Last night Jan and I went to bed quite loaded and, predictably, woke up with fat heads this morning. So, a slow start to the day not getting out the door till about 10:45am. Went by 'The Brown Bag' to get lunch to go, then off to Capital Hill. Sort of like Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Cut back on the photos, that direction not quite as photogenic.
Stopped by the Canadian Embassy which we stumbled over on Pennsylvania Avenue. Went through a full airport-style search before they let us in, short of a cavity search but still pretty aggressive. I went to the window I was directed to and asked what services I might count on in a foreign land, like what could a Canadian Consulate or Canadian Embassy do for me. Not sure, the girl said. Come back after lunch and maybe there would be someone around who might know. Her boss, who had been listening, said that they might help with passport issues or perhaps, maybe, not really sure, in case of very minor issues with the local law. Oh. Ok. Thanks. Where's the washroom? Which is all Jan and I really needed there anyway. Since most American buildings have armed guards at the door, and the area we were in were federal buildings (eg the FBI building, the EPA building, Homeland Security, etc), and there are no public washrooms anywhere, we were desperate at that early hour. If you need to entertain yourself sometime, stuck in traffic for example, try to imagine the interaction that would result if you went up to the VERY LARGE gentleman (think defensive tackle, 6'5", 300#, no fat) at the FBI building security station and said - Can I use your washroom, please?
Wandered, had our Brown Bag in the sunshine outside the National Botanical Garden, listened to the helicopters and watched the police cars driving around, and the joggers. Then down the road to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Spent four hours there till they closed the place, and I will probably go back tomorrow. Jan interested in the space flight displays, less so in the plane displays that interested me. After, fed squirrels, walked down the great wide and long boulevard from the Capital Building, enjoyed the sunset behind the Washington Memorial (see the spooky halloween shot below), then to dinner and home for the night.
