I had everything planned perfectly. If I could get out of the house around ten AM, I could ride my bike to Georgetown, enjoy some coffee and a pastry of some sort at Dean & Deluca, and make it to the theatre on K Street for a 10:45 showing of Grindhouse. What sort of people go to movies at quarter of eleven in the morning, you ask? Well, lots of people. Sociopaths, the unemployable, young mothers with infants, etc. I even stayed in on Friday night, which is something I do about 3 or 4 times a year. I love seeing movies in the morning. It’s cheaper, the theatre is invariably more or less empty, and it’s a time of the day in which I wouldn’t be doing anything interesting were I not at the cinema.
But I forgot that it was supposed to snow. Snow and bicycles are not the best of friends. In the event, the snow was confined to grassy areas, so the bike ride was no problem. It was cold. Cold and windy. At times the snow would blow off of branches and mix with the flower petals of Bradford pear trees and other ornamentals. This momentarily made it seem like I was actually riding along while it snowed. But of course, I didn’t actually leave the house in a timely fashion that morning. So by the time I got to Dean & Deluca on M Street it was like 10:40 and the long line confirmed that I wouldn't have time for a nosh. Then my moby rang. Someone trying to schedule a racquetball game with me in an hour or so. Not compatible with my desire to view a 3 hour plus film. But in my haste to leave the house, I had grabbed my wallet, but failed to check the contents. So I had no money or even a debit card with which I could obtain more ducats. I made plans for the racquetball match.
The other thing I’d planned to do on my bike ride this past Saturday morning was supposed to take place after the movie. The Georgetown theatres are on K Street, right by the river. So I was going to ride my bike from the Potomac all the way up Wisconsin Avenue to the National Cathedral. The cathedral sits atop Mount St. Albans, which is the highest point in Washington. So a bike ride from the river to D.C.’s highest point sounded fun. I started from M Street instead. And the ride wasn’t that bad. While passing the Whole Foods in Glover Park, I briefly considered giving up or at least taking a break. This was the first time I’d tried this ride. But you know what? There’s a word for people who give up halfway through something because they think it’s too hard: losers!
I made it all the way to the cathedral, and hung out in the Bishop’s Garden for a spell. (That’s one of my favorite spots in Washington.) The tulips were out in full force, but there was still some snow hanging about on the trees. I went downhill towards Massachusetts Avenue and watched a few minutes of a Landon/St. Albans lacrosse game. Then I went past the observatory/VP’s residential area and down Massachusetts Avenue, into Rock Creek Park, then past the Kennedy Center and across the Roosevelt Bridge back to the Old Dominion.
Halfway across the bridge, I stopped to take in the view. The Kennedy Center was on my right, gleaming like an enormous box of chocolates. Roosevelt Island was on my left as I looked upstream. It’s easy to forget when you see this stuff everyday, but Washington must be one of the prettiest cities in the world. (And I’m really well-traveled, so I think my statement has some validity here.) Sometimes I drive down Constitution Avenue in the evenings when all the monuments are lit up. People come from all over the world to look at these edifices, and I get to see them all the time, when all I’m doing is driving to a bar to meet friends. It saddens me when I meet peeps who’ve moved to Washington and don’t dig it. I sort of understand why, though. Most of the criticisms are pretty valid. People here work too much. They’re too focused on their jobs. They can be kind of superficial. I totally understand why native Left Coasters or Midwesterners wouldn’t dig the pace of life here. There are a lot of places in the United States where I doubt I would enjoy living, and I’m sure they all have passionate boosters of their own. (Except Newport News. I can’t actually imagine someone coming up with a compelling argument for why that’s a great place to live. Seriously.) Someone recently told me that she thought Baltimore was cooler than Washington. I helpfully suggested that she stop smoking crack.
But I forgot that it was supposed to snow. Snow and bicycles are not the best of friends. In the event, the snow was confined to grassy areas, so the bike ride was no problem. It was cold. Cold and windy. At times the snow would blow off of branches and mix with the flower petals of Bradford pear trees and other ornamentals. This momentarily made it seem like I was actually riding along while it snowed. But of course, I didn’t actually leave the house in a timely fashion that morning. So by the time I got to Dean & Deluca on M Street it was like 10:40 and the long line confirmed that I wouldn't have time for a nosh. Then my moby rang. Someone trying to schedule a racquetball game with me in an hour or so. Not compatible with my desire to view a 3 hour plus film. But in my haste to leave the house, I had grabbed my wallet, but failed to check the contents. So I had no money or even a debit card with which I could obtain more ducats. I made plans for the racquetball match.
The other thing I’d planned to do on my bike ride this past Saturday morning was supposed to take place after the movie. The Georgetown theatres are on K Street, right by the river. So I was going to ride my bike from the Potomac all the way up Wisconsin Avenue to the National Cathedral. The cathedral sits atop Mount St. Albans, which is the highest point in Washington. So a bike ride from the river to D.C.’s highest point sounded fun. I started from M Street instead. And the ride wasn’t that bad. While passing the Whole Foods in Glover Park, I briefly considered giving up or at least taking a break. This was the first time I’d tried this ride. But you know what? There’s a word for people who give up halfway through something because they think it’s too hard: losers!
I made it all the way to the cathedral, and hung out in the Bishop’s Garden for a spell. (That’s one of my favorite spots in Washington.) The tulips were out in full force, but there was still some snow hanging about on the trees. I went downhill towards Massachusetts Avenue and watched a few minutes of a Landon/St. Albans lacrosse game. Then I went past the observatory/VP’s residential area and down Massachusetts Avenue, into Rock Creek Park, then past the Kennedy Center and across the Roosevelt Bridge back to the Old Dominion.
Halfway across the bridge, I stopped to take in the view. The Kennedy Center was on my right, gleaming like an enormous box of chocolates. Roosevelt Island was on my left as I looked upstream. It’s easy to forget when you see this stuff everyday, but Washington must be one of the prettiest cities in the world. (And I’m really well-traveled, so I think my statement has some validity here.) Sometimes I drive down Constitution Avenue in the evenings when all the monuments are lit up. People come from all over the world to look at these edifices, and I get to see them all the time, when all I’m doing is driving to a bar to meet friends. It saddens me when I meet peeps who’ve moved to Washington and don’t dig it. I sort of understand why, though. Most of the criticisms are pretty valid. People here work too much. They’re too focused on their jobs. They can be kind of superficial. I totally understand why native Left Coasters or Midwesterners wouldn’t dig the pace of life here. There are a lot of places in the United States where I doubt I would enjoy living, and I’m sure they all have passionate boosters of their own. (Except Newport News. I can’t actually imagine someone coming up with a compelling argument for why that’s a great place to live. Seriously.) Someone recently told me that she thought Baltimore was cooler than Washington. I helpfully suggested that she stop smoking crack.
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