What's An Adventurer To Do But Rest My Feet...?

When I think back on my last few weekends, I see a series of rapidly moving, blurry images of DC. It's something like
trafficjammetrohockeyfriescrowdstreetfightfriends
beerrainmetrodancepartyfriendsmetrospanishsweat
parkinglotmetrorainstormfreezingconcertrainfreezing
dancepartyindianfoodskeeballtragedymetropizzabaseball

That being my mental state, I decided to force myself to slow down. After the Pirates/Nationals game on Sunday, which the Pirates lost sadly, I decided to avoid the crowded Green Line Navy Yard stop, even though I needed to get to Greenbelt to pick up my car. I figured I'd walk to the next stop or maybe go to Union Station, get on the Red Line, and then pick the Green back up at Fort Totten. I left the Navy Yard station at 4:30pm, and headed North. I didn't really know which street to walk on, I just new that if I walked towards the Capital, I'd eventually get to where I wanted to be. I found a sweet, empty Wendy's and bought a delicious chocolate Frosty shake (wow, Wendy's has come so far since I was a kid) and started merrily on my journey. I followed some other post-game pedestrians, and eventually found a sweet walking path under 395. I was a little weary, not being familiar with the neighborhood and knowing only that I was certainly not in the best neighborhood in which to lose track of myself. However, there were a lot of other baseball folks walking, so I figured I'd go with the flow.

Eventually, I found myself strolling past the Capital, which I hadn't visited since an ACORN-led protest in 2006. I forgot what a massively beautiful building it is. It seemed even more beautiful when I blocked out my knowledge of what happens inside. So I dawdled a little there, admiring all the foreigners and tourists excitedly taking pictures of the marble dome and view of the Washington Monument from a distance. I sipped some tepid, chlorinated water from a public fountain, and continued on a beeline path for Union Station. Only when I got there, I realized it was entirely too close to the Capital. I wasn't ready to stop walking yet. By this time, it was just past 5:00, and I figured the crowds on the Green Line would have dwindled. So I headed for Chinatown.

Again, let me remind you that I didn't really know where I was going. I just knew that if I got to 7th and G, I'd be near the Metro. I'm not too good at the whole NE, NW, SE thing that is required of navigating in DC. But I do have a pretty good sense of direction, even if I don't know what the streets I am walking on should be named. So I followed my instincts and ended up exactly where I wanted to be -- directly in the middle of an intersection of at least four streets, with no sidewalks in sight. Splendid. As I raced my way across the intersection Frogger-style, I paused for a moment on a median strip. A car approached, and I thought I saw the people inside waving. "What? Friendliness to strangers in DC?" No! Of course not. It was a carload of friends. "What are you doing here?" I screamed. It would have been more appropriate for them to ask me, seeing as they were at least enclosed in a vehicle and I was a flip-flopped pedestrian on a median strip at a massive intersection. "Do you maybe need a ride?" they asked, obviously entertained at my situation. I looked around. "Actually, that building over there is where my friend lives. I'll be fine." And with that, I sprinted across the last stretch of roadway and headed to 301 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, safe haven for the weary flip-flopped urban hiker.

After a half-hour chit-chat/water break, I was revived and resumed my trek, although from there it wasn't much of a journey. Within 10 minutes of leaving my friend's building, I was on a train headed to Greenbelt. But what an adventure it all was. Thanks to the sweet tools at MapMyRun. com I know my walk was just under 3 miles long. I think I passed through 3 different universes along the way. DC is one bizarrely diverse town. Pockets of this kind of people thrive amongst swaths of that kind of people. I was nearly ticketed for jay-walking by one cop and cheered on as I raced across a different street by another cop. What a strange town. It's nice to see it in the daylight at 3 miles an hour, rather than from underground at Metro-speed.