Musings from a DC walkabout

I took a walk through DC this afternoon—a wholly unexpected walk, I might add. After running several errands this morning and enjoying this beautiful day in the process, I was overcome by a powerful urge to stay outside in this beautiful weather rather than seclude myself inside my air-conditioned apartment. Yes, it was 90 degrees out, but there was more than enough breeze to keep the heat at a comfortable level, and I ended up walking the entire length of the National Mall. I actually didn't set out to walk that distance; I just kept walking and walking and walking until I couldn't walk anymore. But that long walk gave me a lot of time to think, and two major points kept running through my head (three, if you count me constantly berating myself for forgetting my camera).

Eastern Market

I originally set out to just visit Eastern Market this afternoon, since it's been close to three months since my last visit. I was actually a bit nervous on approaching Eastern Market, since I haven't seen the building since the fire back in April. I had seen several pictures of the south building charred and windows boarded up, but today, the brick front was still red, and the boarded windows were splashed with decorative paintings—as if to say, "That fire hasn't taken the life out of this building or this flea market!"

And for a Sunday afternoon, the flea market was just bustling! Seriously, it did my heart such good to see all the stands up in tents along 7th Street (obviously displaced from their previous indoor stands) and the patrons out and about, bringing continued life to this local landmark as it rebuilds into the pillar of this community that it once was.

I was tempted by all the print and painting tents (I particularly love photos of the DC landscape), but the only purchase I made was at my now-customary stop: Murky Coffee. Yes, I am that crazy that I'll drink a cup of hot coffee on a 90-degree day. Trust me on this—Murky Coffee is the coffee you don't say no to!

DC Escalator Etiquette

This is a constant issue locally, because the unspoken, unwritten, but commonly-understood prerogative of escalator conduct in the Washington area is "walk to the left, stand to the right." I say this is a constant issue because nobody anywhere, particularly Metro, posts signs that actually state this rule. Thus, we have people on escalators, mostly in malls and on Metro, who stand to the left when they don't even know they should move to the right—thus creating conflict between those who obey the rule and those who don't know it.

As a general rule, I stay on the left and walk up the escalator steps, but when I arrived at the Eastern Market Metro stop this afternoon, I saw a few people standing to the left, and decided to just stay on the right. A few people did walk up on the left, and one older couple in front of me (the man and woman were standing abreast) politely moved out of the way to let those walking up the left side pass. The old man then turned to me and said, in a you-learn-something-new-every-day voice, "I didn't realize the rules of the road applied to the escalators."

I smiled at him, and explained the unspoken rule of DC escalator etiquette—walk to the left, stand to the right. It made perfect sense to him, and knowing that it's an unspoken rule I think put him a little at ease (i.e., he probably felt a little less apprehensive about moving over to the right), but he did make one point that so many of us have been harping on for years: they should make the unwritten rule written, so that way locals and tourists alike will know how to conduct themselves properly on the escalators!

Talking with that old man today made me feel a little better about the tourists who come here, because it showed how non-locals are willing to adhere to local customs . . . as long as they're made aware of them!!! I think I'll make note of this in the Dr. Gridlock and Marc Fisher chats next week.