In June my museum sent me to the Smithsonian Affiliations Conference in Washington, DC. Now not only did I come home with all the normal conference knowledge, but there are a few tasty tidbits I thought you might enjoy as well.
1. If you are dressed professionally and riding the Metro in the morning people will ask you for directions. You can either choose to tell them the truth that you're really as clueless as they are or follow my lead and slyly glance at the huge pillars that list the stops and give directions. Don't judge. I only got myself lost when trying to use the buses. Never once on the Metro rail system.
2. A Smithsonian Visitor/Employee Pass is the greatest little piece of plastic in the area. No lines to get in and out of the museums, no opening or closing your bags for security, entry before the building is open to the public and a discount on all the nerdy books you want to buy in the giftshop. Woot!
3. If a tour guide tells you there will be no bathroom access during a tour, especially in a Federal Building. Head this advice. Go before the tour starts. Follow that wisdom your mother shared with you all the time when you were little "just try to go". It'll be worth it in the end. Otherwise you could be the mother of a four year old that is drenched in pee and reeks to high heavens.
4. The Smithsonian Affiliations Employees are amazing. They'll recommend restaurants, give you directions, write grant support letters, meet with you during/after hours, give you a ride home (even when its out of their way and you've only known them for 2 hours), let you borrow their phone charger, tell you "there's a app for that" and have it actually be useful, and most of all because they go above and beyond and are genuinely nice people. Oh yeah, and when they give you a ride home they'll tell you all the cool things you otherwise wouldn't know about the city and show you the "Exorcist stairs" in Georgetown.
5. Escalators are still the devil. Not only am I just generally fearful of them, but the ones in DC are insane. Too steep, too long and always breaking down. If I'm already afraid of something having it literally stop working while I'm on it is not going to make that feeling go away. Screw you DC Escalators.
6. Strasburg is the real deal and if you don't believe me check him out in person or ask someone that understand and loves the game of baseball. It was totally worth the crowded Metro ride that almost got me stuck in the doors.
7. I'm a huge museum nerd. I spent hours devouring a majority of the museums that DC has to offer. There are still some that I missed and others that I happened into because of friends that I am glad I visited. I always find something interesting in a museum, be it a fun fact, a cool toy, or even an amazing contact. There is always something. Strangely enough one of my favorite museum experiences was the Crime and Punishment Museum. I just might be a little morbid, but it was AWESOME!
8. People are always running in DC. Seriously, I was sweating just standing and felt gross in the humid hot nastiness and people were running all over the place. People ran on the treadmill at my hotel, people ran through the streets of Georgetown, people ran on the green, but mainly people ran to catch their trains.
9. I might love baseball to a slightly unhealthy degree. When everyone around me was concerned with catching a glimpse of the president I wanted to scream at them to sit down and stop blocking my view of the field. I wasn't there to see Obama. I was there to watch Strasburg pitch and see my man, Adam Dunn.
10. A 2 mile walk to the Metro station seems much closer and manageable in the daytime. At night just flag a taxi. I can't even recommend the buses, because my only experience with the busing system had me riding around who knows where in DC and spending 2 hours being lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment