Washington DC After Sharknado 3

Syfy movies are my guilty pleasure. The Sharknado movies are incredibly bad, but hilarious at the same time. I happened to travel to Washington DC the day after Sharknado 3 destroyed the Washington Monument and the White House. I had to tour the area to see the damage. Repairs must have been quick since the monuments looked pretty good and there were no signs of sharks (though flags were at half-mast).

 

DC has a Chinatown, but it’s not very Chinese. I laughed when I saw Bed Bath & Beyond. Not what I'd expect for a Chinatown.

The Mall was full of tourists. I can’t tell you how many stood there pretending to touch, hold up, or an obscene use of the Washington monument as a photo op using perspective.

Not sure this is a job I’d want. But I’m sure constant maintenance of the Reflection Pool is needed.

I did a LOT of walking around during the day (~8 miles) but also got to be on a bus tour in the evening. Everything looks different at night. Our excitement during the tour was losing a member of our group for a while. We played “Where’s Stan” instead of “Where’s Waldo”.

The White House is like you’d expect except you have to be pretty far away. The fences are quite distant so it's hard to see much. Plus, you have snipers watching you. That’s an eerie feeling.

The new monument is for Martin Luther King Jr. It’s pretty impressive.

I hoped to spend some time in several of the Smithsonian museums. However, after all my walking I was tired, plus they were VERY crowded. I did walk through a few and spent a bit more time in the Air & Space Museum. My favorite exhibit is the Apollo 11 capsule.

I took a break and had a pretzel and lemonade on the lawn of one of the museums. Apparently tourists feed the bird frequently. As soon as I sat down a bunch of birds landed near me and watched me the whole time. I was a bit nervous!