was awfully cramped and full of people. PG started getting uncontrollably fussy about halfway through, so we got out of there.
M's cousin had given us her extra hotel key, so we went back to her hotel room and fed PG there and chilled a little before heading back home. It was easier finding our way out of the city, thankfully.
2 comments:
Interactive museum displays tend to irritate me. They feel like museum-lite. Of course I'm happiest in a museum by myself so I can read all the tags and linger over objects that interest and blow past all that don't.
I guess it depends on the demographic being targeted for interaction. I don't want to know about stuff at a fourth grade level, I want to know at whatever level my own knowledge stops. Selfish and self-centered? Yep.
I go to museums to see stuff in person, if I want to interact with video or audio I'll stay home and surf the tubes.
Is it trickier driving in D.C. than in Chicago?
From the little I've seen (or remember, at least) of in-town Chicago driving, I'm going to say no. Last year my company had a convention in Chicago, and it was a bit tricky to get to the hotel. And then we walked to a restaurant and had to go down a flight of stairs to get from one road to an intersecting road.
I think my problem is with city streets in general.
The good thing about the interactivity is that it kinda gave you a chance to think like a spy. I'll be getting into that a bit in my Nov. 6 post, actually. I forgot to mention something about the trip.
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