USA Part 4: Washington, DC

I'm going to skip over the upper Midwest stop on my wedding extravaganza USA itinerary for three reasons:

1) I am half a year behind on blogs because of all the recent life changes
2) I've got a new trip to blog about
and
3) There's only so many ways I can say eat, eat, farm, eat, farm, eat

So here we are, fast forwarding to the final leg of my trip, Washington DC.

My farm girl baby sis with three kids was very keen to visit DC and do the tourist trail, and told me that I'm the only person she knows who would go on a trip like that.

Is that not the most tragic thing you have ever heard?!  It made me profoundly sad to hear that.  Who doesn't line up to visit our nation's capital?!  So of course I said yes.  My honeymoon has already been attended by my in-laws, parents and siblings so why not shoo my new husband back home and continue my honeymoon without him?

But pity wasn't the reason I decided to to embark on this trip.  I (re)realized that I love DC.  Plain and simple.  I believe there are two types of Americans: New York Americans and DC Americans.  I am firmly in the DC camp.  Plus I hadn't been back since 2007, just before I moved overseas, so I was a decade overdue for a return trip.

I lived there for a spell in college, back in the dark ages of 2005, to intern for a semester for my senator.  You want a treat?

It's called fashion, sweetie, look it up

There's your treat.  I recently came across this photo after not seeing it for over a decade, and lacking any and all shame I enjoy sharing it with the world.  I love it!

So off Jenna and I went to the east coast...with her father-in-law:

My honeymoon was so inclusive that even extended family members joined in the fun!  Not that I'm complaining; Lenny is a comforting combination of every farm dad I've ever known and is a good time.  Plus his twin sister lives just outside DC so we got to see glimpses of "real life" that we otherwise wouldn't have gotten to see.

Lenny dove into family time while Jenna and I hit the tourist trail bright and early the first morning.  First stop:

White House tour

I can't tell you the number of people who said to me prior to the trip, "Eeew, you're going to the White House when Trump is in office?!"  I had to remind them that the White House is an American institution, regardless of what unqualified, treasonous embarrassment currently may or may not reside there.

Plus, when I was an intern I did the tour when Bush was in office.  Back in 2005 Bush is what we naively considered a bad president.  Oh, to be innocent again!  I'm 2 for 2 for White House visits during shitty presidencies.  If I make it there a third time the apocalypse will surely be upon us.

This being the end of November, Christmas was in full swing!

I could've swore when I did the tour back in 2005 cameras weren't allowed.  I distinctly remember carrying only my metro card and my house keys in my pocket, as I couldn't bring my phone with me.  My flip phone!

We then did the National Mall loop to see all the monuments, starting with the central focal point.

Washington Monument

Phallic objects are always best viewed from a distance.

WWII Memorial

NoDaks represent!

The genius who took this photo for us suggested we go to a different state to get better light.  Why, pray tell, did he think we were posing in front of North Dakota in the first place?!

Vietnam War Memorial

This one always does me in.  I don't know why, but it hurts the worst.

Lincoln Memorial

And my second walk down Forest Gump memory lane of this trip:

Korean War Memorial

WWI Memorial

All of this in just one morning!  One of the many things I love about DC, you can spend as much or as little time as you want seeing these things, and you can't go wrong either way.  And the expenditures thus far?  $0.00 USD.  The perfect place for an intern budget!

By this time we were ready to sit, relax and eat.  Before this trip I was unaware that the North Dakota Farmers Union, of which Jenna is an esteemed member, owned farm-to-table restaurants in DC.  So of course that was our choice for lunch!

I went with the most farmhouse dish I could locate - meatloaf - and was not disappointed.  It came with a side of Brussels sprouts, which Jenna had never eaten before!  You can take the girl out of North Dakota...

Smithsonian Museum

Because of our tight timeline we had to be highly selective in which Smithsonian museum in which to spend our time.  For me, the ultimate will always and forever be American History, so that's where we spent our afternoon.  My personal favorites:

Julia Child's kitchen!  Mr. Roger's sweater!  But sadly I couldn't locate Dorothy's red slippers so my museum choice wasn't a complete success.

In addition to celebrity relics, we also saw actual celebrities here:

I don't really know much about Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, but I know they're popular with the youths.  This is another thing I love about DC.  You never go long before seeing someone famous.  Either DC nerd famous or legit famous like these two.

After a lovely happy hour reunion with several old friends which was too much of a whirlwind for me to photograph, Jenna and I then reunited with the extended in-law family for dinner, at our second North Dakota Farmers Union-owned restaurant of the day!

Where Jenna embarked on yet another first time culinary experience, mussels:

To be fair I was never an adventurous eater when I lived in NoDak, either.  I've got a decade head start on her so I can't be surprised by all the things she hasn't eaten.  There's a world outside of Applebee's out there, child, go out and eat it!

Also of note about this restaurant: do you remember last year the news story about a robot security guard that accidentally killed itself?  That happened right here!

I'm happy to report the robot has been nursed back to health and is in tip top crime fighting shape.

The next day, before getting back on the tourist trail, we first made a stop at my university's DC office to greet my colleagues who I only get to see once or twice per year when they come Down Under.

The view from the roof is exceptional:

I wouldn't mind a transfer to the US office!  But no time for career moves now.  Gotta keep touristing!

US Capitol tour

I actually hadn't seen the view of the Capitol from this angle before, because during my time 12 years prior there was major construction going on.  From this vantage point it made it feel like it was my first time being there!  But the exterior shot was the end of the tour.  It started back at home:

Office of Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)

There are two ways to get a tour of the US Capitol.  Through the official visitor center (the aforementioned construction project) or through your senator or congress(wo)man's office.  I chose the latter because I was the tour guide on tons of these tours.  Some days it felt like that's all I did as an intern!  Plus I wanted to meet a corn fed local like ourselves and get the tour through the eyes of a NoDak native.

Womp womp, our intern tour guide was actually from California, which was a slight disappointment.  But I did get to retell the tale of the time Barbara Boxer (former Cali senator) was a bitch to me in an elevator, so there was a silver lining.  You probably don't know this but senators and congresspeople have their own dedicated elevators in the Capitol and there are public elevators for the rest of us plebs.  Babs saw someone she knew in the commoner elevator that I was in so she decided to gate crash at the last second as the doors were closing.  How was I to know she'd stoop to flying in coach with us, so I should hold the door for her?

Anyway, here are the Capitol highlights.

Statue of Freedom

This is a replica of the statue at the top of the building.

Old Supreme Court Chamber

Where the Supreme Court met from 1810 to 1860.

Crypt

Was originally meant to be George Washington's tomb.  Spoiler alert: he's not buried here.

Rotunda

The tallest point you see from the exterior, connecting the House and Senate chambers.

The exquisite fresco on the ceiling is called The Apotheosis of Washington:

Does that mean George?  Or the city itself?  I do not know.

Statuary Hall

Fun fact: each state has 2 statues of notable citizens located somewhere throughout the Capitol.  Not all fit into this room, but many are there.  One of North Dakota's is here, John Burke, an old timey governor I'd never heard of, even after a semester of intense North Dakota history in junior high.  Our second statue?  Look to the failed US dollar coin for a hint.

I think having Sacagawea as one of North Dakota's statues makes perfect sense, as we're the only people who can pronounce her name correctly.

Another thing you probably don't know is how the House/Senate office buildings are connected to the actual Capitol building.  There's a fair bit of distance between the buildings, and with security getting in and DC weather being what it is it's not practical for people to go outside and back in again.  Enter, the Capitol subway system:

I'd classify this more as a trolley than a subway, but there is also a parallel airport-esque subway in operation.  I didn't get a picture of that one (our Californian guide didn't appreciate the ways of us farm folk who like to take our time) but I do remember it fondly because that was the first (of two) times I saw Obama in the flesh.  This was 2005, remember, his first term in the Senate.  But even then I knew.  I knew who I was seeing and exactly where he was headed.

We visited the Senate gallery, but you'll have to watch C-SPAN to see that because you can't take cameras or anything in there.  I don't know exactly who the senator was that we saw talk, but he was very much opposed to "THE GOP TAX SCAM"!

Another thing you probably don't know is that when these speeches are given nobody else is there besides their own staff, some high school kids and a stenographer.  It's assumed that every other senator is sitting at their desk listening intently.  Not so.  The only time everybody shows up is for a vote, and even then they are milling about, not sitting.  This is why every office (every front office, every Chief of Staff - every office) has a TV permanently tuned into C-SPAN (or if the floor is quiet, a cable news channel suited to that office's particular political leaning).  Why show up when you can just see what you need to see on TV?

Library of Congress

This entire trip wouldn't have happened without Jenna's peculiar and super ridiculous obsession with the Library of Congress.

This girl is obsessed!  She read a book - which one I have no idea - that got her interested in the place.  But who am I to judge?  I did the exact same thing to Leipzig, Germany a few years ago and went so far as to visit there alone (and I hate traveling alone)!

 It really is quite lovely.

With historical merit.

However given the choice I'd much rather visit the National Archives Museum and our old friends the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.  But this trip wasn't about me, it was about baby sis getting her fill.  Of the Library of Congress.

To cap off the day we called our parents to check on her kids as we swung through Chinatown on our way to pub trivia.

I only had two full days there, though Jenna stayed a few more days with her extended in-laws.  They graciously offered to drive me to the airport via the one attraction I had never been to before.

Washington National Cathedral

The cathedral, the second largest church in America, is in a swanky neighborhood not easily accessible by Metro and is not free.  My intern days were before Uber and a half decent paycheck, so it got passed by back in 2005.

It sustained significant damage from an earthquake in 2011 so I'm glad I ticked it off the bucket list while I still can.  That same earthquake closed the Washington Monument to visitors so who knows what will happen when the next big one hits!

I had such a good time with my baby sis and hanging out with her extended in-law family who, like me, promptly exited stage left on small town living the first chance they got.  Don't ever let anybody tell you that NoDak girls aren't out there conquering the world.

One more time for the cheap seats at the back: I love DC!

Our Angel Matilda

After buying a house from start to finish in 6 weeks, I'm convinced that all major life decisions from here on out will be done on the fly.

Enter, Matilda the Boston Terrier:

She came to us in 5 days flat.  Allow me to explain.

For a while now I've been creeping on a local Boston Terrier owners group on Facebook.  I've wanted a Boston of my own for many years, and as a homeowner with somewhat stable planted roots I could theoretically make that dream a reality.

Someone posted in the group a link to a pet rescue site that 1 year-old Matilda was looking for a forever home.  I did not jump, I lunged at the opportunity.

I saw the ad and applied for her on a Wednesday, and over the weekend the rescue asked if we'd like to "meet" her on Monday.  We were there first thing (I'm serious when I say 'lunged') and much to my surprise and delight she came home with us that very morning!

Bostons are a somewhat rare breed in Australia, and rescued/adopted ones even rarer still.  This girl is a snowflake and unicorn all wrapped in one.

The reason she was up for adoption?

Tilda, as I like to call her, was born with a cleft lip.  Because of this, as a puppy she wasn't able to suckle.  Therefore, in order to survive infancy cleft lip pups needs to be hand fed for the first six months of their life.

Which is exactly what Helping Paws Adoption Program did.

She's perfectly fine with it now.  It doesn't impact her in any way, and there is no need to undergo the risk and expense of surgery to fix what is now purely cosmetic. 

The only thing is she's a bit messy when she eats, spreading kibble around the bowl before eating it all up, but I'm not so quick to blame the cleft lip on that.  I suspect she just eats fast because she's a little porker.  Plus sometimes her tongue sticks out of it accidentally, super adorably.

Tilda lived with her foster mom for the first year and a half of her life.  She's a vet nurse who takes in a lot of foster animals...which was Tilda's downfall.

She gets too excited around kitties (and chickens) and "harasses" them, so for everyone's safety she had to find a home where she could rule the roost.

And rule the roost she does at our house!

Our original plan was to start searching for a dog in mid-June, once we got back from our 3-week European holiday, but little Miss Matilda had other plans and came home to us in early April.

Her original mom didn't really want to give her up, so is happy to have her back for visits which worked out so well for us while we were away.  After being away from her for three straight weeks it's pretty obvious that we won't ever leave her for that long again.  It's too hard!  On us!

My parents have a Boston (Angus) as does my sister (Spanky).  I had one growing up (Hailee), and so did my mom (Bunky) so it was inevitable that sometime in life I'd get one of my very own, but make no mistake she is 100% Martin's dog.  She's a total daddy's girl and he is wrapped around her little [paw] finger.  I was the catalyst to bring Matilda into this family but I am merely a spectator to their adorable romance.

But still, I love her and don't even remember life without her.  Bostons don't just get into your heart, they get into your bloodline.

Once you go Boston, you never go back!

Deloraine the Tasmanian Devil

Were you aware that a baby Tasmanian devil is called a "joey", just like a baby kangaroo?  They're both marsupials (where babies live in a pouch), and are about the size of a jelly bean when they're born.  And there are about forty siblings born at once!

But with only 4 teats to sustain life, approximately 36 of those tiny, hairless babies are destined for doom.  In a brutal display of Darwinism, only the fittest will live to develop past the jelly bean stage.

How do I know so much about the breeding patterns of Tasmanian devils, you ask?  Because I am the mother of one, that's why.

Not literally or even figuratively, but I did name one.  And that's three-fourths of all a parent does, right?

Behold, my girl Deloraine:

Shortly before the wedding last year I entered a contest to name one of three new baby Tasmanian devils at Dreamworld, a nearby theme park that I didn't even know housed a zoo.  The contest said that Tasmanian-themed names would be especially well regarded, so I looked back at our Tasmania itinerary from when we visited in 2013.

All three of the surviving babies were girls, and I thought one of our stops along the way, Deloraine, had a very pretty name fit for a girl.  I don't remember anything about the town, really, except I had the best BLT of my life there.

That's what my fat ass remembers, half a decade later.  A sandwich.  Seriously, though, it was delicious!

That sandwich served me well in 2013, and will serve this sweet, sleepy girl well for the rest of her life.

Her sisters names are not Tasmania related at all, which I think is exceedingly weak.  Blaze and Dash were the other two.  Lame.  They should've given me naming rights for all 3!

As a reward for my efforts I got to have a hands-on meeting with her in person, along with her sister Blaze.  Apparently Dash isn't very people friendly, and is being shipped off to New Zealand to expand and diversify their gene pool, so I only got to meet dos devils, and their "real" mom, Michele:

Michele is the wildlife curator, and literally hand raised these babies herself.  She took them to her home!  They are super cute and look like teddy bears, but make no mistake they are are wild animals with a vicious set of jaws.  I asked her if they could bite my finger clean off and the response was, "Well, not clean..."

Fierce but adorable!

Dreamworld does several of these "wildlife experiences" with different animals for guests and I think this was the girls first.  I assume this because they had a fair bit of stranger danger and weren't cooperating for the camera!

The goal was to coax Del, as Michele calls her, onto my lap for a photo by the official photographer.  That went nowhere fast, so we tried Blaze instead.  Ultimately this is what we got:

Those mama's girls were not having any of my lap, which I was perfectly happy about since my thin pants offered little to no protection against their sharp, strong claws that are well suited to tearing roadkill to shreds.

Native Australian wildlife cannot catch a break.  Tasmanian tigers went extinct 80 years ago.  Koala numbers are rapidly diminishing because they're going sterile due to syphilis.  Yes, kids, syphilis, so wrap your pecker before you wreck her.

Tasmanian devils, once found wild on the Australian mainland are now only on the island of Tasmania.  They're being wiped out due to facial tumors, a cancer that is contagious, adding an extra layer of horror onto an already sad situation.  They've been on the endangered list for a decade now.

Captive breeding programs like the one at Dreamworld might be the species only hope if they don't figure out how to prevent and treat the facial tumors in the wild.  Luckily the captive populations are quarantined from it.

I had a fantastic, and might I point out rare, up close and personal experience with Deloraine and Blaze.  I've never heard of places offering hands-on Tasmanian devil experiences before, like they do with koalas, wombats and other native animals with less ferocious teeth and claws.  But they're not that vicious!

I liked that other people would come by and see how I live!

The devils, now about a year old, are adorable, smell a bit funky and most of all I'm left wondering where they get industrial strength cat toys.  Regular ones wouldn't last ten seconds around these girls.

There are other Aussie animals that we made a brief stop to see:

Cassowary

Wedge-tailed eagle

Masked owl + fanboy

We only briefly stopped to look at these, as we had other engagements that day.  I can assure you if there are birds to be seen there is no question whether or not we will stop.

For naming Deloraine I also won season passes to Dreamworld until the end of this year, so we can go back whenever we want to see more birds and watch my little girl grow up big and strong!

USA Part 3B: The Deep South

When I first started to plan what to do post-wedding with my newly minted in-laws, my first inclination was to go to Cuba since I knew exactly how far away it'd be (not much, 90 miles).  But that quickly got put into the too hard basket (delightful Aussie phrase) so I decided to look somewhere easier, closer and domestic.  Somewhere I'd never been before!

See: South, Deep

I came across two cities well loved by tourists, within easy driving distance of Florida and an even easier driving distance of each other: Savannah, Georgia & Charleston, South Carolina. 

Similar yet unique, these cities are chock full of southern charm, history and didn't require one word of Espanol.

Savannah, GA

In preparation for my visit I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It's set in Savannah in the 1980's and is a delightful romp around what makes Savannah, Savannah (except for the whole murder thing).  So of course Priority #1 for my trip was to scope out the house where the events of the book take place.

Mercer-Williams House

I'm going to admit right off the bat that I preferred Savannah to Charleston - but - I did spend more time there, so I don't think it's a fair comparison.  Accommodation in Savannah was so much cheaper than Charleston, so in addition to more time we had the added benefits of staying right near the action and walking everywhere.  Which is perfect, because walking around this pretty, leafy city is the ultimate thing to do there, especially with 22 historic and picturesque squares lining the city.

Arguably the most famous square is renowned not because it is particularly big or beautiful, but because Forrest Gump's bench was there!

Chippewa Square

Key word: was.  Or more accurately, never really was.

The bench (and platform it sat on) was merely a movie prop and was never really there.  The bench itself is now in a museum (which I did not see) but I did stand in about the spot where the bench was for a picture.

Though Mr. Hanks stole all the thunder, there are squares that are bigger and more picturesque, namely:

Forsyth Park

This being the deep south there are a lot of statues celebrating Confederate soldiers from the Civil War.  That's a hot button issue these days so prepare yourself for the commemoration of some not-so-great human beings everywhere you look.

On the topic of the Civil War, we learned that Savannah was spared from total destruction unlike unluckier other cities.  There seems to be some differing opinion on why this fair city was spared, but I - and the Savannah tourist board - are certainly glad the beauty and charm of the city wasn't destroyed.

City Market

This is a major touristy area and we didn't really spend any time there so I don't know exactly what - or who - was sold at this market.  I can about imagine.

After a day and a half in the city we got back into the car to explore the surrounds of Savannah, which are worth the trip if you've got the time and wheels to get there.

Tybee Island

A tourist destination in its own right, Tybee Island is a mere half hour drive from Savannah and is the place to be in summer for a beach holiday.

This being mid-November the water was devoid of swimmers, but there were plenty of people hanging around and fishing off the boardwalk.

Also on Tybee we stopped at a farm where you can buy some food to feed the alligators:

I was disappointed to learn that the food came in dry pellets, more like house pet food than what you'd think gators eat.  I think they felt the same way, as only one was interested in what I was offering.  A feeding frenzy this was not!

Another stop one must make on the way is the most famous cemetery in the state.  Half way between Savannah and Tybee is:

Bonaventure Cemetery

It's strange that an active cemetery is a tourist destination, isn't it?  Two things make this cemetery interesting:

1. It was one of the settings in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

2. It's haunted

Well, one of the graves is, at least.

Little Gracie was only 6 when she sadly died in 1889 but has carried on her legacy by haunting the place for nearly 130 years.  I can't say I normally believe in such things, but I can confirm that the haunting rumors are not without their merits.  That little chick gives off a weird vibe.

Another famous girl from this cemetery, the "bird girl" statue that was on the cover of the book/movie poster is no longer there.

Like Forrest's bench it, too, has been moved into a museum for safe keeping.  Which I did not get to see.  Boo.

After two and a half days in Savannah it was time to move along.  I think Savannah could be comfortably done in a weekend, preferably a long weekend, as it would've been nice to have an extra day in the city.  But there's no time to spare on a whirlwind tour of the deep south!  Onto:

Charleston, SC

As far as I can tell there's one thing that every single visitor to Charleston does.

Look at the arse of a horse!  As it pulls you in a carriage, that is.

It was super interesting to see how the carriages fit into the streets of the modern world.  There's a limit to how many carriages can be in operation, and of course animal welfare is closely watched.

This is our trusty steed, Larry.  He was formerly an Amish work horse in Indiana or some such place, and this is his cushy retirement job.  Previously he worked from sun up to sundown 6 days per week but now works a few 4-hour shifts per week.  Larry is living the equine dream!  Except for that fact that his temperature is taken rectally after every trip.  Maybe Larry's kinky like that, and really is living his best life.

Where in Charleston your carriage tour will take you is entirely up to chance.  When departing a central location, each carriage stops at the "toll booth" that uses a contraption normally used for spitting out Bingo balls, which dictates exactly where they can go.

So traffic congestion is avoided.  I thought this system was exceedingly nifty!  Along the route the carriage driver has to pull over every time a car approaches, since they can get a fine for not getting out of the way of regular traffic.

The most interesting thing of all are these little rubber flag thingies:

Carriage drivers drop one on the ground whenever their horse drops a load (liquid or solid) on the street, and the "equine sanitation patrol" comes and cleans it up!  That is someones job!  Searching for then cleaning up horse excrement on the streets.

What a place!

In addition to the history of the city, we heard a lot from the tour guide about the architecture of the buildings, like how these studs are built through most big structures to help them survive earthquakes, which I had no idea Charleston was prone to:

My favorite thing (besides the poop flags, because you can't top that) is the superstition of painting a porch ceiling "haint" blue.

Somehow this color, which is distinctly different from the color of the sky, tricks evil spirits into thinking the blue roof is the sky, so they don't come into your house.  The results are really pretty, and I whole heartedly support this practice.

Hmm, this gives me some home decorating ideas...

Both Savannah and Charleston were lovely cities, and are great for short visits.  I recommend you hit them both in on fell swoop, which can comfortably be done in a week.

Everything we saw and did in these two cities was enjoyable, but I must admit nothing could hold a candle to what we ate!  I hadn't realized until just this minute that I'm in the habit of doing separate food post (for example Bali and Germany) on top of the who/what/when/where/why post.  I will definitely continue the tradition for this USA trip, as I've got 5 states, 1 province and 1 District of Columbia of deliciousness to cover!