Friday, April 23, a gray day to start our DC weekend.  I leave work at 2 pm before picking up Bryan a little before 5 pm; and yes, there was a ton of traffic trying to get out through the Lincoln Tunnel and then more though the New Jersey Turnpike.  Once the traffic cleared up a couple of hours later, the heavy rain started and didn’t really abate until around Baltimore.  But after that it was smooth sailing and, weathermen be damned, the rest of the weekend was perfectly sunny and warm!

We arrived in Washington, DC a little before 11 pm (note to readers: don’t use Yahoo for directions; they’ve failed me multiple times in crucial ways – like a typo that says “south” instead of “north” – that I cannot recommend them; our friend Oedipus puts in a good word for mapquest.com).  Our hotel, right outside of Dupont Circle, is a rehabilitated older building but our room is quite huge with king size bed, small office and separate powder and bath rooms.

Immediately heading out into the circle area, the “gay” area of Washington, we settled on the Front Page (just across the street from the hotel at 1333 New Hampshire Avenue) for dinner as most everyone else has stopped serving.  Our reward is excellent food.   We split some tequila-fried calamari and then Bryan has a very aromatic pasta with shrimp and baby spinach while I have perfectly prepared London broil with homemade onion rings.  With Ketel One martinis, dinner was $64 with a $15 tip.  Then back to the hotel by 1 am.

Saturday, April 24, we’re up at noon.  Hey, when we’re on vacation, we’re not beholden to anyone’s schedule!  It’s absolutely perfect out, so we decide to take a walking tour of the town.  It’s very quiet this weekend as NATO is having their pow-wow; Washingtonians have split the city and tour guides have been advised to stay away.  During our stay, we often notice cavalcades of five or six cars flying different flags and blocking roads.

Anyway, we head south west, passing St. Mary's Episcopal Church, (I note this for my friends in Laguna Beach) past Washington Circle towards the Lincoln Memorial followed by the Vietnam War Memorial and the Washington Monument before a long walk to the Jefferson Memorial.  By this time it’s almost 3 pm and we’re famished, not having eaten.  But there seems to be no where to eat in this area of town other than the greasy stands.  Luckily our next stop, the Holocaust Museum, has a café where we both have kosher tuna salad sandwiches.

But this is a walking tour with no time to enter museums, so we head off to the White House (so enshrouded in tents for the conference and trees in full bloom that we only see the light on the porch).  On the way, we pass a pro-Serbia march (really rich Americans wearing “target” shirts because they’re fashionable) before veering off down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Mall.  There’s a large dog show going on there over the weekend which is fun as Bryan used to raise Golden retrievers.

Then it’s off to the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court and around to Union Station.  This is a magnificent beaux-art building that was renovated as the DC train station (Amtrak and Metro) about twenty years ago.  From there, we take the subway back to Dupont Circle; and what a subway!  Carpeted with padded seats and quiet as well.  It would never work in NYC.

After freshening at the hotel for an hour, we head off to the main gay area (17th Street between P and R Streets) to search for dinner.  Our feet are still tired from walking so we immediately stop at the Mercury Grill for a couple of martinis and then start researching our choices.  Although the restaurant in which we're drinking has a fine menu and even finer waiters, we want to wander.

Considering that it’s almost 9 pm, the best restaurants all have lines; so we decide on one more drink, this time at Club Chaos.  We’re shocked that the martinis here are $10 apiece until we also find out that there’s a drag show starting momentarily.  And what an odd place … there’s a drag queen sitting next to us who’s blind (Bryan wonders how she does her makeup) and the performer is such a bad lip-syncher that they have to use a strobe to cover up her lips!

10 pm and we head back to Annie’s Paramount Steak House, recommended to us by my travel agent (another shameless plug for Bob over at Turner World).   A Dupont Circle landmark, celebrating their 50th anniversary.  I have very tasty clams casino and sirloin steak; Bryan has spiced shrimp (cooked in the shell) and his first filet mignon (shock!) wrapped in bacon.  Filet mignon has a new fan in Bryan!  With drinks (and yes, we had a couple at the bar while awaiting our table), the bill came to a very reasonable $58.  By this point, Bryan had no desire to wander the area looking for bars so we head back to the hotel.

Sunday, April 25 and another perfect day.  Again, we catch up on sleep and get up around 10 am.  We’re checked out by 11 am but decide to leave our car and luggage there until we return from yet another walking trip.  We head out first via subway from Dupont Circle to Union Square.

Our first destination is the Capitol Building; Bryan has indicated that as the one place that he definitely wanted to go inside.  Surprisingly, they have unguided tours on Sunday; you are allowed to wander through most of the areas of the building undisturbed.  But it is rather disconcerting to consider the security implications; remember the guard who was killed last year?  But that is the price we pay for democracy and it’s rather bracing to be on our honor, especially when we see a unattended telephone with a phone number list with Barney Frank’s name on it.  Bryan suggests we give his office a buzz (hey, he’s a hard-working guy … we wouldn’t be shocked to find him working on a Sunday) but we chicken out.

By 1 pm, we’re outside again; we wanted to see the Botanic Gardens but the building is being renovated until after the year 2000.  So we decide to enter the National Gallery of Art (at least the East and West Buildings) for a quick look.  I get the chance to see Salvador Dali’s “Last Supper” – I still consider Dali to have been a genius who just put out too much stuff!  This piece is magnificent; I imagine that surrealism is one of the better ways to understand theology.

Hunger strikes again and, jumping on the subway at the Naval Memorial, we head back to Dupont Circle and lunch.  This time, it’s the gay-centric (meaning the food ain’t so good) Trio’s Fox & Hounds Restaurant at 1533 17th Street.  It’s basically a pizza and burger joint done up; and considering that Bryan has jalapeno poppers and a veggie burger and I have chicken parmigiana with pasta (which is remarkably not over-cooked).  Total cost with iced teas (yes, fresh brewed):  $22.50.

By 3:30 pm, we pick up the car from the hotel and it’s off to the National Cathedral.  One would think this would be easy to find as you can see it sitting on the top of a hill.  But no, we get conflicting directions from everyone – it seems to be at the end of Massachusetts Avenue but the doorman suggests going all the way up Connecticut.  No matter, both are wrong; it’s right off Wisconsin Avenue – don’t people know their states?  Unfortunately, getting lost also gets us there a half hour too late for the 4 pm worship.

Fortunately, they’re not doing a regular service this day; it’s Sunday in the Fourth Week of Easter and that means the Kirkin’ of the Tartan!  And I love bagpipes!  This service is for the presentation and blessing of the tartans, the clan “plaids” of Scotland; and yes, David Littler, I saw many of your clansmen there (yes, I recognized your family colors).  Would you be surprised to know that the preacher, Chaplain C.C. Campbell Gillon, Chaplain to the Saint Andrew’s Society, is Scottish?  You shouldn’t be.  He preached on the subject of “agape” – the Greek word for our love of God.

After a brief walk around the building, Bryan and I got back in the car and headed back to New York City at 6 pm.  Not hitting much traffic other than the normal at Six Flags in New Jersey, we got back into the apartment at 10 pm.  Bryan even managed to add a few more states to his refrigerator magnet collection and the car passes it’s 10,000 mile mark.