DC Trip 2023 - Day 01

 

Alexandria, VA - Old Town.  This was where we stayed in the DC metropolitan area.  The hotel we planned to stay at was about a block's walk from the Metro station, and had been chosen for easy access to Washington DC.  I figured that if we could easily commute into the city from a nearby suburb, we'd be able to avoid the need for a car while in the city - and I was right.

But first....

Since I hadn't heard back from one of my TG friends and that the other was at a Cosplay Convention, I decided that I would make this trip as Mario.  This would be an advantage for me, because it was too cold (save for the last 2 days of our trip) for me to wear the skirts and dresses I love wearing when presenting as Marian.  So I packed my bag only with Mario's clothes and stayed the night with RQS the day before our trip to DC.

Thursday morning came, and we were off to DC.  We took an Uber to Penn Station, but the driver didn't know enough to drop us off on West 33rd Street, in the designated area for Uber/Lyft pickups and drop-offs.  So we ended up getting out of the car on 8th Avenue - something I dislike when dealing with baggage.  Our next stop was the Amtrak waiting area, but we didn't have long to wait.  We were able to board the train within 20 minutes of our arrival.

Those who take Amtrak know that most trips tend to take longer than scheduled - save for trips along the Northeast Corridor.  This section of the national railroad network is controlled (mostly) by Amtrak, and has a reasonably high number of on-time trains.  For a 11:35 am departure, we knew that we'd be in DC around 3 pm - and we were not disappointed.  But then, it was time to find a cab to take us to Alexandria.  Unlike the outside chaos at New York's Penn Station, things at DC's Union Station are calm and reasonably organized.  It was easy for us to find a cab to get us where we needed to go.  So we headed to our hotel, checked in, and relaxed for a while.

Around 5:30, we departed the hotel and walked 1 block to the Metro.  We met RQS's cousin (and his wife) at Hot 'n Juicy Crawfish in the Adams-Morgan section of town, and had a great time.  But all too soon it was time to go back to the hotel.  It was nice for the cousin to offer to drive us back - and we got into a friendly, animated, but not agitated conversation. (When talking about the GOP and its attacks on our freedoms to control what is done (or not) to our bodies, I mentioned where I stand on transgender issues.  Luckily, both RQS's cousin and his wife lean left of center.)  When we got back to the hotel, the cousin's wife made sure to give us an extra friendly hug - as a way of telling us that they really enjoyed our company, and want to see us both again soon.

National Zoo

 

Monday was a trip to the National Zoo.  And the ape above was continually having fun with the people on the other side of the plexiglass shield.  The fellow above would retreat to the back of his "cage" for a while, then run up to the plexiglass, make a loud noise by banging on the plexiglass, then returning to the back of his area.  You should have seen the reactions children were making as he rushed up to scare them.  He was having fun with us, and we were enjoying it.

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This Zoo visit would be the first one for me in DC.  And I was glad that RQS made all the arrangements for us to have times entry passes, as I never would have thought of this.

We took the Metro to the Zoo's neighborhood, then walked the 4 long uphill blocks to the zoo.  Once inside, we followed the path downhill to several exhibits including Cheetahs, Pandas, Lions, Elephants, and the Great Apes.  Most of apes couldn't give a hoot about the people looking at them.  But when one looks at these apes carefully, one can see the thread of common genetic ancestry that binds our species together.  (I'd love the word "humanity" here, but it wouldn't be appropriate to use it for another primate.  Yet, one can see a certain something in their eyes for which I don't have adequate words to describe.) For me, seeing these apes was the highlight of this visit. Yet, when I think of them, I wonder if they feel "caged" being in this artificial environment.

When we got to the end of the Zoo's downward path, we found out there was no shuttle to bring us back to the top of the hill.  Although a shuttle was marked on the zoo's maps, it stopped running because of the pandemic, and no one knew when or if the shuttle would return.  So we hoofed it back ip the hill and to the exit, taking breaks along the way to cool off.

After we left the zoo, we went to a restaurant I noticed on the trek to the zoo.  If you're ever in DC, go to this restaurant (Hot N Juicy Crawfish) and order the "Get your feet wet" combo.  You won't be disappointed. Sadly for us, their Manhattan outpost has closed.  So we'll have to revisit this place the next time we're in DC.)  Unlike our disappointment with the prior night's Ethiopian restaurant, this restaurant was "Fan F'ing Tastic!"  YUM!!!!   The two of us chowed down on a bucketful of tasty seafood, and got out of the place for $60.  How could you beat that?

On the way out, we found that RQS had lost her cell phone.  After she started looking for it inside the restaurant, I decided to ring the phone.  After a couple of tries, someone at the zoo answered it.  So it was back to the zoo to pick up the phone.  Arriving at the gate, we used the intercom to call the park police, and we were driven to the park police station to pick up the phone, then back for us to exit the park.  This incident showed us that we could work well together in a moderately stressful time, as we could keep our cool when things could get totally screwed up.