DC Trip Update: Twitter, ETA
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The plan, currently, is to leave NYC by car at 6:30-7 AM, arriving in DC before noon and hitting our first stop, the Capitol, at noon. Mr. S and I have to work out whether to stop at the hotel first, parking, and various other dull concerns, but the goal is the Capitol at noon.
From there, we will hit various stops along the way, concluding at the Lincoln Memorial, and depending on what time it is then, we will either proceed directly to the nearest beer, or tweet instructions.
The Twitter stream linked above is the best way to keep track of our location throughout the day.
The itinerary will firm up in a day or two; in the meantime, if you live locally and have any wisdom re: security at some of the bigger monuments, please share. (Please note that I will likely not go inside any of the buildings, and will give various war memorials a decent berth.)
Ford’s Theater is also under consideration as a stop; your thoughts on that are welcome.
Watch this space.
Tags: contests no "Febrezing the tomato suit" is not a euphemism r(o)ad trips travel
Originally I had a work conflict that was my primary reason for not being able to make it to the Tomato in DC Extravaganza… now my work “conflict” is I’m being laid off that day and have to come in for the final paperwork. Darnit. I will keep tabs on the shenanigans via Twitter, though!
Thanks for the Twitter head’s up, Sars – I just “followed” you!
LOVE the tags on this one!!!
Sars, you are the coolest.
Yay!
Security-wise, you actually should be fine if you’re sticking with the outdoor memorials/monuments. They have a presence, but they’ll not interrupt as long as you don’t, you know, try to climb them or anything. ha. Depending on what size crowd you pull, Ford’s Theater might be a little cramped (it doesn’t have the space of the outdoor monuments) but definitely a fun stop.
I don’t tweet but I will be going to your twittersite online to keep up with the fun!
Viva Tomato Nation!
I am so pissed that the one time you’ll be in DC is the one time I can’t get away from school and the mountain-loads of midterms.
I interned in DC for the summer of ’07 and security wasn’t really a problem. Most of the buildings you go into require you to walk through a metal detector (including the museums) and they check your bags at some of them, but it was never really a big deal and I was there at what seemed like the height of tourist season. In any case, there weren’t many restrictions other than the obvious stuff. If you can bring it on an airplane, you can bring it to the monuments.
I’d park at the hotel and travel by Metro — way easier than trying to drive in the city.
The toughest security line was at the White House tour, which took me calling a guy I knew in my senator’s office three months before I got there before I got on the tour. Even then, it only took maybe 15 minutes.
OK, re-reading this, I think I may have missed something essential. If you are wearing the tomato suit around DC, I have no idea what security will be like and the Metro may not be the best idea, at least not when it’s crowded. Disregard what I said before. :)
I’ve lived in DC for several years now. The walk between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial has plenty of interesting stops. There’s a carousel by the Castle, the sculpture garden at the National Gallery, the fountain and sculpture garden of the Hirshhorn, the Navy Memorial at 7th and Pennsylvania, the Ellipse, the WW I Memorial to DC veterans… All of these are public spaces and don’t have any security screening, although the Park Service may be curious. The Ellipse is the only stop on this list where I’ve ever encountered security, and that is mainly to ask people to wait while a motorcade enters or leaves the White House.
Visiting the other side of the White House at Lafayette Park is still public property but does have a visible security presence–I walk through here on my way to work and like the ellipse, the only time I interact with security is when there’s a motorcade. Of course, you’re much more likely to be asked to move on from here than anywhere else in DC.
Both of the major outdoor sculpture gardens on the Mall present excellent photo opportunities for your own ambulatory art and are directly across from each other (http://tinyurl.com/4l9r2z). If you can only get to one, I’d recommend the Hirshhorn for an order of Rodin’s “The Burghers of Calais,” Tomato on the side.
http://tinyurl.com/cpcqdq
Sadly, the Smithsonian moved Uncle Beasley, a large brass dinosaur, to the Woodley Park Zoo some time ago. A Tomato-topped Triceratops would have been awesome.
For what it’s worth, Ford’s Theater just reopened a few weeks ago after a renovation, and there have been long lines to actually get inside, if that is your plan.
I’ve always wanted to get to DC and still haven’t made it…I’ll live vicariously through you. I hope you have a blast! I’ll be keeping tabs on the fun, even though I don’t Twitter either. I also love the tags, by the way. :)
I’ve been in DC for 8 years now, and worked on Capitol Hill for the majority of that time. I’ll second the recommendation to go to the hotel first but not because of driving difficulty–it will be very difficult to PARK as a “civilian” anywhere near the Capitol. (And then you’d have the added hassle of having to go BACK for your car after you get finished at the Lincoln.) At the Capitol, the police will likely prevent you from going up on the actual steps (especially if they think you’re “demonstrating”) but the grounds/plaza areas are fair game. None of the outdoor monuments has any security screening. Have you decided on a bar for the evening?
I don’t use Twitter (and I’m not 100% that I completely understand what it’s about/how it works) but I will try to follow what’s going on. When is it?
Oh, and will there be a Flickr page for this trip, like there was last time? Or does Twitter have a photo section or something?
Just got the OK from my boss for Friday off. I’m super excited!
There will be a Flickr group; there will be a video.
You can also follow the Twitter stream in your RSS feed. I’m not sure whether you have to sign up for Twitter to do that, but it’s easy to pull it into your Google reader. The issue is that, for obvious reasons, I won’t be able to update TN, so if you’re joining us midstream or want to know if we’ve been delayed, this is the best way for me to provide updates.
The trip is this Friday 13 March. We aim to begin at noon, but you never know what Beltway traffic is going to decide to do.
I’d vote against Ford’s Theater, for the same reason you’re avoiding war memorials. I visited there years ago, so I don’t know what it’s like now, but I found it a somber and moving experience. I would have been pretty resentful of a tomato costume.
Thanks for the info. I went ahead and joined Twitter. And, I can’t wait to se the photos on the Flickr group.
The tags are almost enough to make me wish that “Febrezing the tomato suit” were a euphemism for something, just so I could use it. Often.
Ford’s theatre isn’t really exciting at all. If you really want to see it, I’d say just pass by on your way to the bars. One site that I would recommend, however, which is just a few blocks from Lincoln, is to visit Einstein: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein_Memorial
As for bars, there isn’t much near the Mall proper. For a good time, I would recommend cabbing to the Dupont or Adams Morgan area.
Too bad The Awakening is so inconvenient. I think that’s my favorite DC piece of outdoor art and a tomato sitting in a giant’s hand would kind of rock.
I asked for Friday off and my boss laughed really hard before saying no (we’re kind of busy right now). So sadly I won’t be there.
Ditto what Laurabelle said, not least because ducks + giant tomato must = hilarity. Also, someone’s bound to believe you’re an installation and ask you what your inspiration was.
Also, hit up the Air and Space Museum for freeze-dried ice cream.
If you want to make the trek, I recommend the zoo, because I’d love to see little kids’ reactions to a giant tomato.
I don’t have a way to follow Twitter away from the computer (not a Luddite, just not tech needy). And things are getting crunchy at work. So I moved from definitely going to on the fence. But I know this will rock. Eeeee!
@Kat: and, it isn’t in DC anymore. It was moved way out somewhere in MD a year or two ago…sad.
@Sandman,
Maybe you should use it in place of “taking a shower” which, unless you’re one of those dirty hippies i went to college with, means you could use it all the time. “So, after my workout, i’m Febreezing the Tomato Suit and it occurs to me, i’m saving a lot of money on my water bill by doing this at the gym!”
@Kat: It’s my favorite, too. Maybe someone can have fun with Photoshop and make it look like Sarah was there.
I am in a waiting game with the office to figure out if I am allowed to take off on Friday, barring anything that really pisses me off I will be there with figurative bells on! I can’t think of any security issues you will face as long as you stay outside, but I am concerned for any attempts at getting on the Metro, though I realize last year you did ride the NY subway in the outfit for some reason I’m hesitant to think DC would be as easy going as NY in that respect… I agree with everyone else re. parking, you should definitely leave the car at the hotel. There are not a lot of garages in the area surrounding the capitol for some reason. It is all metered parking, and generally there isn’t any available.
Warnings:
1. Metro has signs up that they will search your belongings. Someone in a tomato suit at rush hour may draw unpleasant attention. (I cannot believe I typed that sentance with a straight face.)
2. The park police are known to clamp down on wedding parties who want to pose for pictures at monuments. They may ask you to move on.
3. Don’t try to park anywhere other than the hotel- street parking during the week is very difficult.
Good luck!
MTA has the same signs up; I did go on the subway in the suit last year, both ways. Nobody batted an eye, and Rockefeller Center is not a small station. But if they have to search me, they can, and if they need me to move, I’ll move — it’s not that big a deal. I’m not doing anything wrong and I’m not naked underneath, so who cares.
Just to clarify: I’m not going to go indoors anywhere. It’s a pain for me *and* security, and it’s too hard to get footage. I’m also not going near war memorials or monuments (within reason; I can’t control every eye-line on the Mall).
Thanks for all the suggestions and stay tuned for a pub meet-up plan…
I take Metro via Union Station everyday, and seen much stranger things than someone in a tomato suit.
There’s a Giant Pizza at the National Zoo that might make for a good photo op…