Made it to DC!

Good evening!

Wow, it has been a long day since I woke up about 3:18 am this morning!  Because I always worry that the alarm won’t go off and I’ll miss the plane, I was up probably every half an hour beginning around 10 pm!  As Robert puts it, we did make good time.  We were out of the hotel by 4 am and heading to drop the car off at the rental car center.  No problems, and then we were whisked back to the airport via the rental car shuttle for check-in and baggage drop.

We were through security and to the gate by 5 am for our 6:30 am flight.  Plane there on time, and we actually pulled away from the gate about 5 minutes early!  How often does that happen?  It was a small plane – two rows of 3 each, and fairly tight quarters, but I had signed up for DirecTV, so I was able to watch Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN2, so I was happy and the time passed quickly.  Actually, our 4 hour 22 minute flight arrived in under 4 hours, which was lovely!  I think our bags were probably numbers 4 and 6 off the plane, so we were all reassembled by 1:45 pm.

We decided to take public transportation into DC, so headed first to the Silver Line Express bus, which took us to the last stop on the Silver Metro line.  (They are working to bring the Silver Line all the way into the airport, but still have a ways to go.)  Once we were at the Metro station, we needed to find the Senior Transit Cards … had to do a bit of backtracking to find them, but we were finally successful in finding the closest Commuter Store and purchased the cards for $2 each and then loaded them with $20 each for travel.  We have been told that it’s easier to get an “official” Senior card and then load money on to it – then, when we take public transportation, it deducts from our cards at one-half the normal “adult” rate.  Can’t get much better than that! (Unless you’re in Philadelphia, where seniors ride public transportation for FREE!)

This is our hotel's "Fang"

Finally caught the Silver Line into DC.  It probably took about 45 minutes to get into town – lots of stops along the way, but much of the way was above ground, so there was plenty to see – including lots of stopped traffic on the freeways, it being “get-away” day on the Labor Day weekend.  We got off at Metro Center, and from there, it was about a three block walk to the Embassy Suites on 10^th Street.  And Wow!  It’s a really lovely hotel!  We’re on the 14^th floor, 1430, and while we don’t have too much of a view, we’re in a fabulous location.  The only problem with our suite was that it was 65 degrees when we got here, and it’s not too much higher than that now!  (Of course the heat is off now, so we were advised to just turn off the A/C and hopefully things will warm up … we’ll see!)  I then unpacked the suitcases, while R got the electronics working.  It really is nice to have a little extra room to relax in.  Oh!  Laundry is on the M1 floor … will check that out tomorrow!

This is our hotel's "Shuei!"

Once the unpacking was finished, and accounts updated, we decided to go look for $$ and food.  The ATM was just a couple of blocks away, so easy to find – and from there, I spotted what looked like an interesting restaurant – Pennsylvania 6.  The menu looked good and they had a nice patio out in front, so we decided to give it a try.  Wow … We had a fabulous waiter who actually brought the chef out to meet us, (And surprise!  He was from Mt. Clemens, Michigan!  His Mom actually taught at Lakeshore HS!) as well as the manager – R wrote the Tripadvisor review, and I will append here:

“What a pleasant surprise!  We flew into Washington DC from Tucson this afternoon and, after checking into our hotel, went to find an ATM for some ready cash.  Along the way, we found “Pennsylvania 6” restaurant on “I” Street and, it having been a while since we had any food at all, went in for dinner.  What a great decision that was!  First, our waiter, Tim, was extremely helpful and, more importantly, knowledgeable.  Clearly, he is a professional, not a student working to get a bit of income. 

Pennsylvania 6's bar area

Then came the meals.  Margaret had the roasted beet salad, followed by the perfectly cooked medium-rare hamburger with duck-fat fries with truffle aioli.  The salad was wonderful and the hamburger was, in her estimation, the best she has ever had – and, having experienced a goodly number of gourmet burgers, she ought to know. 

My beet salad with arugula

I had a small Caesar Salad (excellent) – real anchovy, followed by Red Grouper as the main entrée.  It was nothing short of fabulous.  The filet was perfectly grilled and served on a bed of slices of Granny Smith apple, a puree of eggplant and dabs of pesto.  The ingredients worked well together and the portion size was appropriate for a single meal, not for an army of hungry Huns. 

R's Caesar salad ... with anchovy

We were very pleased to meet the chef, Steven, for a delightful conversation about food, travel and more food.  What an enjoyable experience!  We give it the best recommendation we can: We will definitely be back!”

So … we liked it, obviously!  Wandered slowly back to the hotel – a few glasses of a very nice French blend white wine later … and now we’re in for the night!  Tomorrow we’re heading to the Mall … so more later! 

R's Red Grooper

 

Much love,

m

xxx

My fabulous hamburger with truffle aioli fries!