No question really, just wanted to say something about DC

-- John (jbakum@hotmail.com), August 11, 2000

Answers

I still consider DC one of my homes, along with NJ, even though I live in Boston now. It takes awhile for DC to grow on you but it has it's charms. You just have to go to the right places at the right times. It does have an inferiority complex with NYC (though all northeast cities do) that is a bit unbecoming. It's also a transient town; kids move down after college for an internship on Capitol Hill that daddy set up, work in that grind for a few years and then move away. If you can get away from politics and law firms (which is hard to do) you'll find DC is actually home to "real" people.

I used to do the NJ to DC drive all the time, and everytime I cursed Delaware. It was the most reliable spot to get stuck in traffic and they have the temerity to call their 12 mile roadway the Delaware Turnpike.

Love their motto too: "Small Wonder". That kid that played the robot should sue them for defamation.

-- John (jbakum@hotmail.com), August 11, 2000.

there's only one problem with the whole nj-to-dc route: maryland! hands down the worst drivers on the planet.

just my 2" (or $2 at the toll barrier)

-- rose (rosemarie.s@worldnet.att.net), August 11, 2000.

Maryland was nice to me. I stopped at the Chesapeake House rest area and they had good coffee.

Ah, the perils of I-95.

Washington, DC. Yes, I jumped to judgement, and I admit that. Aside from high school field trips, my exposure to the city has been, well, non-existent aside from a brief three-day class at "AOL University" (yes, such a thing exists) to learn how to code in "Rain Man" (don't ask), which is sort of a backwards version of HTML that makes AOL pages work.

I have other, more personal reasons for disliking DC, and I was definitely swayed by them during my visit. At the same time, the city did nothing to sway me in the opposite direction. Give me the monuments and museums ... they're all way cool. But I still can't find any soul there.

-- amaebi (me@amaebi.org), August 14, 2000.

yes, yes, yes, Chesapeake House, Maryland House, all those tacky rest stops...i swear between my last 2 jobs i've stopped at every rest stop between DC and kittery maine.

as for dc, one of my closest friends used to live there (she's now in san jose of all places) so i'd go on occasion to visit. it's a rather pretty place (i always seemed to hit the gw parkway at twilight when the lights were on in the capital), but i guess it's different when you visit a place with a 'native'.

now that i ponder it all, dc seems very familiar to me now.

and eatin's pretty good there too. the *second* best thai food i ever had (1st is at holy basil in nyc) and the sushi's pretty good at arlington courthouse (can't remember the restaurant's name, but it's the only one there).

wow, too much writing when i still have so much to do.

night all!

-- rose (rosemarie.s@worldnet.att.net), August 14, 2000.