I had originally planned, after leaving NYC, to travel down the eastern seaboard, and to especially see the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Unfortunately, a tropical storm decided to visit the Carolina coast, as well. So instead of the Carolinas, I diverted my trip and went to Washington, DC, instead.
I arrived on Wednesday afternoon after a grueling 6 1/2 hour drive (the normal trip would be about 4 1/2 hours). However, I relaxed after I arrived at my hotel, one of the nicest of my entire trip (Thank you, Priceline!). That evening, I met up with Jake, a friend of mine from Dallas who's working in DC. We went to the National Mall and walked from the Lincoln Memorial, past the reflecting pool, to the Washington Monument, and then all the way to the Capitol Building. I hadn't been to the mall and all of its monuments since I was a little girl, and it was interesting being back. The Lincoln Memorial is really quite beautiful, and I found out that Lincoln's statue is 19 feet high.
I also liked seeing the Washington Monument reflected in the pool....it was a beautiful night, with an odd reddish sky that morphed into purple, and the obelisk looked stunning against it. Unfortunately, my pictures didn't turn out so well there; I couldn't capture the colors with my little snapshot camera. Oh, well.
We went to a fabulous Indian restaurant that night for dinner, called Rasika. Jake is a foodie like I am, and we partook in the 6-course Chef's tasting menu (with wine, of course). Everything was amazing, but the most surprising was the flash-fried spinach which was our first course -- I loved it! After taking one crunchy bite, the spinach disappeared in my mouth, reminding me of cotton candy, in a weird (but super-tasty) way. Everything was fantastic, including the wine pairings and our unusual cocktails which we'd had before we were seated for dinner. It was a really great night. Luckily, after all that wine, neither of us had to drive -- thank goodness for taxicabs.
The next day, after a late start, I caught the subway to the Capitol area (I just love public transportation!). I wandered past the Library of Congress, and then I went to the Capitol Building itself for a tour. It was interesting; I hadn't been there in years, and it's changed from what I'd remembered. It also was funny because I'd just read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, and much of the book takes place within the Capitol, so I was looking at the decor with those recent memories in my head. In the Crypt (no one is buried there), there are statues of men from each of the original 13 colonies. Since I live in Georgia, the tour guide pointed out the statue from Georgia: it was Dr. Crawford W. Long, the inventor of ether for surgical anesthesia. I almost fell over with surprise: One of the Emory hospitals is Crawford Long Hospital! I had no idea, really, that he'd be located in the National Statuary Collection.
Anyway, after I left the Capitol Building, I went to the Supreme Court Building. Unfortunately, it was getting ready to close for the day, and so all I really saw was the courtroom itself, which is very, very regal and beautiful. I'd hoped to take a tour, but missed the last tour of the day. Oh, well. So then I decided to walk to the National Botanical Gardens, which are on the other side of the Capitol. Unfortunately, with the tropical storm, it rained off and on all day -- and it started pouring as I left the Supreme Court. So I aborted my Botanical Garden mission, and instead went back to my hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.
As to dinner: several years ago, I started doing volunteer work providing pro bono medical evaluations for clients who were seeking political asylum in the USA. I've evaluated several people at this point, and I've assisted all of them in successfully gaining asylum. One of my clients was a man from Eritrea; he'd stowed away on an American ship, and was taken into detention upon arriving in the USA. We (the US government) kept him in detention for two years while he awaited his hearings. Three years ago, he successfully gained asylum. We've kept in touch inconsistently, and I knew he was in Washington, so I called him, and we met for dinner last night.
It was wonderful to see him! We had time to catch up, and Abraham is doing very well. He's gained 12 pounds from when he was in detention, and he looks healthy and happy. His English is excellent now. He's working as a taxi driver because he's starting school, and his previous job didn't offer him as much flexibility. He works hard, too, driving his taxi for 12-14 hours per day, 6 days per week, with Sundays off to go to church. I'm not quite sure when he'll find the time to study and go to school, but he assures me he'll just work "a little bit less". It is always really amazing for me to talk to him: he works so hard, and needs so little, and is so happy to be a free man in the USA.
It truly warms me to see him; I feel so fortunate have played a small role in his life. I wish I remembered more often the lessons that he has to teach: that life throws each of us difficult challenges. That it's the way we see the world which allows us to succeed or fail. That, unlike in some countries, each person in the USA has the freedom to achieve whatever he wants. That, if you keep walking one step at a time, you eventually travel very far from where you started. That we sometimes must sacrifice in the short-term to achieve our long-term goals. That no person or thing can provide us with happiness; only we can make ourselves happy. And conversely, that no one makes us unhappy; we do that to ourselves.
Anyway, it was an extraordinary evening. And then today, I packed up my car and left DC. Washington was my last stop on this journey. Right now, I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina, far away from the flooded coastline. And then tomorrow, it's back to Atlanta.
