DC – Day Two Summary
Exploring DC without a car is not difficult at all. The Metro makes everything easy. However, when you’re going about it all alone and wanting to try restaurants in areas you’d never been to, it is a little unnerving. I’m sure DC is safe, but you just don’t know where you should/shouldn’t go if you don’t live in a place.
So I started my second day with a ride to Pentagon City. My first stop was the DEA Museum. It was nothing too fancy, just a few rooms on the ground floor of the building, documenting the history of the war against drugs. Random photos and paraphernalia. I probably spent less than half an hour in there.
From there, I was in search of a delicious meal. A quick poking around on the iPhone found me walking down the road, under a freeway [only a little creepy because it was during the day], and up a hill. Beyond the Air Force Memorial was a fantastic Ethiopian meal waiting. I probably spent more time at the Air Force Memorial taking photos [see below] than at the DEA Museum!
The food was delicious, and there was enough food to feed another person. I ordered the dullet dish, which is chopped red meat, tripe, and liver seasoned with herbed purified butter, spiced chili powder (mitmita). It can be served raw, medium, or well done. It comes on injera with injera on the side. Very tasty! There’s also a little salad on the side, which is fantastic too. Balances all that meat on a platter.
Afterwards, I found myself wandering into DC and around the free museums. The Hirshhorn was fantastic and deserves an entry all to itself! The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which I never ended up actually getting to [Saw a special on the plane about it afterwards, so all is good!], was closed at the time, so I visited the Holocaust Museum down the street. Very graphic, very moving. I would have spent more time in there if I hadn’t wandered in just an hour before closing time.
In the evening, I enjoyed a meal with Leslie and Mike in Crystal City, as well as checked out their old place. They’ve since moved, so I’ll have to stop by again.
I was riding up, down and around on the Metro with little regard for how far things actually were. If it was here in the Bay Area, it would be the equivalent of me constantly taking BART to the East Bay! I refilled my Metro card several times, so it wasn’t cheap, but you do what you have to to get around!
