Gee... thanks, America.

Thanks, America. You're absolutely wonderful. In your great wisdom you just elected a racist, misogynist, xenophobe as your next leader. This con man hasn't paid taxes in years, lost nearly a billion dollars in business dealings in the past and refuses to pay people who've done an honest day's work for him.

The Great Orange One makes up his own words, doesn't believe in climate change (even though the vast majority of scientists say so) and mocks the parents of dead American soldiers, the disabled and anyone else who doesn't share his point of view.

This reflects poorly on you not only because of your total lack of better judgement, but also because this man most likely mirrors your own belief systems. And that, sadly, is even worse (if anything could be worse).

Now we (the rest world) have to deal with the fallout. Because whenever your big ass moves it causes ripples that can be felt continents away. Not only are you setting yourselves back decades, the rest of us are caught in your wake.

Dumbasses!

Mr. Louie goes to Washington (Part IV)

Finally... on my last day in Washington, D.C. I get a whole day without a drop of rain. Hallelujah. On this day I went out with Won and Hannah. Mimi stayed at her folks place with Bryce.

On such a nice day we visited Arlington National Cemetery first. It might seem like an odd place to go on such a bright, sunny day, but I think it's a place of historical significance that deserves to be seen.

The two main points of interest there are JFK's gravesite and the Tomb of the Unknown (American) Soldier. Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is buried beside her husband, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Also buried there are Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy and Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy.

We also visited the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial which is about 10-15 minutes walk north of the cemetery. Created by sculptor Felix W. de Weldon, it's modeled after the famous photo taken by Joe Rosenthal of five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman raising an American flag at Iwo Jima on February 19th, 1945.

By then we were all pretty hungry. When we noticed a fast food Mexican place called Chipotle we stopped for burritos. We ate fairly quickly then hopped on the subway and headed for the zoo.

Like the other Smithsonian institutions (Art museum, Natural History museum, Air and Space museum, etc.) the Zoo was free too.

For me the main attraction of this particular zoo was the Giant Pandas. They had come to the Toronto Zoo once before, but I don't remember getting to see them. The exhibit would have been quite crowded and I'm guessing people were only allowed to view the pandas for a certain length of time. If they were hiding away in a corner asleep or something then, too bad. You were out of luck.

Well, this time I thought I was out of luck again. Won, Hannah and I checked the whole Giant Panda enclosure (which was quite large) and didn't see a thing. Luckily I check one of the indoor viewing areas and saw one of the two Giant Pandas enjoying an afternoon snack of bamboo. That was quite thrilling. I took quite a few shots. Unfortunately they all look the same. He's just sitting there chewing on bamboo shoots.

The lions and tigers and cheetahs were neat too. But, my other favorite shots would have been the ones I took of the jellyfish there. The were kind of small. I don't know what kind they were, but they were really cool looking. Check my Flickr.com page if you want to see them.

Dinner was at a tea place in Georgetown. Then we headed over to Mimi's parents' place to pick her and Bryce up and take them home.

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The next morning Won dropped me off at the Megabus.com parking lot. After four days in Washington I was going home. Even though the weather was kind of rotten for most of my trip I still was happy I visited. There's a lot to see here. I'd come again to catch up on the stuff I missed for sure.

Coincidentally enough I bumped into a girl, Stephanie Wong (Bill Wong's youngest daughter), I know from my church who was taking the same bus back as me. She was visiting her cousin who was on work assignment from Montreal. She shared his hotel room in Georgetown the swanky area of the city. Lucky her.

We had a good chat on the way back. It turns out she like traveling too. One of her favorite places is Japan (where she went for a month with some of her friends after they graduated from school). We managed to talk for most of the 11 hour ride back home. That was more interesting than just sitting on my own by myself for sure.

Mr. Louie goes to Washington (Part III)

The next day I had to myself. Since it was Hannah's birthday the day before everyone went to Mimi's parents' place for her birthday party (Saturday). Won dropped me off at the Suitland Metro stop and I took the subway into town.

My first stop was the White House. I transferred from the Green to Blue/Orange line and got off at the Federal Triangle stop. I ended up in the Ronald Reagan building. From there it was a relatively short walk to the White House Visitor's Centre and on to the White House.

I was a bit disappointed at the view I got across the south lawn of the White House. It seemed to be rather obscure behind some bushes and trees. I guess the President needs his privacy. I think I managed to get some okay shots anyway. I was probably there for 5-10 minutes snapping away before I decided to head around to the north side to take a look from there. It was then the rain returned. This time falling fairly heavily.

The north side wasn't much to look at. I guess that's why no one ever takes pictures of it. I did anyway. I figure someone might want to see it. If you do you can click here to link to my Flickr.com pictures. You'll find it buried amongst the other D.C. shots.

My next destination was the National Mall (between the U.S. Capitol Building and Washington Monument). That's where many of the Smithsonian Museums are located. I wanted to see the National Air and Space Museum. I was going to meet Won and Mimi later in front of the National Museum of Natural History to go to dinner. If I had time I'd check it out as well.

On my way there I passed the United States Department of the Treasury so I snapped a photo of it. It's pretty close to the north side of the White House. The rain was still coming down, so I ducked into the nearby Willard Hotel to dry my camera off and use the facilities. It's quite a fancy place. I walked down a hallway where they were serving afternoon tea to guests. It looked very appealing.

After a short break I noticed the rain let up, so I headed back out towards the Air and Space Museum. Again I was sidetracked when I passed the Old Post Office at Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street NW. I paused to take a picture of it and the statue of Benjamin Franklin standing outside. A park ranger came up to me and started chatting.

He gave me a lot of information about Ben Franklin that I didn't know. Among other things, he was the first postmaster general of the United States, he invented the bulk mailing system, he retired at age 42, he was 6-feet-tall and he was a really good swimmer. By the time I reached the museum it was nearly 2:30 p.m. I only had 2-1/2 hours before I was supposed to meet Won and Mimi.

The Air and Space Museum was really neat. For kids I think this would be the best museum for them. They'd get to see historical planes, spaceships, satellites and other flying machines. Much more interesting than going to see paintings and things like that (at least for them). I found it quite fascinating as well. The Wright Brothers 1903 Wright Flyer was there. It was the first successfully flown airplane. Charles A. Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" was there. It was the first plane to successfully complete a solo nonstop transatlantic flight. The Bell X-1, the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound was there. And they had the Apollo Lunar Module and other space exploration vehicles. I spent so much time there I had no time at all to check out the Museum of Natural History. That will have to wait until another trip.

The National Mall was quite busy. I walked 5-10 minutes from the Air and Space Museum to the Natural History Museum arriving just on time to meet Won and Mimi. They drove in from Mimi's parents' place in Maryland and were a few minutes late. No big deal. We drove to Georgetown to go to Sushi Ko, a restaurant that one of Mimi's uncles recommended (if I'm not mistaken). I have to say I didn't think it was that great. Won and Mimi really seemed to like it though.

Afterwards we head over to another area of town, Adams Morgan. We browsed a few different stores before settling on a bar, Columbia Station, that had a live band playing to relax with a drink and listen to music. It was there I had my first Sam Adams. I had seen their commercials on TV on occasion, but didn't know if they sold it up here in Canada. I guess since I'm not a regular drinker my taste isn't that discerning in that regard. I couldn't tell if it was any different from any other beer I had drank before. Won tried it and thought it was a good beer though.

We also order some dessert to eat while listening to the band. I ordered some cheesecake while Won and Mimi split something else. I can't remember what it was. Maybe it was apple pie or something. Anyway, we wrapped up the evening a bit before 10:00. We had to get Mimi back to her parents' place to take care of the kids.

Mr. Louie goes to Washington (Part II)

The next day we rounded up the kids and went to see the Cherry Blossoms. This is one of the reasons I came to Washington, D.C. at this time of the year. They line the 3 km path around the Tidal Basin just south of the Washington Monument.

The weather was better than the day before. It was still quite chilly out, but at least there was a bit of blue sky behind the predominant clouds.

Around the Tidal Basin (as well as the cherry trees) are the Jefferson Memorial and Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. Currently under construction is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial as well. It's supposed to be ready in August, 2011.

After going by the FDR Memorial we headed away from the Tidal Basin and went over to see the Lincoln Memorial and nearby Korean War Veterans Memorial. Both were pretty cool. What wasn't very cool was the fact that they were renovating the Reflecting Pool opposite the Lincoln Memorial. It was completely drained leaving a long, muddy, brown field behind protective fencing. Not very picturesque at all.

We went to lunch at a Malaysian restaurant next. Again, I don't know what part of town it was in. It was pretty good though. We shared a few dishes that we all picked. I ordered a fried rice dish with fish and chicken. Mimi and Won ordered a tofu and something dish and noodles and something else (I can't remember now). After we ate Won took Mimi and the kids somewhere for something. I can't remember where they went either. Won and I planned to meet later at Union Station to grab dinner. So I had the afternoon to myself.

I went back to The Mall to finish up the rest of the monuments I didn't get to see. I went by the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. Next was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was right next to the Lincoln and Korean War Veterans Memorials. I didn't realize how close it was. We should have went there before lunch and then I would have myself quite a bit of time going back.

I revisited the Tidal Basin next. I wanted to get more pictures of the Cherry Blossoms. I think I managed to get quite a few good shots there. Before I knew it I was running low on time. I had planned to meet Won at 7:00 p.m. at Union Station and it was already past 6:30. Union Station is nearly 4 kms away (a bit north of the Capitol building) so I had to boogie.

Needless to say I didn't make it on time. But, when I arrived there, I didn't see Won. He mentioned he wanted to meet by the Metro (the subway). I noticed two Metro "M" signs on street level, so I stood by the one nearest the street so he could see me when he returned by car.

Well that was the big problem. Because even though he drove Mimi and the kids back by car, he returned on the subway and was waiting on the level below. We didn't find each other until at least quarter past 8:00 when I went down there to look for a pay phone.

We decided to go for sushi in the Dupont Circle area of town. There was a restaurant, Sushi Taro, Won wanted to go to. It's a very popular place that's garnered great reviews. Unfortunately for us there was a one hour wait to get in when we arrived. So we wandered around until we found another place. This one was called Bistro Bistro. It was supposed to be a French place, but they had quite a few pasta dishes which is what I had.

Mr. Louie goes to Washington (Part I)

I went to Washington, D.C. last Wednesday. It was my first time down there. Megabus.com added it to their route from Toronto. I was happy about that. I got a return ticket for $20.50. Not too shabby I have to say.

The bus ride down was quite long. Of course we had to stop at the border in Buffalo, New York and go through customs. That involved everyone getting off the bus and taking all their belongings inside and talking with the officials there. As well, we stopped at three places (Buffalo Bus Depot, Harrisburg, P.A. and Baltimore, Maryland) to drop off people and pick them up before finally arriving in D.C.

My friend Won picked me up from the parking lot in Washington where the bus stopped. We walked around downtown then went for a bite to eat at a Thai restaurant in Chinatown. After that we drove to his home out in Maryland. It was a lot further out than I expected. The ride was probably between 45 minutes to an hour. To get to work in the city he drives to the subway parking lot which takes about 1/2 hour and take the train another 20 minutes to his final destination.

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In my first day in D.C. I was joined by Won and his family. His wife Mimi and their two kids Hannah, 3, and Bryce who is just an infant. We drove to the Suitland Metro parking and took the subway into town.

It was overcast and drizzly unfortunately. I knew the weather would be like that from checking the forecast ahead of time in Toronto, so I wasn't totally surprised.

We started our day at the U.S. Capitol building. It's equivalent to the Parliament building in Ottawa, Ontario. The legislators and senators who run the country work out of here. To go inside you need to arrange tickets for a tour which we were unable to get. So we just took a look around the outside. It's quite a unique structure. It's round white dome sets it apart from any other building around.

Next we toured the U.S. Supreme Court building nearby. It's the highest court in the United States. We were able to take a self-guided tour inside.

Following that we had lunch at a salad bar called Sweetgreen. I had a Bondi Beach salad which consisted of mesclun and baby arugula with roasted chicken, avocado, corn, hearts of palm, wasabi peas; topped with a miso sesame ginger vinaigrette. It was really tasty.

After lunch we went back to the Supreme Court building area. Across the street was the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. The LOC actually consists of three buildings; the aforementioned Thomas Jefferson Building, the James Madison Memorial Building and the John Adams Building. We joined a guided tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building. It was a pretty interesting looking building. Anyone can get a library card there no matter where you come from.

Lastly we went to the National Gallery of Art. It's one of the many Smithsonian museums along The National Mall (between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building) that are free to the general public. We only had one hour there before it closed so, needless to say, it wasn't a very leisurely look around.

Dinner was at an Ethiopian Restaurant. I forget which neighbourhood in D.C. it was in. It was my first time having that kind of food. I thought it was alright. They don't use forks or knives. Instead you pick your food up with pieces of soft bread they provide for you. You just tear off bite size pieces to grab your food with. That was interesting.