The City of Magnificent Distances

 Washington is a walking city. If you've read any of my accounts of my own lookings-around the city (with or without friends in tow), you will have noticed the distances covered on foot are not negligible. For starters, the Mall is about two miles long from end to end, so to traverse it at a leisurely pace takes about forty-five minutes (inclusive of waiting time at crosswalks, which, in this city, can also be a considerable use of one's time). But, as spread out as the city is, it is sometimes downright pleasant to walk around in. Perhaps the human-scaled architecture, prevented by law from reaching much more than one hundred feet, lends the city a more agreeable street scape. The streets themselves - even the busy ones - are generally no more than four lanes wide, which keeps traffic slower (much to their chagrin, I'm sure).

In any event, even in the summertime humidity it has proven a pleasure to stretch the legs after work and walk around the city. Just last Wednesday, I met up with a friend who had an extra ticket to go to the top of the Washington Monument, which has just reopened to the public. To meet him, I walked along the Potomac from Georgetown, enjoying the trail along the waterfront before turning east at the Lincoln Memorial to head down the Mall. This past Friday evening, friends were picnicking at the Sculpture Garden for the ever-popular Jazz in the Garden summer concert series. I again walked from work, but chose the more direct route of Virginia Avenue, as I was in more of a hurry. Both walks were probably about two miles when all was said and done, but they were quite nice.

I had been toying with the idea of walking to or from work at some point, just to see how it went. The route I currently take to work, detailed in a post or two below, is rather convoluted if you map it out with geographic accuracy. As the crow flies, I live about four miles from work. As the Metro runs (or doesn't run) and as the Matt walks, my current commute shakes out to about seven and a half miles. I figured walking would be a happy middle-ground distance-wise. So, today I tried it out and clocked in at just under five miles walking at about an eighteen minute mile average pace. That brings us to an hour and a half walk. Getting home via Metro and walking takes about an hour. So, I saved $2.60 by adding a half hour to my commute today.

The trek

I think it may be worth it to make a habit out of this walk (perhaps in the mornings, when it's cooler, instead). The neighborhoods that I pass through are generally the green, leafy sort, so there is ample shade. There's a lot of fine landmarks to look at. And, lastly, there's many different changes in route that I could make to keep things interesting.

Today, I took the most direct route I could think of. Turning north off M St just before Rock Creek, I cut through a small park whose path led me to the P St Bridge, which I crossed and then immediately turned left onto Florida Avenue. After a brief stint on Florida as it winds past the Cosmos Club and the Embassy of Estonia, I turned north on to the mighty Connecticut Avenue. This was perhaps least pleasant portion, as the street is five lanes and quite busy during the evening rush hour. But, it lasted for only a block or two before I turned northeast on to Columbia Road, which I followed through Kalorama, Adams Morgan, and into Columbia Heights. Columbia Road is interesting in that it provides almost the entire spectrum of the socioeconomic strata of the city in less than a mile - from the Neoclassical severity of the Russian Economic Mission to an Ethiopian laundromat. From Columbia Heights, it was but a quick jaunt over to New Hampshire Avenue, then on to Rock Creek Church Road, which I followed along around to my humble abode just across North Capitol Street.

I have toyed with the idea of biking as well, but there is something downright nice about walking that you don't necessarily experience while biking. You get just as sweaty, but see half as much. Plus, it's a hassle to get my bike out of my apartment, down the stairs, and out the door (and then back in), and at 8am, I am just not one to deal with it. Anyways, we'll see how the walking goes, and whether I stick with it periodically or not.