On the way to Washington DC - Smithfield and storms

Sorry it has been so long since I wrote. Lots has happened. As usual all of it interesting. At least to us!

As I noted before, the flaky weather forced us to get a car and drive to Washington DC to see Marissa. We really wanted to take the boat but it was not to be. And a good thing too. On the day we left, Thursday 6.15, we encountered a terrible storm around Fredericksburg, just past Richmond on US95. It was so dark and threatening that we pulled into one of those gas stations that has the truckers stores, plus a convenient DQ which made passing the time enjoyable. The air was heavy and the clouds dark with that greenish tint that says a tornado is somewhere in the neighborhood.

Crowds of travelers gathered around the TV as the weather channel put up charts of our immediate area. People around us said, “Hey that is my street.” And “my cousin lives on that block.” It was wild. I was crazy with concern because Rusty was in the car during the storm. As they shepherded the crowds into the store cooler, the safest place according to a lady who seemed to be in charge, I asked frantically if Rusty could come in. But no. He remained in the car. Kermit thought he was doing me a big favor by volunteering to sit in the car with the dog in a tornado. That was not a favor. I can sadly replace the dog but good husbands are harder to come by. So we stayed as close to the windows as we dared to make sure a big wind didn’t take Rusty to OZ. He survived.

Let me back up. We are notoriously slow to move in the morning. We always forget something or another. So we didn’t get the car loaded with all the crap until about 9am or so. That wasn’t too much of a problem since traffic here is big-city like. Rush hour is real, not aided by the fact that all the communities are connected by bridges and tunnels. Only so much traffic can go through those roads no matter how much of a hurry you are in. So we loaded up and left the house by 9 or so, definitely before 10 I am pretty sure.

The bridge across the James River

It is less than 4 hours to Washington DC from Virginia Beach. We wanted to stop in Smithfield along the way then get to DC and get settled before Marissa let out of work. It was a scenic ride to Smithfield over bridges and through farm communities. It is easy to believe this are has been settled a long time. We saw old building and farms that have been in existence since before the 1700s.

Smithfield is a eat little town. It is famous for .. you guessed it… Smithfield HAMS. There are pigs everywhere. Decorated pigs sit in front of buildings and on street corners. Pig murals. Pig statues on stoops and porches. 

Pigs everywhere. And flowers decorating really old buildings. The historical society documented every building in town with it's historical significance. They share this on a great map. This is one of the best organized towns for tourists.

Katherine with Ben Franklin and Rusty
in Smithfield

Kermit at lunch

We stopped for lunch at the Smithfield Restaurant and had Virginia ham samplers. Kermit had potato ham soup with a ham and cheese pannini and I had a ham biscuit with chicken salad (I know, not piggy). Delicious. We walked around a little but it was pretty hot. Rusty enjoyed sitting with us while we ate in the outdoor portion of the restaurant.

When we got back on the road we realized that Smithfield is not really near anything. Kind of a strategic misstep if we wanted to get to DC quickly. So we had a leisurely drive though the Virginia countryside trying to get to US 95 and a more direct route to DC. Lots of tobacco barns, really old churches, and road houses that must have been in the same spot for centuries. It was quite pleasant.

Tony and Shirley on Headquarters at James Creek Marina

The storm hit around 3pm when we were still about 2 hours away from DC. After the storm passed we got back in the car and continued north. Suddenly a buzz on the texting machine.

Headquarters is in DC!! YEAH!! We haven’t seen them in weeks. We arranged to meet them at their marina and pick up some supplies along the way since we have a car. Every boater needs 4 cases of beer, right? I know we pack iin supplies like that and so do Tony and Shirley. We pick up the beer and Coke and continue our journey.

We didn’t arrive in DC until after 6pm and went directly to James Creek Marina to meet Tony and Shirley.

Love this decoration on a
boat in the James Creek Marina

They have been in DC for 8 days riding their bikes and seeing everything. They visited almost every Smithsonian Museum, the Capital, and the monuments. Shirley share her Smithsonian map and got us oriented. Not only are we often late but we are usually unprepared. A wonderful combination if your goal is spontaneity but less useful if you have limited time in a city. Ah well, it is what it is.

We piled in the car with Tony and Shirley and headed to find Marissa’s apartment. Gosh is it cute!! Her apartment is in a building built in the 1960s with nice heritage looking brick trim. It is located down the street from a police station which made Kermit feel better. It is quite roomy. She decorated it with nice furniture that didn’t cost too much but looks nice. Plus she has a balcony with a nice view of the river. Well, she is on the second floor so she sees it through the trees. But even that is great. There are trees and flowers everywhere.

Marissa took us to dinner a few blocks away across from the Nationals stadium. It is kind of odd. People here measure distance in terms of time. So instead of someone saying, “it is 12 blocks away” they say “it is a 9 minute walk”. That makes a long walk seem reasonable. Marissa walks everywhere. She is really leaning out between the extensive walking and her common sense eating. I think the entire DC experience is turning out to be a good one. Now if she can only get her colleagues to behave – but that will come.

The restaurant was delicious. I had a prosciutto and brie sandwich with fig jam that just melted in my mouth. Mmmmm…. But it was outrageously noisy. No one could hear each other. And they didn’t have Tony’s beer. How could a restaurant not have Bud? In any event, it was a wonderful start to a great trip to DC.

We dropped off Marissa at her house and left Rusty. It was his turn to have an adventure. Then we took Tony and Shirley back to their marina with lots of hugs. Tony and Shirley are heading up the Chesapeake. We will try to catch up with them again. They are such fun!

Our hotel turned out to be The Channel Inn, the hotel that is attached to the marina where we would have stayed if we had the boat! Isn’t that a coincidence? The hotel itself is pretty old. I made Kermit check for bugs but it was clean. However it was not the kind of hotel where you want to run around without shoes, if you know what I mean.

Breakfast was good, cooked to order by a group of ladies in a cafeteria, just like in high school in the olden days when school lunches were prepared by lunch ladies. During breakfast we got word from Marissa that Rusty was NOT welcome in her building according to the building manager. This in a building that allows dogs. I guess they don’t like big dogs like Rusty. Now what?

We returned to our room to do some figuring. Marissa went to work. We planned to meet her for lunch at the Eastern Market. So we had a few hours to figure something out.

What did we do before Google and Travelocity? I used Travelocity to find dog friendly hotels in DC with reasonable rates. Sure we could stay at a $500 a night hotel but that is  not in our budget. We found a gem!!

Kimpton Hotels welcomes dogs! So we stayed at the Helix at Rhode Island and 14^th NW for $125/night, less than the Colonial Inn, although the Helix has a parking fee. The only downside is instead of being in the SW quadrant near Marissa we will be in the NW quadrant, across town. We have plenty of ways to meet her so it shouldn’t be a problem.

So we made the reservation then loaded up the car with our worldly goods. This is harder than it sounds. We don’t have luggage! We left all our luggage at home. So all our clothing was in the laundry bag and our supplies were in three over the shoulder bags. We look like the Clampetts go to DC.

We headed out by foot to get to the Eastern Market. We thought we could take the metro but it is harder than it seems for novices like us. We asked a few people on the street and headed out in the direction they suggested to find the metro station. While wandering front of the hotel I took a header, scraping both knees and  my right hand. How undignified!!I hate being clumsy!! Up I pop and off we go, limping towards a metro station.

But we couldn’t figure it out so we took a cab. Eventually everyone does I suspect. It was a good thing too! We got a great driviing tour of DC along the way.

Eastern Market

Lunch was great. We ate really well on this trip!! This time roast chicken sandwiches with chicken still warm from the over. Marissa is so different when she is  professional. There is no trace that that screaming child. She is beautiful and self-possessed, with a nice confidence.  

We shared a table outside the market with an older fellow who chimed in to our conversation about things to see. He particularly recommended the fence at the Naval Memorial just north of the Eastern Market because he reconstructed it!! Too bad we missed it!!

Kermit in the metro

She gave us her keys and we marched off to find a metro. I was determined we should figure out this public transportation. The nearest station was two blocks south of the Eastern Market – not too hard to find. But it sure was hard to figure out how to get tickets. You would be proud of us. Instead of arguing with each other, our normal way of solving these kinds of problems, we asked the fellow in the cage to help.. He came out of his cage and walked us through getting a pass and loading it with money. Then he showed us how to use it! We were in business!!

Back to the original hotel. The Channel Inn, to pick up the car. Then off to Marissa’s house to pick up the dog. So far so good. Then we move the car to the new hotel. That means we traveled across town at about 3pm. Lots of traffic. Lots of tourists. We made it safely and with minimum argument. What did we ever do before GPS? I say that often and thank my stars that we purchased a portable GPS for this trip!

Helix Hotel

A few words about Helix Hotel. MARVELOUS. WONDERFUL. PRETTY. CLEAN. NICE PEOPLE. FIVE STARS. I must do a review. We pulled up, unloaded the stuff and the dog and walked in. The staff was all over Rusty oohhing and ahhing about how cute he is, petting him, and all around making him feel like the most important guest in the hotel. How can it be that other hotels miss the opportunity to make sure a good impression on such a large group of travelers – dog lovers? It doesn’t make sense. We are now permanent fans of this hotel chain.

We were on the 6^th floor reserved for dogs. We met a boxer, a border collie and some annoying yappy dogs that never shut up. But even though they were two doors away we never heard a peep out of them when we were in our room. This hotel has some major soundproofing.

The Clampetts go to Washington

This is a colorful hotel with posters of movie starts. The front door was replaced with a red curtain that opens when you approach like you are going out on stage. There is a social room where breakfast is served and drinks are served in the evening.

Rusty enjoying breakfast on the patio

Rusty checking out the water fountain

Outside is a patio with couches and tables, lit at night by soothing purple twinkly lights. At 5pm they offer complementary wine – not crappy wine but nice wine that we enjoyed drinking. We brought Rusty out for breakfast and for drinks a few times. He reveled in the attention!

I love this tv stand - I have to have one!

king sized bed - enough for the three of us

The rooms are colorful too. The carpet is industrial, the kind that can probably be hosed down if needed after a guest departs but it is not the kind that makes you want to put on shoes. The simple decorations are colorful and space saving. Rusty particularly enjoyed the triangular desk. He hid under there a lot like a den.

Rusty takes to the hallways at Helix

We immediately called for sheets for the futon and the bed because Rusty immediately jumped up. This hotel welcomes dogs but we wanted to do our part to be good citizens and not jeopardize the privilege.

Overall this was a great location for our DC visit.

Friday night dinner with Marissa was over in her neighborhood. To meet Marissa we had to walk “9 minutes” up 14^th Street NW. To the west of our hotel is DuPont Circle, a very fancy neighborhood. To the south is the Downtown and the White House. To the north the neighborhood is changing. You can see a big contrast between vagrants sleeping on the floor with new construction and extensive remodeling. We walked up to U street and over 3 blocks to a neighborhood that used to be home to Duke Ellington. Howard University is down the street.

A great jazz combo was playing at the top of the Metro stairs as if they played there every afternoon. The music echoed into the subway.

I really like how DC has put up historical signs describing the changes in the neighborhood and how the neighborhood fits into the overall DC experience. We used those a lot.

We walked “9 minutes” (longer than that) over to the Metro and used our new transit cards. Take the blue line to L’ephant Square to change trains to the green line (or maybe it is reverse). The third exit is the one we want to get to the Naval Yard across from Washington Nationals stadium where we planned to visit Truckeroo!!!

Truckaroo

This is the coolest experience! In DC they have food trucks that serve interesting food. They travel around, park some place, then send out messages on Facebook to all their fans who flock to find the truck. On one Friday in the month they all meet at Truckeroo in this big square surrounded by stacks of railroad cars decorated with graffiti and funny signs.

ice cream stand

Korean BBQ Tacos

The Randy Radish promises veg food only

There had to be at least 20 different trucks with food from ice cream (definitely not Good Humor) to pizza, to Korean BBQ tacos, to something that promised that all their food was plant based. Fascinating. We were the oldest by at least a generation. We had at least 20 years on everyone there. Definitely a young person experience.

 We shared a bowl of tater tots, had some beer, had some frozen custard, and Kermit had a sandwich. It was lovely!! I wish we had trucks like that in Cleveland. Maybe we do and I am just not aware. But for the rest of our visit occasionally we got a glimpse of a truck we saw at Truckaroo. It made us feel special to understand what that meant.


We deposited Marissa back at her apartment and headed on the Metro for Hotel Helix across town. 

Next: Saturday and Sunday in DC - lots of walking