Day 17: Washington, DC

I hauled my lazy ass out of the 'burbs today and into the capitol (I drove, of course). I hadn't been to Washington, DC, since my marching band performed in the Cherry Blossom parade in 1997 and thought I should have a look with more adult eyes. There really is something special about being in a city - there's a certain electricity that runs through the air. I'm definitely going to 'burb it up this summer, but in the fall it's back to NYC - I'll just have to be suburbalicious in the city.

DC has free parking near the monuments - who knew? - and it was a gorgeous day so I strolled around the mall for a while. I distinctly remember the heavy feeling of disappointment when I first came to DC at age 12 and found out that the mall was not, in fact, a large shopping center. Walking around with the omnipresent Washington Monument dominating the skyline I pondered the meaning of the nation's capitol having a giant phallus as the visual focal point of the city. (And one might wonder about the international Oedipus complex, with Paris' Eiffel Tower and London's Big Ben).

No wonder we end up with so many dicks in office.