tdaxp

We had a wonderful time!

For a Labor Day weekend where we hadn't planned on anything (or even remembered to plan), our days were pretty full...

No cheating!

My thanks to Mark Safranski, Shlok, Shane Deichman, Isaac, John Robb, and A.E. for making Boyd Conference '07 not just intellectually stimulating, but fun.

This chace to meet in person so many people I know from cyberspace was amazing. Thank you.

but I have to wake up at 5 AM (4 central) to get to Quantico at a reasonable time.

So good night!

My hat off to Dr. Daniel Nexon of The Duck of Minerva, for wonderful fellowship over coffee.

I walked from Chinatown, to the Old Post Office, to the White House, to the Lincoln Memorial, to Foggy Bottom, whereupon an ACLU volunteer told me that Georgetown University's campus was about a 15 minute walk away. Ha!

But, exercise, or no exercise, the conversation with Dan was well with it.

Thanks!

My United flight leaves at 6:00 AM today, so if you read this post in the morning, I'm already on my way.

Thank to everyone who is suggesting great things to do in DC. I can't wait to get there and see for myself!

Now, my conundrum:

My base of operations will likely be Alexandria, Virginia. The conference in Quantico, Virginia, starts at 8:00 AM this Friday. The next day, my plain to the midwest leaves at 8:45 AM. So that gives me a couple of options

• Thursday night: Alexandria; Friday night: Alexandria


• Thursday night: Alexandria; Friday night: Quantico


• Thursday night: Quantico; Friday night: Alexandria


• Thursday night: Quantico; Friday night: Quantico

Complicating this is that the VRE doesn't do early morning or evening commutes, apparently.

Are taxis an option? Just renting a car and returning it at the airport?

My desire to minimize costs have a lot more to do with my cheapness than any actually dire issues, but still: every dollar saved on miscellaneous expenses can be used for food and drink instead!

Any suggestions?

I will be in Quantico, Virginia, for the Boyd conference Thursday and Friday nights, but starting on Tuesday I will be in Washington, DC itself. The following sites have already been suggested to me:

International Spy Museum
8 and F Streets NW
Right by Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Stop (Yellow line right from
airport, also Red and Green)

US Botanic Gardens
245 1st St SW (just off the southwest corner of the US Capitol grounds)
Either Federal Center Southwest or Capitol South Metro Stop (Blue Lines)

US Holocaust Memorial
Right along Independence Ave and 14th Street
Smithsonian Metro Stop (Blue/Orange Lines)

Biggest Church in America
Brookland-CUA Metro Stop (Red Line)
Take the CUA exit out

Arlington Cemetery
Arlington Cemetery Blue Line Stop

What else is worth seeing in our nation's capital?

By the time this posts (a little after 12:3:4 5/6/7) I should be on my way to Beijing China. Many people know Beijing as "Peking," and indeed PEK is still the international airport's city code. Unlike the Soviet Union, China didn't rename cities so much as change the way one converts from chinese characters (in the city's case, 北京) to latin letters (either pe + king or bei + jing).

Beijing isn't the only city so re-transcribed. In souther China, Guangzhou (廣州) was once known as "Canton." So to celebrate the upcoming trip and the cross-cultural understanding that such retranslitterations are meant to achieve, Lady of tdaxp and I visited Canton, South Dakota.

The sky had an epic quality through most of the drive. (Sadly, that was the quality that canceled the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Falls Park and caused damage through the midwest.)

On my blog, I've documented cities from the Badlands to Beijing, Peking U to Stephen F. Austin State U. However, I haven't photoblogged one of the closet things to me yet: my walk from where I live to where I work and study. The full photo series is available on my images.tdaxp.com photogalleries.

The parking lot, looking toward a fraternity house and a no-longer-used schoolhouse.