Once we got to Washington D.C. we checked into our shady hostel on the hilltop. The aptly named Hilltop Hostel was run by a semi-toothless but kind fellow who seemed a little too eager to remind us...twice...that the liquor store is open late. We put our things in "storage" in the unlocked and unsupervised basement/hangout because check-in wasn't for a few hours. We wanted to see as much as possible of D.C. in our one day so we hopped on a metro for the city center shortly after grabbing a pastry and orange juice breakfast at a local diner.

We didn't have a distinct plan except to "see the sights" so we started at what seemed the most logical place: The Capitol. We were surprised to find that the largest tourist population seemed to be Hasidic Jews. We lined up behind a very long line of long-skirted young girls all looking rather quiet and reserved, but interested in seeing the capitol building nonetheless. As the group moved forward toward the glass doors leading underneath the building and the square that lies in front of it, Steve and I guzzled down our recently purchased liter of water. No drinks allowed. We were pleased to learn that the tour was free.

We were scanned and stuffed through the entrance like cattle and then given headsets to help us tune into our guide. We looked at bronze and marble statues of presidents and noteworthy statesman alike. The paintings inside the building depicted pivotal moments in history. It was interesting to see where our House and Senate meet.

After the educational tour we kept walking toward the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, at the opposite end of the "Mall." This walk was a little challenging for me because I was a gimp…having slammed my knee into a jump standard the day before. I held it together long enough to tour two Smithsonian museums (Air and Space and Natural History) and a sculpture garden. After a few photo breaks we finished our long walk at the Washington Monument. The Reflecting Pool, which I was looking forward to most, was bone dry. I was a little upset about this because it's the only thing that had motivated me to finish the walk. It was being re-piped….or something. We walked up the marble steps to the Lincoln Memorial and took our pictures like the rest. We had a little photo shoot in the setting sunlight and continued on.

The White House was lifeless and far away. We snapped a couple pictures and went to find food. We had a late lunch that we considered dinner and limped back to the metro station. Before falling asleep in our dorm we chatted with "Arthur" the Chinese guy who explained he was headed to New York to see Shen Yun, a classical Chinese dance and musical show depicting thousands of years of culture. It was not being shown in China.

The next morning we got up early to head to New Jersey. Why you might ask? It was coincidental that my cousin Lauren was playing softball (Notre Dame) against Rutgers University the day we were heading to New York. We detoured to see her and spent three cold hours at the Rutgers field for the double-header. Notre Dame won the first and lost the second. It was worth it to see her but she had to hop on the bus quickly so once the game was over we were again on our way. After riding the university buses to the train station we finally were headed to New York! Steve had never been and I had only been for 9 days during school but didn't see much more than the inside of advertising agencies. We were ready for the big city!