All Things DC

Planning a trip to our Nation's capitol from New York doesn't require too much planning, but knowing where you want to go and what you want to see within a 2 day (weekend) time frame is definitely key to ensuring you won't miss out on anything.

The general plan: Take the Greyhound bus. Check out some museums. Get a cupcake at Baked & Wired. Head back to NYC with a new-found appreciation for the Nation's capitol.

This is how it really went down....

The Greyhound bus ride was longer than anticipated. I mean about almost 2 hours longer. I understand that it was Friday and we hit traffic and rain...but really? We left NYC on the 12noon bus and got to the hotel at about 7pm. It also didn't help that in the dead of summer, we conveniently caught the bus who's bus driver either despised air conditioning...or the A/C just wasn't working.

We stayed at the Renaissance Washington Hotel, which wasn't too far from most of the places we wanted to (ended up seeing). The location of the hotel was great as it was merely blocks from Chinatown and a good number of restaurants, and a nice walk to the museums and Capitol Hill. Since we got there later than anticipated we opted for some dinner at the Rosa Mexicana's and then rested up for a long day ahead.

Day 1 (or Saturday) was actually pretty filled since we were catching a 2pm bus back to NYC on Sunday. So we opted for a morning self-tour of our 3 museums of choice, followed by a Segway Tour of the rest of the city and its major sites.

The Air & Space Museum was the primary museum visit for the trip, which is why we went there first. Despite arriving there a few minutes before opening hour, there was still a good number of people there. Thank goodness the museum was pretty big that you couldn't really tell how many people were waiting outside.

The same could also be said about the National Museum of American History. You will notice a wait at the President's Wives exhibit (where they show you the ball gowns) and the pop culture exhibit...it took me a while to realize I was staring at Dorothy's ruby red slippers even as I stood in the line. I did think it was pretty cool to have seen the original Abe Lincoln top hat.

I thought the International Spy Museum would have been fun...but I stand corrected. Particularly since you had to pay...it wasn't worth the hype. Not at all.

What I would highly recommend though, is the City Segway Tours. Even with what some may deem as a hefty price tag of $70, it's well worth it. It definitely covers a lot more tourist ground in 3 hours than one could do it on foot...and it's extremely fun. They don't go to the Lincoln Memorial though...to which I would recommend you go at night anyway. Lincoln just looks more majestic and regal at night.


Sunday morning allowed me to take a cab to the deeply awaited Baked & Wired cafe.....though I can't say I went there for the coffee. The strawberry cake cupcake was definitely worth waiting for.

Blogging about it right now makes me want to go back for more. I think on my next visit back to DC, we'll head to go old Georgetown.

For more of my thoughts and reviews on All things DC, check out my DC list on Yelp.
For a full view of the our segway route, click here and here. :-)

[iza on blogspot]

Quick 2-Month Update

So it has been a while....afterall, I did miss out on the August update, and now as we enter October...I owe you all a September one as well. So what can a girl do? Well, I can try to a quick update and go from there....right?

I did say try...

Generally, August didn't bring me much except to whole bunch of places to eat. Oh wait, and of course a visit to our Nation's capitol...good old Washington DC. This was actually my first real live trip to DC...my initial visit didn't count for much since I stayed in Maryland. So to avoid a really, really, really long blog on all things DC, I'll move onto my September goings on (more on DC later).

September was my actual month of vacationing with the fam. Well, not necessarily vacationing with them, but just boarding a plane for 22 hours to go visit and chillax with them. Yes, that 22 hours does mean that I went to Guam. On my way back, I also did a quick pit stop in Hawaii. And I literally mean quick...cause 7-ish days in Hawaii just isn't enough time. Sigh.

So in a nutshell, that was the last 2 months of my life. I will provide more detail of my tourist version of Washington DC..in addition to where not to eat on Guam. In the meantime...I leave you all with this.....

A short and sweet update.
Just like I promised ;-)

alohas for now....

[iza on blogspot]

There are some nice people out in there....

Traveling all about the city, to and from work, our cell phones become our life lines and perhaps even for most...the only means of communicating with our fam and friends (outside of the internet).

So what happens when you lose your phone....a Blackberry at that?

Most of my friends know that during the hours of 9-5, it's probably best to call my work cell...cause I'll definitely pick up if I am not on a call or in a meeting. After 5pm, it's all about the personal line, as I will either not answer the work phone or I'll get a bit...out of sorts ;-)

(And yes, I do like to have 2 mobile numbers - 1 for work and 1 that's mine - so I can keep them separate.)

One evening...about 630pm give or take...but clearly after work hours. I get a call from K...on the work cell. Playing around, I pick up and say clearly....

"You know it's after work hours right?"

The response I get, not from K's voice....female, kind of always inquisitive, always calling to ask me a question ;-). I hear a deep, strong, male voice. "Is this Iz8?"

"Ummmm....," not knowing how to respond cause this is clearly K's cell and I don't talk or take nicely to strangers.

He continues, "Yeah, umm....I have your best friend's Blackberry. I think she lost it."

Phew....it wasn't some would be kidnapper or what not. And as I continued to get his information and formulate my "Track K Down" plan, all the while I thought...what a nice guy.

Ultimately, K lost her phone somewhere in Queens, and this nice young man found it in Queens. He seemed to have called a few numbers off of K's phone to have one of her friends contact her. And since K and I were exchanging several emails and text messages, his natural assumption was that I would be able to find her.

Funny enough, the only numbers I had for K were her cell and work. And we did establish this was already past work hours. I eventually got through to her via Facebook.

So thank you Nathias of Jamaica Queens. Thanks for being honest. And thanks to your adult figures who taught you how to do the right thing. Lord only knows that with a Blackberry Curve...it could have been as good as gone.

[iza on blogspot]