0021 Serenading President Lincoln (USA 021—revisit, 01-021)

I still had a good couple of hours of daylight, so obviously I figured I’d go ahead and tackle another “big city”… Washington DC itself.

Thus the 21^st town of my global music tour will be the Most Powerful City in the World…

It’s actually my fourth visit to the city.  I visited it once as a child and once in 2002 and 2003 with my wife.  I’ve never gotten very far from the postcard center of the city—the Capitol, the Mall, the White House and all that, to see the “real” Washington DC (we did go to the zoo once, but that doesn’t really count either).

So I park my car right along the river and hike straight up to the Lincoln Memorial, envisioning a really cool clip right at the feet of Lincoln…. But the “Be Quiet” sign and the not very cheerful looking security guards quickly put a damper on my plans… So I settle for a clip with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument in the background…

As I hike up the Mall, I can’t help but notice the diversity of folks around me—South Asians, Middle Eastern Folks, East Asians… and think about how much this city has evolved since it was first designated as the nation’s capital…

After I take another clip up by the Capitol, I figure I’ve still got a bit of time to head out and explore a few more neighborhoods… So I wander around to the back of the Capitol, and up to the train station.

There I find one of Washington’s hidden gems—Union Station is an absolutely fabulous structure… I’ll have to say it outshines just about any European train station that I’ve seen… pretty impressive for a country that has very little appreciation for its rail system… The majestic columns and decorated ceiling have a sense of grandeur not often seen in American architecture…

After Union Station I head on past the Treasury Building—and can’t help but chuckle at the irony of seeing a fellow begging on its steps… Oh, the contradictions of this city…

I continue on north—through the rather quiet business district (this is Sunday, after all), and then suddenly the city comes back to life…

I have just discovered Washington’s Chinatown…

It’s not quite as dense and eclectic as, say New York Chinatown, but it is quite alive and bustling in contrast with the neighborhoods around it…

I continue on, across a large plaza with rows of modern art paintings on display, and on back to The Mall area… I realize that I’ve never visited the Jefferson Memorial, and I might just have enough time to get there before dark, so I head up that way.

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Here's a link to my music video "Seven Months" which includes a clip of Washington DC

I don’t take any pictures—something I’ll kind of regret later… I guess my focus right now is just on my video clips…

I continue on around the lake to the sound of a rushing waterfall… I’ve reached the Roosevelt Memorial, which is more a series of monuments, waterfalls, and statues that are intended to tell the story of his life and accomplishments.  It’s another of Washington’s less known monuments—not as striking as the others, but quite interesting nonetheless…

And so my 21^st town tour comes to an end.  I got so caught up in re-exploring the city that I kind of forgot about my little “concert”… So I quickly pull out my guitar and play a couple of songs right there on the shore of the Potomac river. 

Postnote: 06/29/2007 Revisits to Washington

I make a couple more visits to Washington before leaving the region for good.  One trip with a couple Moroccan friends coming for a visit… One trip for a job interview… I brought my guitar with me, just in case I didn’t get the job, so the trip wouldn’t be wasted…

I didn’t get the job, so I went back to the car, grabbed my guitar and headed upriver to explore the city a bit more and give it a proper concert.  I found a beautiful path where locals and tourists jog or stroll in the evening.  A couple of young Saudi tourists asked if they could take my picture as I strummed on a parkbench… I imagine they added the photo to their collection of “unusual things you see in Washington DC…”

I continued on past classy riverfront cafes and yachts harboured right along the river… I then headed across the river to a high rise district in Arlington.  Since high rises aren’t permitted in DC proper, a lot of them are crammed over in Arlington, giving it a much more “big city” feel than DC itself…

I then head on back and wander down through Georgetown—a former industrial neighbourhood in DC which has been beautifully converted into a trendy educational/residential/shopping district.  Instead of tearing down the old warehouses and industrial buildings, a lot of them have been turned into shops and apartments—giving the neighbourhood a cool sort of retro feel… 

It’s a nice feeling to see that America is capable of appreciating and preserving its history when it really wants to…

And thus my 6^th visit to DC comes to an end… I still don’t feel like I’ve really thoroughly explored the city—but I have seen the city from several fascinating angles…