Driving today was a blast! The US-50 winds up through mountains with thick forest to both sides and rarely seeing a car passing by. So I felt pretty much like the last man on earth - especially when I - out of the sudden - passed an abandoned Bar in the middle of nowhere. Man, I was thrilled and decided to turn around to take pictures over there. So I parked the car right in front of it, stepped out and got ready to shoot. That was an eery feeling wandering around that place, being afraid of getting jumped by an armed angry hillbilly. All my senses were on the alert and adrenaline pumped through my body. Weird, since I really seemed to be the only being around within the next 50 miles or something.
After I spent almost 30 minutes there (without any car passing by) I got all my shots I wanted and continued westwards. Just a few miles later I passed another abandoned house wich was left for decay. The irony here: It’s for sale! Now that would be a bargain!
When I left Virginia the region flattened and I finally arrived in Athens, OH which turned out to be a adorable little college town. I drove around a little and finally checked into my first “real motel” on this trip. The “Highlander” was just as I thought motels around Route 50 would be: Retro-Style!
When I arrived in Washington, DC I was pretty surprised since I expected it to be way bigger. Coming from New York City it was a completely different feeling driving there. Pleasant driving and you can see the sky everywhere without dislocating your head.
The next surprise was when I got into my King Studio room at the Donovan House Hotel. It was outstanding and I was stunned. So I spent like 20 minutes taking pictures of the room like a complete idiot.
Afterwards I went out to the streets to get to see some of Washington’s nightlife. I went to the White House by accident (because I got lost) and witnessed Marine One landing right in front of it - wooha!
Afterwards I stumbled upon some guy who was sitting in a tent in front of the White House. It’s part of a protest and they’re spending 20 hours a day in this tent facing the white house since 1987 - unbeliveable!
I took my camera the next day and went off for some sightseeing. One of the most impressing things was the Washington Monument! I didn’t know you can even get on the top of it - for free (almost all museums and attractions in DC are free - neat!).
I walked around for about six hours, said “Hello” to Lincoln at his memorial, visited some of the Smithsonian Museums (also free) and went to Georgetown in the evening for dinner. A perfect day!
I went to bed late, had some wine and watched the Military Channel until I fell asleep, leaving DC on the next day, heading westward on my road-trip to San Francisco, CA.
