Driving in DC

Hi I'm Sarah. Goon Squad Sarah. I am one of the ladies (and I use that term loosely when referring to myself) that is going to be starting up the new DC Metro Moms Blog. I'm very excited about this new venture. I wasn't exactly sure how I would start here. What should my first post be about? I was trying to think about what makes living here in the suburbs of Washington D.C. different from living in any other city, and all of the sudden it was so obvious.

The accidental sightseeing.

I'm not kidding. Accidental sightseeing. There are two real reasons for this. One is that you just can't miss things around here. I actually use the Washington Monument for navigating. Okay, there is The Monument. That way must be east. I know I am going the right way to the airport if I drive past Iwo Jima. When I fly home I see The Pentagon and The Jefferson Memorial.

The real reason I am an accidental tourist is because driving in the district is so damn confusing. I get lost almost every time I drive down there.

One time my friends were visiting from Florida and we tried to take all of the kids to The National Zoo. I thought I would be a great tour guide and drive them by The White House on the way there. I can get to The White House no problem. I really only have to leave my neighborhood, turn right and keep driving until I see it.

The problem is that all of the roads don't go where you think they will. When Pierre-Charles L'Enfant designed this city he was really into traffic circles. Traffic circles make my mind hurt.

So we were trying to get from The White House to the Zoo. Honestly I don't think they are even five miles apart, but it took us an hour. The good part is that since it their first trip to DC they got to see Union Station, The Capitol Building, and DuPont Circle (several times. It was so bad we ended up saying Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament).

Another time my husband and I were headed to The Kennedy Center (oh how I adore The Kennedy Center) to see Falstaff. We got hopelessly lost, and while we missed the entire first act, we did get to see The Turkish Embassy and The Lincoln Memorial.

Washington DC is a beautiful city. Did you know that there are building restrictions so that you cannot build anything taller than The Washington Monument? Because of this, on any half way decent day the city is filled with sunlight.

I really love this city. My biggest beef (well, besides the traffic, high cost of living and the current Executive Branch) is that I can't get preseason Tampa Bay Buccaneer games on TV.

Sarah also writes at Sarah and the Goon Squad,  Strollerderby, BlogHer, Draft Day Suit and about 80 other places.