Meeting a TravBuddy in Washington

Photos from my April trip to New York City elicited several nice smiles from TravBuddy member Gejah. I noted she would soon be visiting the USA and so we began exchanging comments about places to see on her itinerary to New York, Washington, DC, and Niagara Falls. I had not met a TravBuddy member before. (The only time I had met people from an online community was back in 1994 when the Internet was still in its infancy!)  I'd enjoyed reading Gejah's blogs and thought it would be fun to try to meet Gejah and her family in person. They would be in Washington, DC, for only one full day, on Thursday. We arranged a meeting point at the United States Capitol Visitor Center.

I thought it would be an easy place for them to find and also a good starting point for them to see Capitol Hill and explore Washington.

I stood near the Statue of Freedom in the underground Capitol Visitor Center at 10:30 a.m. and, within a few minutes, I saw Gejah, identifiable by her TravBuddy button! We exchanged greetings and I also met her husband, Hans, and son, Mitchell. Picture taking at the statue was the next order of business. They had a full day planned. Using their map, I pointed out Washington sights they wanted to see, including  the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the FBI Building, and Georgetown.  

Time did not permit them to queue for a tour of the inside of the Capitol building, so we decided to take a walk outside. (The day was overcast, but rain from the previous day had held off.

) I was able to spend some time pointing out a few of the sights on Capitol Hill, including the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, the House of Representatives office buldings, the view down the National Mall, and, of course, the Capitol. The West Front of the Capitol is where the Presidential Inauguration took place in January. The visitors were very interested to see this side up close.

Continuing on down the Mall and Independence Avenue on our walk, we passed the United States Botanic Garden, National Musuem of the American Indian (a long line had formed to get in), and the National Air and Space Musuem. I suggested to Gejah that they visit the Air and Space Museum. They could continue on down Independence Avenue, I advised, to reach the Tidal Basin area, walk around it to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and then continue along the Mall to see the Lincoln Memorial.

I mentioned they would pass a Tulip garden near the Tidal Basin. (Gejah told me that tulips are really from Turkey and were imported to The Netherlands. That was something new! Tulips and Holland are always associated here.) Before visiting the museum, they wanted to find a place to have lunch. I gudied them to a Vie de France Bakery at the Capital Gallery arcade, off the usual tourist path (but nevertheless busy at lunchtime). Before long I had to leave and so wished them well on their North American visit. From Washington, they were to continue on a road trip to Niagara Falls, Albany, NY, and then back to New York City.

It was delightful to meet Gejah and her family!