DC is beautiful at 5am.

[Lizz612]

Disclaimer: No illegal or controlled substances were involved in this little adventure.

So at about 2:30 am my friend Katie borrows Brad's car and we decide to go for a drive.
"Lets find some snow." says Nathan, because we didn't get any this far south.
Katie and I say something like 'Sure sounds good.' and we set out.
A little after 3 we reach Solomon's Island. There is snow here but, not much and its really cold so we get back in the car and start out. Katie and I are having a great conversation, ranging from nuclear proliferation to quantum physics to friendships and how they have changed since college. Nathan keeps playing some really great music, turning it up for the songs he likes, stopping and restarting me and Katie's conversation. We reach an intersection and stop at the light.
"Well, this is where I usually turn, what do you guys say about going straight ?" asks Nathan who has been driving without a map. We know were headed north and a little west, we have to be, any other way would lead back to campus. We figure that the road eventually reaches DC.
"We could watch the sunrise over the Mall!" Nathan says, drumming to the music on the steering wheel.
"There is snow in DC, I know there is. The sunrise will be cool!" I say.
"Sounds like a plan." Katie finishes just as the light changes.
So we go straight.

We get to DC about 4:30, pretty good time. We wander around near the Castle on the Mall for a while. The little garden next to the Hirshorn is lit with lights and covered in snow. Its really beautiful, the snow covering the dead plants made them look pretty again. So then we went to Georgetown to try and find a coffee shop, because we were cold and a little hungry. However nothing was open and nothing would be till 7am or later. So we went back to the Mall and drove over to the Lincoln and Vietnam War memorials. After walking the length of the Vietnam memorial we went over to the Lincoln memorial and watched the sunrise from the steps. The ski was clear and crisp, the sun was gorgeous and the light was almost blaring off the snow. The exhilaration of being in DC, and being awake for nearly 20 hours, kept us awake.

We started home about 6am. I fell asleep in the back seat immediately. Katie took over driving and Nathan put the seat back and joined me in dream land. I woke up only once; Katie had too pull over and take a 20 minute nap or else she would have dozed off at the wheel. I got back to my room about 10am and slept till 2pm. My other friend were wondering where I had been, and were jealous when they found out where I had been. They all seemed to feel that I had done something revolutionary, leaving campus with no destination in mind in the wee hours of the morning.

We had all been feeling very isolated, and generally in a funk. But this random adventure was just what we needed. The talk was healthy and we all got to talk about things that were bugging us. Nathan got stuff off his chest, Katie did too, and I got to see snow, which has did wonders for my homesickness. It was amazing. I'm going to be living on this happiness for the next week; I hope it lasts through finals. DC is an amazing place.

[Guaranteed]

1. Yup, I know exactly what you mean.

Let's get out of town. ;)

[Lizz612]

2. Yep thats the feeling.

If we don't get the hell out of here for a while, we'll go freakin crazy!

[Lizz612]

3. Self indulgent kick.

nt

[youngred]

4. It most certainly is!

I love going around the city in the early hours of the morning. I have many times walked the city and viewed the wonder that is DC in the early morning. Next time check out Saharah, its a houka bar in Georgetwon that is open til 5AM everday and its great. Go watch the sunrise from the Iwo Jima memorial, the sunrise over the whole city is incredible

I love the city, next time you're in the neighborhood drop a line.

[Lizz612]

5. Yeah next time,

there are lots of people in DC I wish I could just pop by and see. I'll add you to the list!


Ps. It was kinda strange to see my little thread pop up at the top sudenly, thought it had died. Thanks.

[JohnKleeb]

6. Happens to me all the time

BTW this seems neat, scenic views are my fave.

[youngred]

7. No prob

I love the city and your account is dead on, its amazing early in the morning.

PS, surprise college trips are wonderful aren't they? My friend and I drove to NY for one day a couple weeks ago and it was incredible

[Lizz612]

8. Yeah my first real clichéd college experience.

It just felt like such a "college" thing to do.

[ACK]

11. It is but that is not a bad thing really...

Sometimes we would just hit the highway and figure out where the hell we were going as we went along.

Very fond memories revolve my crew of friends the freaks and the geeks they were punks and alt rock athens fans hanging out with hippy chicks and the drama folks. Going out for long trips to Savannah or maybe to Athens to the 40watt club or out to Hilton Head or Atlanta.

Its not a bad thing. There is that bit of somewhat almost universal truth to a cliche that makes them cliches to begin with. Why the hell do you think that so many people talk about their child being born as the most special moment of their life? It is a cliche. But it is a cliche for a reason. And just because its a cliche does not mean that it is any less powerful or important.

Following this line of thought remember that you are not tied by the job or the family or the wear and tear of a redundant life not matter how grand and worthy it might be. That is why the cliche of the college road trip is so special and powerful. It represents the freedom to just look out weary across the faces of your group and friends and to declare it is time to go. It is that realization there is nothing in the universe holding you back and that you can just get in that car and drive till the wheels fall off or the engine falls out.

Yes, that is special and no matter how many times you visit DC again. You will remember that time you travelled without a map and saw the city covered in snow.

"You better grab a hold of something/Simple but its true
If you don't stop to smell the roses now/they might end up on you."
-- Bob Mould "These Important Years"

[ACK]

9. Yes DC is a lovely place..

I know this goes against all that you are supposed to know about the city.

The mall is pretty and the city sucks is the attitude and that is just wrong.

If any American city has the possibility of being the North American equivilant of the great cities of Europe, DC has that possibility but has never even it seems tries to reach it.

Standing out there on a fine early spring morning on the mall with the kids going to the art and Smithsonian or walking around the Capital. It really is lovely. The cuisine scene is picking up a bit too BTW. There are some really neat little restaurants off the zoo metro stop.

I could get all cliche and talk about the cherry blossoms and such. However, I will refrain and instead say that you picked an excellent time to visit the city.

Some of my fondest memories of the city revolve around the nation's capital covered in snow all white and lovely wrapped in a blanket out there where the Washington monument stands watch over the capital with the mall laid out in between.

[grasswire]

10. I love Washington

I used to stand on the capitol steps and look out toward the Potomac and just marvel that I actually lived in such a splendid place. Sigh. I miss it.

One time I walked all the way from the Chinese Embassy wayyyyy out on Massachusetts to the Capitol. It was a lovely day in May.

I'll never forget my first flight into D.C., either. It was in the evening.

Sigh.

[Lizz612]

12. Yep! We were sleep deprived and the city was dead!

No really, as a Minnesota transplant the snow was... beyond words. I can't tell you how much the snow alone affected me. And I had no idea how neat the white and off white buildings would look next to white snow.