The hot and cold Xmas/NY break

[Scarlett]

New Years Day.
The next day, well rugged up, as much as I could with a light golf jumper and a spray jacket, as well as a beanie, I headed out for a first timers look around DC. Forecast max was to be 6degC but windy. The following day was forecast as few degrees cooler so I decided today would be the main walking around day and tomorrow the visiting museums day. Don’t think I need to use too much text as I’m sure many have seen these sights before:








There were about 50 of these white dogs all congregated near the big Xmas tree. I guess the owners club was having a New Years walkies.




Botanic gardens (small), but with some model trains running around and some interesting sculptures added.


Including this little guy: a Pygmy possum with a Banksia.

As I was standing there, just to my left was a US family and the little girl was saying “oh look, a possum”, then she asked her father, “do possums still eat children dad?”, to which he of course replied “ohh, yes”.

 

[Scarlett]

National Museum of the American Indian, a really interesting looking building.


I’ll be going in here tomorrow! Smithsonian NASM.


Smithsonian Castle, closed for renovation.



All the fountains around DC were off and dry, ready for the winter.


National Museum of the African American rocking Taipei 101 vibes.

 

[Scarlett]

Good to see some runners out in the cold.


It’s a lot bigger than I expected!


In the background here is one of the very few glimpses I got of the White House. Lots of barricades down there.




…because it’s windy.

 

[Scarlett]

WWII Memorial heading down to the Lincoln Memorial.




The wind was blowing little waves up over the edges occasionally and soaking unsuspecting tourists shoes. (not me)




Looking back from the Lincoln Memorial. Interesting note, to the right of this shot was an open parkland area and there were two games of touch footy being played. Not the flag football version of American football, but like you would find touch rugby league games in Australia. They were playing pretty seriously.




They’re currently doing some work to open up the vast area under the memorial and make it a museum on Lincoln and famous events at the Memorial.

After the memorial I tried to get around to the White House but it’s blocked off about 500m around the building. I’m sure there was an ‘in the know’ viewing spot but I didn’t see it.


The more common WH view.


After 22,000 steps and really wishing I’d had gloves, it was time to go find something hot to drink and some dinner. Sunset was about 1630.

 

[drron]

Probably Rugby Union. It has been played seriously for many years. Our son was playing there in the early days of this century.
In the 60s George W Bush played it for Harvard. A little trivia.

 

[RB001]

Probably Rugby Union. It has been played seriously for many years. Our son was playing there in the early days of this century.
In the 60s George W Bush played it for Harvard. A little trivia.

Yes, Touch Rugby is a thing in DC.
They're playing on the JFK Hockey Fields.

 

[Virgin Bart]

Winter storm hit DC today - you missed out on the snow!

 

[Scarlett]

It was definitely touch rugby (but I always associate it as rugby league): run, touched, dump under the legs like is done following a league tackle, dummy half collects and spreads the ball etc. Good to see anyway.

I do have to pass back through DC on the way home so wonder if it will still be snowy then?

 

[Scarlett]

After the walking day it was time to go and have a look in some of the museums. On the way I spotted what is found in every US movie set in wintertime:


Again bulk commentary probably not needed.


Would a carnivore really eat the boniest part of its prey?


This one is going for the ten day air-aged meal option.


Never smile at a…

I actually found the Natural History Museum to be too focused on kids and their experience. Big bold signs that only conveyed a couple of, or the most basic, facts. A bit too ‘style over substance’.


Never did find out what all the headless sculpture was about in the sculpture garden.


Pre-booked and timed tickets were required for the National Air and Space Museum. Even then there was still a queue to enter.









I vaguely recall reading about this record in the past. How’s his thinking: “I’ll test it on myself.”








Look up the video of it. Completely mental.



By the time I was ready to go into the space section they were closing the museum and kicking everyone out.


From the ‘sort of’ space section…

 

[Scarlett]

I found central DC very easy to get around using their metro card, which I had to buy before the first trip and then load with credit.

Even on New Years Day the services were every few minutes.

Had dinner in the hotel when I got back and packed ready for an early start the next day. Alarm set for 0400 and back up wake up call set for 0410.

 

[RB001]

View attachment 424766
Would a carnivore really eat the boniest part of its prey?

Q1. "Would a carnivore really eat the boniest part of its prey?"
A1.

 

[RB001]

View attachment 424769
Never did find out what all the headless sculpture was about in the sculpture garden.

I couldn't include the below with the levity of my previous reply.
The work is by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Puellae (Girls), 1992.

 

[Scarlett]

Was up on time and down to the lobby at 0425 for the 0430 shuttle. Then the quick five or so minutes around to DCA terminal 2 for a couple more UA flights.

There’s no curfew at DCA, but airlines have an agreement to minimise their nighttime flights. Doesn’t stop AA having a wave of flights that depart at 0500, so the airport was still busy enough at the early hour.

I headed to the UA desk, ignored the robot check in stations and stood at the UA Premier area to have luggage tagged, taken and boarding pass printed. Guy behind the desk came out in front, took my passport and went over to one of the robots. He got part of it done there but eventually came back to his desk to sort out my golf clubs. Me thinking: that’s why I lined up…
When I see staff helping pax with the robots I have to suppress the urge to mention that those things are primarily designed to take their jobs.

That done, I needed to go play the TSA game, including the lovely American ritual of everyone taking their shoes off.
A guy also tried to set his jocks on fire at one time so let’s hope they don’t get any other ideas about what needs to come off.


‘National’ airport in the early morning.

Then it was around the UA gate area and up to the United Club, to find that it didn’t open for another 30 minutes. So I wandered around, got a decent enough coffee from Zeke’s and saw my aircraft being woken up.


The United Club is in the old airport Presidential dining room.

 

[Scarlett]

UA3475 DCA-EWR
Embraer ERJ-175
N769YX
on time

No boarding calls in the lounge so headed down when the notification appeared on the monitor (about 0635 for a scheduled 0700 departure), then stood around waiting for 10 minutes for boarding to actually start.

Views from seat 2A as we readied to go:




Somewhere near Allentown, PA as we commenced descent into Newark.


Then views to Manhattan a few miles out from landing.




Just over an hour flying time. J in UA E175 is 1-2 config and I had the solo seat. Comfy enough, but nothing really interesting to speak of. A bag of almonds and an oj was the extent of service.

During taxi we passed this pair; the old and the new.

I have to say that the old livery is distinctive and the new is a marketing workshops… nothingness.

 

[Scarlett]

At EWR the main UA terminal has two UA Clubs and a Polaris lounge. Although my boarding pass in J said ‘Premier International’ on it, domestic flights and short haul such as those to the Caribbean are not permitted entry to the Polaris lounge. I arrived near the UA club close to gate C74 but had read that the club near C123 was better and had a coffee barista, so headed there. The two lounges are about ten minutes apart in separate piers.



It was bright and quite open in design, did have mediocre coffee and breakfast items and seating with access to power. On arriving at the lounge I noted a 25 minute delay to my next flight both in a message direct from UA and on the screens. This subsequently became a planned 57 minute delay. (a very specific number)

As UA apparently have a strict ‘we will close the gate 15 mins before departure’ rule, I asked a lounge dragon when would boarding be so I could work out when to head to the gate from the lounge. Her useless answer was to leave now because boarding could start at any time. (this was about 35 minutes before the advertised new advertised departure time) I went back and sat down for a little longer.


Tarmac view from the lounge.