The District

If you asked me four months ago what I did on a beautiful Sunday afternoon my response would have been something along the lines of, "Woke up at 10.  Fell back asleep.  Finally got out of bed at 1.  Got food.  Laid on the couch and watched TV until I went to bed at midnight."  Sick, I know.  That is one thing that I most definitely don't miss about college. 

Since I spend five days out of the week sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen, I have developed a whole new appreciation for being outside.  Throughout the summer I spent most weekends laying by the pool in my apartment complex, but now that it is closed for the season I need to find something to do to fill my days off.  Actually I feel almost obligated.  Maybe I could get away with laying on the couch all day at school because Harrisonburg didn't have much to offer apart from cow pastures, but I can't pass up an opportunity to explore our nations capital. 

I really hate being touristy because to be honest, I think it is lazy.  When I studied abroad in London, the way that Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye lit up the skyline was absolutely amazing.  You snap picture after picture so that when you get back to America you can show everyone all the great things you did, but what makes your pictures any different than the hundreds of postcards that are sold in souvenir shops?  Just because you have a picture of the London skyline in your scrapbook does not mean that you experienced London.  An experience is not something that you check off your to-do list.  Experience is taking the wrong tube and ending up on the opposite side of the city, getting stuck in the rain with no coat, stopping into a pub for a pint, buying a dress at Portobello Market that you will never wear, drinking one too many pints, having your feet ache so bad that you feel like you will never walk again, sampling every food station in Borough Market so many times that the vendors tell you to go away unless you are going to buy something, getting a piercing in Camden that your parents probably won't approve of, and singing "Wonderwall" at the top of your lungs at karaoke night while the locals roll their eyes and whisper "Bloody American's" under their breath.  Those experiences will never be in a tourist guidebook. 

I have the same perspective in my new home. 

I always remind myself how lucky I am to work in Old Town Alexandria.  It is perfectly picturesque in a  colonial America, Southern charm kind of way.  There are no high-rise buildings , no homeless people begging for money, and no subway that reeks of urine and body order.

Monday through Friday I walk from the parking garage to my office and back.  If it is a nice day I might take a stroll down King Street after work to check out some of the shops.  Otherwise I have never really diverted from my daily route.  On Sunday the weather was absolutely perfect again so I went into Old Town.  I bypassed all of the shops this time and made my way to a park I had come across a few times before.  The park was buzzing with people, the sun was shining, the air was crisp, and sightseeing boats cruised in and out of the harbor.  I sat on a bench and read my book. 

 

After a couple of hours I was starting to get hungry so I packed up camp to head back.  To the naked eye, the park is about 100 yards long with a big warehouse at the far end.  I always assumed that was the end of the park, but when I saw bikers riding back behind the warehouse I decided to check it out.  Unbeknownst to me, the park stretches far beyond Old Town.  There are trails all along the Potomac River that lead to DC.  I walked aimlessly for about an hour until I could see the Capital and the Washington Monument across the water.  A map showed that it is only about 8 miles to DC, but that too far a distance to walk on foot.  Maybe next time.

There is truth in experience, a truth that cannot be taught or learned, but felt.  Every city has buildings, museums, restaurants, parks, and shopping, but until you find the experience that makes your experience unique to you, you have not experienced anything.

xo c