If DC in the daytime has been eerily lacking in throngs of tourists, nighttime is downright spooky. If I believed in ghosts, my stroll along the National Mall after sunset wouldve been filled with fear or, perhaps, reverence. As it was, though, my only were the ducks at the Reflecting Pool until I got to the Lincoln Memorial. Even then, the small group of students loitering and posing at the top of the steps to the Memorial were positively tame. Global pandemics and the specter of authoritarianism will do that to you.
I parked my car at my hotel when I got to DC because the key fell apart on the way up here, and my job feels rather precarious. I dont want to risk it falling apart permanently and stranding me up here. Nor do I want to pay exorbitant parking fees. So the DC Metro has a great friend. Seldom have I needed to walk far to get to a subway stop. But my current project presented a new problem. I dont know if its a normal thing for
the DC Metro, but they have been shutting down rather early during the time of Covid. As in around 9:00 PM. Since Id been wanting to get some night photography in before I left town in the morning, it meant I would be stranded on the National Mall when I finished. Cue my ridesharing experience. It wasnt so bad, and much better than walking all the way back to my hotel. I even got a driver who didnt want to talk to me the whole time, and I certainly appreciate that.
Lets take the rest of this blog post in chapters, shall we? Perhaps in reverse chronological order. Because why not?
My very last thing in DC was walking from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial after dark. I really wasnt sure what to expect. I had camped out on the National Mall after dinner, hoping to get some good sunset pictures, maybe with the National Phallus at the center. But while I was waiting, I took advantage of the amazing (which probably isnt so amazing when the normal amount of tourists are here, trying to connect to it) to notice that some
Only too late did I realize that those beautiful shots of the Capitol at sunset were taken from someplace other than ground level in front of the building. Probably from the roof of the building across the street. Alas. I got some crummy pics of the Capitol at various stages of (twi)light, but the sun doesnt appear in any of them.
That was only going to be the first step, so I proceeded around to the other side of the Capitol (where dummies would gather to invade and insurrect about 6 months later). Theres a great statue of Ulysses S Grant on horseback at the bottom, just in front of the first pool on the National Mall. Its one of my favorite views from the opening credits of Netflixs House of Cards, so I wanted to get that view for sure. What I also found out as I swatted away a gazillion gnats is that bodies of water in the summer, when subjected to extreme heat in the day, attract and produce large numbers of airborne pests. So I got out
The rest of the stroll down the National Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial was much the same as it was yesterday morning, just without sunlight and, remarkably, even fewer human beings.
Its hard to miss the Washington Phallus with all the searchlights pointing to the tip top. Beyond that, the World War II monument is ablaze, with the large fountain at the center and the gold stars twinkling on the walls, reflecting all that artificial light. As I said yesterday, the long Reflecting Pool between there and the Lincoln Memorial was lackluster at best. I did see a few ducks perched along the edge of the Pool, but more unwanted insects were buzzing around, with less light than other places. Swarms were more difficult to detect until I felt them, at which point its too late to avoid them.
The Lincoln Memorial felt a bit more majestic in the dark, honestly. Few people were wandering about inside the Memorial. A school group, maybe 30 strong, had gathered at the top of the stairs, most likely waiting for a group photo.
