Being Touristy - the Jefferson Memorial

I spent much of this week doing a lot of the touristy activities that I've neglected to do for the past two months that I've been living in DC. My dad and step-mom came to visit with my little brother and sister for their spring break Saturday. The first stop on our tour de DC - the Jefferson Memorial.

View from the northeast side of the Tidal Basin

This memorial might be my favorite of all that I've seen so far. It's very beautiful, and I know will be even more beautiful now that the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom. There's one problem though - it's far far away. From the Washington Monument, which is near the center of the National Mall, it is about a mile walk. Seeing it from afar is possibly prettier than up close, but it is definitely worth the walk.

Approaching the memorial from the southwest Virginia side

To get to the memorial, you need to cross a bridge over the Tidal Basin. After crossing the bridge, a path takes you to the side of the memorial facing Virginia. My family and I entered the memorial through the lower level where you'll find small exhibits telling you stories of Jefferson's history and, of course, a gift shop. Then we took an elevator up to the portico, where you'll find a 19-foot-tall, 5 ton bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson. On the interior walls are are five quotations taken from Jefferson's writings, including the Declaration of Independence: 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

When you leave the portico, you go down a whole bunch of stairs to a plaza, looking out onto DC and the Washington Monument.

Some facts about the Jefferson memorial:

• It was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.
• Construction started in 1939 and was completed in 1943.
• The statue was added in 1947. It was not finished in time for the 1943 dedication due to material shortages during WWII, so a plaster cast painted to look like bronze was temporarily used instead.
• It's ranked 4th on the List of America's Favorite Architecture (coming in behind the Empire State Building, White House and Washington National Cathedral)
• The site of the memorial used to be a popular beach for DC locals
• Building the memorial required the removal of cherry blossom trees, which caused a lot of public controversy.

Restaurant Review: Good Stuff Eatery

This is one of my favorite places to eat in DC. Located on Pennsylvania Ave. near the Hill, Good Stuff Eatery serves, in my opinion, the tastiest burger in DC. Good Stuff is owned by the same people that own We The Pizza, and the line is usually pretty long, but don't let that throw you off. Good Stuff is exactly what the name says it is: good stuff. It's worth what is sometimes a 20 minute wait.

Good Stuff is a burgers and fries joint. My favorite order is the Farmhouse Cheese burger: $5.89, American cheese, tomato, thinly-sliced onion, lettuces, pickles and "Good Stuff" sauce (basically your standard "special sauce" - ketchup and mayo), all on a "sweet, buttery soft, freshly baked Pennsylvania Dutch bun." It's very messy and very delicious. I'd also recommend Spike's Village Fries: topped with fresh thyme, rosemary and sea salt. My roommate's not a fan of the spices on it, but I really like them. It's a unique flavor that I haven't found anywhere else.

Good Stuff also serves delicious shakes. So far I've tried the Cookies and Cream, Milky Way Malt and Toasted Marshmallow. All very tasty.

The Facts:

Menu: BURGERS!!!, chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, chili, beer, shakes

Price: kind of expensive for a fast food place. Burgers range from $5.69 - $7.89. From 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, Mon-Fri, you can get a cheeseburger, fries and soda for $10.

Location: 303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003. Closest metros are Capital South and Eastern Market

Hours: 11:30 am - 11:00 pm, Mon.-Sat. CLOSED SUNDAY!!! (I didn't know this last Sunday and got pretty upset... you have been warned.)

My Rating: *****

Being Touristy - The Washington Monument

Since I moved to DC, I haven't really done many touristy things. I work, grocery shop, occasionally go out to restaurants and bars, but I haven't done many museums, monuments, anything like that. Sunday, however, I went up inside the Washington Monument.

With my roommate Kate (left) and my sorority sister Jessica (right)

One of my sorority sisters and a friend of hers visited me and my roommate for the weekend, and as a thank you for letting them crash in our apartment, they got us tickets to go inside the Washington Monument.

There are two ways to get tickets. You can book in advance online. These tickets, however, sell out VERY early. When I checked today, the earliest available tickets were for Monday, June 20. When you book online, you also have to pay a $1.50 service charge for each ticket.

The second option is to get same-day tickets. These are free, but you have to get out of bed early to get them. You get the tickets at the Washington Monument Lodge, a little building just outside the monument, located along 15th Street. The Lodge opens at 8:30 a.m., but lines start to form as early as 7:00 a.m. One person can get as many as six tickets and reserve them at any time tours are available that day. Tours run from 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. (or to 9:45 p.m. from May 31 - Sept. 6).

My friends woke up at 6:00 a.m. to get to the Monument and were able to get us 6 tickets for a 1:00 p.m. tour that day. We arrived at the Monument just before 1 and waited in a line that had already formed. Security guards take small groups, maybe of about 10, into a security checkpoint, and then into the Monument. Once inside, you go through a hallway to an elevator, which takes you to the top of the Monument. Warning: you're ears might pop! The viewing area is small and sparse, not decorated at all. You can look out of 8 small, dirty  windows, 2 on each of the Monument's 4 sides. Maps above the viewing area and below the window tell you what you're looking at. It's a great view of DC! You can really see everything. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was the reflecting pool. It was drained and looked disgusting. The view is worth the free ticket though. Here are my pictures of each of the views:

North view: The White House

East view: The Capitol

South view: The Jefferson Memorial

West view: WWII Memorial, non-reflecting non-pool, Lincoln Memorial

Historical display

You're allowed to stay up in the top of the Monument as long as you'd like. When you're done, you walk down one flight of stairs to the floor below the viewing area. There are little displays, telling you the history of the Monument and George Washington.

New York keystone

When you're done here, you take an elevator back to the bottom of the Monument. On the 2 and a half minute ride down, a park ranger slows the elevator at certain points and unfogs the elevator windows to show you specially designed keystones in the Monument. There are different stones for the states. New York has the biggest and fanciest one.

Overall, I'd recommend going. It's free, quick and offers great views and since it's such an important monument, is just something cool to say you've done. The best part, for me at least, was being outside the Monument on the ground. It's giant, completely towers over the mall. And with the openness of the mall, just looks very cool. Definitely something to at least see while you're in DC.

FYI - it's closed on Christmas and the 4th of July.

The Chicago Blackhawks Go to Washington

This past Friday, March 11, the Chicago Blackhawks were invited to the White House by President Obama. I was lucky enough to get to cover it, alongside the Daily Herald's Blackhawks writer, Tim Sassone.

Blackhawks President Tom McDonough gives President
Obama a #44 Obama Blackhawks jersey

First off, getting into the White House is a lot more difficult than any of the other government buildings in DC. At the House and Senate office buildings, you can walk in the doors before hitting security. At the Capitol, the main steps are blocked off by guards wielding machine guns, but once you get in one of the side entrances, the security is similar to the office buildings. You can't get remotely close to the White House without passing through a gate and security. It is separated from any streets by a lot of land and not easy to get to.

Once I finally found the correct entrance, I waited in a line of reporters behind a large gate. We each individually stepped up to an intercom where we stated our name and media outlet. After a guard in a little building just inside the gate confirmed our name was on the guest list, he opened the gate. When I walked in, I gave my driver's license to the guard and he gave me a red press badge on a metal lanyard.I stepped into the little building where I went through security and then was directed down a path towards the White House. I started walking with an NPR reporter from the midwest. Neither of us had ever reported a story out of the White House before. We ended up in a clump of reporters outside a little room that led to the South Lawn. I was definitely the youngest there. I recognized WGN's sports reporter, Dan Roan, and then found the Daily Herald's Tim Sassone.

President Obama holds a mini Stanley Cup, given to him
by Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews

All of us were soon herded through a hallway off the side of the White House onto the South Lawn, where we waited about an hour for the event to start. Special guests began to enter the lawn; kids who were participating in the clinic after the ceremony, their families, Blackhawks players who weren't on the team last year, various Illinois politicians. They got front and center seats, while the reporters were set up along the periphery, hardly able to see. The seasoned photographers had brought step ladders. I was left to reaching my arm as high as I could, hoping my iPhone was pointed in the right direction.

The Stanley Cup Championship team finally exited the White House and lined up on bleachers behind a podium on the South Lawn. They were all wearing suits. Jonathan Toews was carrying a mini Stanley Cup. Then the president came out and gave a speech, recounting the season and the winning cup game as if he had followed it every step of the way. Blackhawks president John McDonough presented Obama with a Obama #44 Blackhawks jersey and let him wear the Stanley Cup ring. Toews gave him a mini cup.

First Lady Michelle Obama chats up Patrick Sharp

After the ceremony, the President shook hands with kids in the crowd and the Hawks left to change into jerseys. They came back out, with the First Lady, and held a clinic for DC students. Some of the players seemed more into it than other. Patrick Kane seemed to be having fun teaching kids to shoot a puck and the First Lady spent some time chatting up Patrick Sharp (recently named one of Chicago Magazine's 50 most beautiful Chicagoans).

At the end of the event I was able to sneak my recorder in for an interview with Patrick Kane, getting about a foot or two away from the 22-year-old who scored the Stanley Cup winning shot.

I couldn't feel my feet by the end from standing for hours in heels in the cold, but it was absolutely worth it.

Restaurant Review: Hard Times Cafe

Let me preface this review with one thing:


Before this weekend, I had never eaten chili before. Yes. I was a 21-year-old chili virgin. This isn't to say I never had the opportunity to eat chili. I did. I just HATE beans. I might even be a little bit afraid of them. The texture is just weird. So I avoided chili like the plague for fear that it might contain beans.

Now on to the review... this weekend I attended a dinner party at a classmate's house from the University of Missouri. On the menu: chili from Hard Times Cafe. I was a bit apprehensive about this dinner due to my aforementioned situation, but it turned out to be a delicious meal.

My friend got the chili to go from the restaurant's flagship location in Old Town Alexandria. They serve 4 types of chili; we had two: the sweeter, milder Cincinnati Chili and the spicy Terlingua Red. I stuck to the Cincinnati to be safe. It was delicious. It had a bit of kick, maybe a bit too much of a kick for me, and was full of meat and flavor. It was still definitely something I would eat again.

The Facts:

Menu: Hard Times is famous for the chili and chili mac (chili over spaghetti with your choice of cheese, onions and/or beans). They also serve wings with a variety of chili sauces, burgers and sliders, sandwiches, salads and other dinners. A very American menu.

Price: Prices are not bad here. A bowl of chili costs anywhere from $6.89-8.89.

Location: Their flagship location, established in 1980, is in Old Town Alexandria, but there are several other locations throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia

Hours: (Old Town Alexandria) Sun.-Thurs. 11a.m.-11p.m.; Fri., Sat. 11a.m.-midnight

My Rating: *****

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National Press Foundation Awards Dinner

Last night I had the honor and the privilege of attending the National Press Foundation's 28th annual awards dinner. The dinner honors the best in American journalism and is attended by many icons in the industry. This year's attendees included Arianna Huffington, John King, Alan Greenspan and Timothy Geithner, as well as award winners MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, CNN's Dana Bash and POLITICO cartoonist Matt Wuerker, just to name a few.

John King and Dana Bash
at the awards ceremony

I got this incredible opportunity thanks to Barbara Cochran, former RTDNA president, vice president for news at NPR, executive producer of NBC's Meet the Press and vice president and Washington bureau chief for CBS News. She's also the Hurley Chair at the Missouri School of Journalism, and was able to secure a table for the group of Missouri students I'm here with in Washington. She, along with our program coordinator Wes Pippert, introduced us to many of the night's attendees.

The event was fabulous. It was held in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton. We dined on fancy foods I had never had before.... wild mushroom bisque en croute, pan seared halibut in a pomegranate emulsion, butternut squash puree, roasted baby sweet peppers, baby onion and mushrooms, caramelized pineapple with basil ice cream, lychee glace and cherry crumble, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. It was all delicious. I'm not sure what's so special about having baby versions of all the vegetables, but they were tasty.

Ballroom at the Washington Hilton

Everyone received goody bags complete with the latest issue of The Economist, screen cleaning rag and spray sponsored by The Daily and a baby tree. Yes, a baby tree. In a bottle. Not sure where I'm going to plant it in my capitol hill apartment haha.

This night is why I came to Washington. Opportunities like this don't come up anywhere else. I'm 21, and I just had dinner with the big shots from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, NBC, ABC, CNN, Google, Hearst, The Huffington Post, AP, Bloomberg and POLITICO. This is why the Missouri School of Journalism is the best people.

At the awards ceremony with Erin Schwartz (left) and Kathleen Majorsky (right).

Panel: Democracy, Dissent and Digital Media in the Arab World

One of the greatest things about Washington, DC is the abundance of incredible learning opportunities that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else in the nation. This city is filled with a striking wealth of intelligent individuals, knowledgeable on topics that really impact our world today. While my main purpose of being here this semester is to write for the Daily Herald, I've gotten the chance to have some great learning opportunities. This morning was one of them.

I attended an event today at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill about the effect of social media on the revolutions in the Arab world. I was pleased to find that the speakers went far beyond what we've been hearing about the so-called "Twitter/Facebook revolutions." The panel included Egyptian journalist/blogger Mona Eltahawy, Washington's Al-Jazeera bureau chief Abderrahim Foukara, Amira Maaty from the National Endowment for Democracy, who was in Egypt for the revolution, and Georgetown Internet studies professor Michael Nelson.

Rep. Schiff

Congressman Adam Schiff (D - CA) also made a quick appearance. While all the cameras shot up when Schiff got to the podium, the real meat of the presentation came from the panelists. Schiff's speech was pure, tailored government jabber.

Of the group, my favorite speaker was Eltahawy. An Egyptian, her comments were much more passionate than the others, while still being incredibly interesting, educated and informative. She said this is not the Twitter or Facebook revolution, and was frustrated with those who referred to it as that. It's about people. "Facebook and Twitter did not invent courage," she said. "They allowed a means to express that."

Her views were supported by Georgetown professor Nelson. "At the end of the day, the Internet is not causing the revolution," he said. "But it is enabling it." Though governments may block social media sites, the top 10% who know how to use the Internet well get around it via proxy servers and spread information to the rest of the population. Others combat social media censorship by communicating through dating websites or online games. While people in the Arab world have been so successful in mobilizing via the Internet, using it to set up a government is a whole other monster. President Obama is a good example of this. He ran the most successful online presidential campaign our nation has ever seen, but his use of the Internet while governing has not been as stellar.

Al-Jazeera's Abderrahim Foukara stood in support of traditional media as well as social media as an important force in the Arab revolutions. "Social media has been no surrogate for mainstream media," he said. "It took conventional media, primarily TV, to connect the dots social media set up." In some parts of the Arab world, the illiteracy rate can be as high as 60%. The Internet does nothing for that group. If the revolutions end up being successful and lead to democratic rule, Foukara pointed to a new talking point: why were these people forced to live under tyranny for so long? This brings the conversation onto an international playing field and Foukara says it can't be done on simply social media.

Foukara also threw in some patriotic, American references, always present in DC, saying the foresight of the US Constitution to prevent tyranny resonates with the Arab people.

Fear was also expressed at attempts to regulate the Internet, make it less open and disallow anonymity. The ability to publish work anonymously needs to remain intact for revolutions to take place. Such anonymous publications were a staple in our American Revolution, and the Federalist Papers.

The presentation ended on an interesting note: a comment on how the Arab world stepped up to solve their problem rather than just arguing and playing the blame game. They got things done. I hope to see a little more action like this in Congress. Not violent protests on the hill, of course, but action to move forward and solve our nation's problems rather than looking back to rag on those who caused them.