My Trip To Washington D.C.

One of the perks of being a blogger is I get invited to participate in events in various states. This year, as a part of national asthma month, I was invited to Washington D.C. to participate in an asthma blogger summit and Asthma & Allergy Day on Capitol Hill. Usually on these trips I try to plan for some time to set off on my own to do some tourist activities.

I'm not a hard person to entertain. One of my favorite activities is just going for walks and enjoying the scenery. 

After the Asthma Blogger Summit on May 8 we were invited to a happy hour. I think they hold events like this so we can network. I'm not a big fan of socializing. I'm also not a big fan of networking. But, still, it's still nice to do to some extent. When I attend these events, I like to have a few beers to take the edge off. 

By the time happy hour ends I have a nice buzz. I'm not drunk by any means. But, I'm feeling pretty happy. So, this is how it was when I set off on my walk through Washington D.C. 

We were not far from the Capitol, so that was the first place I planned on visiting. I was actually hoping that the Capitol was open to tourists. But, as I walked up the steps there was a guard standing behind a roped in area. A sign said the capitol was closed to tourists. 

I have read many things describing the historic buildings in Washington D.C. For some reason, I always pictured the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the White House to be real close to each other. 

But, as I stood on top of the capitol steps, and turned around, I saw that the Washington Monument was quite a distance from the Capitol. As I Google it, I see it is 1.2 miles. I did not know this as I set off to see it with my own eyes. And it was here that I realized how far apart all of these structures actually are. 

There is a great big field between the Capitol and the Monument. I think there were 3-4 baseball games that were going on in this field. I was impressed at how much open space there was. And, of course, on the way to the Monument is the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. It was quite impressive to see the names of all those who died protecting our freedom. And then there's the Washington Monument. 

As I stood near it, I was another structure in the distance. Again, I was quite naive about how far apart these structures stood. I figured I'd go for a walk and easily be able to see all of them. 

At this point I was that there was another long, grassy field with another large structure in the distance. As I trekked the 1.2 mile walk to it, I soon realized it was the Lincoln Memorial. I was impressed at how large Abe was. 

Here I decided I should continue walking to the White House. But Google Maps said it was another half hour walk. Yikes. It was eight o-clock and I kind of wanted to get back to my hotel. I entered my hotel in Google Maps. It said that I had an hour walk home. This was when I realized how far I had walked. So, I decided to skip the White House. 

I never did get to the White House. So, hopefully I get invited next year. If I do, I will schedule a tour. I also learned that they do have tours at the Capitol. 

So, I am going to (if I'm invited next year) plan a tour of that too. That will be neat to do. Love history. Love walking. It was fun. But, boy was I tired when I got back to the hotel. 

Attached are some pictures of my trip. 

I would like to add that all of this is compliments of the Asthma & Allergy Network. They are the ones who organized the 2nd Annual Asthma & Allergy Summit and the 22nd Annual Allergy & Asthma Day on Capitol Hill. 

So, it's neat to have opportunities like this. It's one of the perks of blogging. And, again, I never imagined that blogging would come to this. It's kind of an honor.