Washington, DC Newseum weekend

This past weekend, the House of Gordon made yet another trip to Washington, DC and spent virtually all the time at the Newseum. Being yearly "Press Pass members", we get to enter at our whim instead of $20 each visit, plus we get emails concerning upcoming special interviews etc. that we could RSVP to first. Pretty cool.

Saturday began with a desire for a good breakfast. The concierge at the hotel mentioned Old Ebbitt Grill for a good brunch, or the Lincoln Waffle House. Granted, we'd been to Old Ebbitt Grill once before and found their food divine, but the urge for a "greasy spoon" overtook us, so the Lincoln Waffle House was to be it. James and Monica met us at the hotel and we Metro'd deeper into town to get to 10th and E, NW. We get to the spot: across the street from Ford's Theatre (sadly closed for renovation until Winter 2009!) and a few doors down from the Petersen House where Lincoln died...and they're closed. CLOSED!!!! The horror! Long U-shaped diner counters, swivel chairs, the feel and ambiance we were looking for. Closed. Dejected, we decide to head over to either Old Ebbitt or somewhere else. James was the only one of the 4 of us to decide to head towards the corner instead of backtracking the way we came. And lo, our prayers were answered. The "Lincoln Waffle House" has incorporated their greasy breakfast concoctions a few doors down into the "Lincoln House Restaurant Bar and Deli". With great joy, we squeeze into the tight quarters and belly up to the counter. Busy, busy place! The "A" Special with waffles, sausage, and eggs; a huge omelet with toast; country-fried steak with cheesy eggs and pancakes; and chocolate chip pancakes were all ordered and consumed with reckless abandon. Yum. It was delicious. And the atmosphere hit the spot with its sticky counters and hometown feel.

From there, the Newseum was our destination. A new exhibit, G-Men and Journalists, was on display and held some interesting tidbits, but sadly did not have as much concerning the '20s and '30s as we'd hoped. No Eliot Ness? So little about Al Capone? Prohibition gets a passing glance? Instead, it's the Unabomber, Waco, the DC Snipers, Patty Hearst. There is more to history than "recent history", and the tiny wall displays of Dillinger and Baby Face and Machine Gun Kelly paled in comparison to the huge wall display of the Patty Hearst kidnapping. What gives? The Brannons had to leave for a trip to Pennsylvania, so we bid our adieu's at the G-Men exhibit. The Gordons then cashed in their RSVP to a 2:30pm program in the Knight Studio at the Newseum. Ron Kessler, author of The Bureau: The Secret History of the F.B.I. spoke concerning his insights on the F.B.I. and its directors. A chronological persepective of the directors and their efforts. We rolled our eyes at Kessler's love and praise for the Patriot Act. Gee, who will he be voting for in November. Interesting.

Next, more displays, a 4-D movie with moving seats, and just general nerdiness as we take in and read every single display and item we see. Sometimes, people who go to museums with us may feel sluggish and detained, as they are forever waiting on the Gordons to finish what we're reading or looking at.

Next on the agenda, at 5:30pm we made our way down the street to the Safeway's National Capital Barbecue Battle. As you can see in the photo to the left, Pennsylvania Avenue is closed off for booths upon booths of smoked pig and tents upon tents of stages for bands. One of the main attractions the Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, was set to perform at 7:30pm. Friday night, James had described Chuck Brown, a DC icon, as "a mix between Motown and Parliament Funkadelic with a bit of acid jazz era Miles Davis thrown in." Intriguing. So, to kill 2 hours, we strolled and listened to bands and ate one 6-bone sample of sticky saucy barbecue (that was too fatty for our liking). (We were still rather full from our enormous breakfast, plus we needed to be hungry for our late night birthday boy dinner at a local pizza joint. But that's for later.) Not much on YouTube for Chuck Brown that has quality audio, but here's a snippet of his music:


It was a great show! His stage tent was PACKED, and the majority of the crowd who remained just filled the area around it. The music was infectious and frankly a TON of fun!

A smidge after 9:00pm, Chuck Brown's music and the day's barbecue battle were over. We made our way to the Metro and headed waaaaay northwest past the Naval Observatory and the National Cathedral to the Tenleytown/American Univ. stop. Then, a good mile-plus walk down Wisconsin Ave NW. Our destination? A residential neighborhood containing 2Amys Pizza.

We subscribe to Washington Post emails every week concerning goings-on and restaurants and the like, and one email was about pizza. It began: "Ask where to eat pizza in town, and just about everyone will recommend 2 Amys or Pizzeria Paradiso. Good choices, both. But the Washington pizza universe has other bright stars. Five picks for not-to-miss pies:" We were intrigued.

So Chris selected 2Amys for his birthday dinner extravaganza. Delicious. The Italian government designates some pizza as D.O.C., Denominazione di Origine Controllata, meaning it must adhere to rigorous ingredient and preparation methods. "Only soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt may be used for the dough, and only Italian plum tomatoes, mozarella di bufala, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil or dried oregano may be used for the toppings." Chris ordered a D.O.C. Margherita pizza, and Kimberly ordered a "Norcia" with roasted peppers, salami, mozzarella, and grana. Yum!

Afterward, we walked off the pizza with a mile-plus walk down Macomb Ave NW to the Cleveland Park Metro stop; two stops further into town from Tenleytown. Gratefully, it was all downhill walking through a gorgeous residential street filled with hugely expensive homes like this one.

Whew, that was Saturday.

Sunday, we had the breakfast buffet at the hotel, then made our way back to the Newseum for more displays and learning. Today's 2:30pm program had CNN Justice Dept. correspondent Kelli Arena and assistant director of public affairs for the FBI John Miller discuss the FBI in the news, and the tuggle and give-n-take between the press and the FBI. Interesting.

Then, sadly, it was time to go. The weekend is over and there is work to be done back in NC in order to bankroll constant trips like this weekend's latest to DC. It was jam-packed and full of fun and nerdiness and good food. What could be better?