Washington DC part 3

I spent Sunday going to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, where my sister had a baby shower. I came along and went to a pizza bar/restaurant across the street from the baby shower with the father and grandfather to be. It was a lot of fun. We drank beer, had pizza and talked, mostly about sports. After that Louise and I went to the Torpedo Factory Art Center to kill some time before the Wisconsin @ Ohio State game and since it was raining, we decided to do something inside. The art center was really nice. There are three levels of art galleries/studios for artists that paint, sculpture, take pictures and frame them them and many more things.


Torpedo Factory Art Center


Louise and I then went to Union Street Pub in Old Town to watch the Wisconsin @ Ohio State game and to have dinner with two friends from high school, Doug and Emma Houghton. It was good to see them. We had tried to get together over the holidays when they were in Iowa, but our schedules didn't work out. The Union Street Pub was a good laid back place to have dinner. I had the fish and chips, which was really good. Below is the link to the Pub in case you are ever in Old Town Alexandria.



Union Street Pub


On Monday, March 7, I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in the morning while Louise was at work. I had not been to the Air and Space Museum since I went to DC as a kid. For those of you who didn't know, there is another Smithsonian Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport that I have never been to. Most people don't know about that museum because it opened within the last 10 years. The Air and Space Museum was everything I remember it to be like when I went there as a kid. So many things have changed with air flight over the years, it has been amazing. One thing that kind of saddened me walking thru the museum is that the next generation of US space flight won't be ready for years to come because after this summer they are retiring the shuttle fleet and we will be dependent on the Russians for space flight while we build the next space machine to send us to planets far far away. It seemed as though the commercial and military space flight areas hadn't changed very much since I had been there as a kid. Once they retire the shuttle fleet, one shuttle will be sent to Air and Space Museum, and I would like to go to go back to the museum to see that exhibit.

After going to the Air and Space Museum, I met Louise at the US Capital to go to the House and Senate galleries. I had gone to the galleries a couple of years ago. On Monday the galleries were open, but there was no business or speeches while we were there and so we left after a few minutes.

Monday night, Louise and I went to Dino, an Italian restaurant. I did the the course meal for $39. I had a salad, Lasagnette al Ragu, and Torta di Cioccolato e Espresso “Nessun Dorma” for dessert. I also had a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.Below is a link to the restaurant's website.

Dino

On Tuesday, March 8, I decided to go to the World War II, Vietnam, Korean and Lincoln Memorials while Louise was at work in the morning. I had been to these memorials before, but I always like going to these. The Parks Service is doing a major renovation on the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

I came back to Louise's apartment around noon, had lunch, and then Louise and I walked to the National Cathedral, which took about 20 minutes to walk. The National Cathedral is a very nice cathedral and reminded me of the ones I have seen in Europe, which is not surprising. Louise and I walked back to her apartment and I finished getting my stuff ready and then took the metro to National Airport. As expected, the metro was busy during rush hour. The flight home was uneventful, though I was happy that it was a direct flight. When I got home it had started to snow and it was the wet and heavy snow that most people don't like.

It was a very good trip. I had fun with Louise, Elisha, Josh, and Michal, and all of Louise's friends that I had seen before or met for the first time on this trip. I'm looking forward to my next trip to DC!!