So this is what the Center of Democracy looks like!

The First Mate and I landed in DC this afternoon, arriving at Ronald Reagan Airport around 4:30 pm. After the normal confusion of deplaning, we quickly collected our luggage and got our rental car, a Mazda compact that surprisingly handled all of our baggage. Due to a fundamental misjudgment of local geography, I booked our room in Gaithersburg, about 40 minutes outside of the sites we want to see, but the hotel is comfortable and affordable. The drive took so long that I had almost convinced myself that I had gotten lost, but the correct off-ramp appeared and we found ourselves checked in, exhausted.

We ate at a lovely steak place called Sir Walter Raleigh's in Gaithersburg. It featured a generous salad bar and a casual atmosphere, and the 12-ounce sirloin I ordered came cooked to perfection. The only flaw in the entire dinner was when we found out that this establishment will close down at the end of the month. I didn't ask why, but it can't be the food or the service. In fact, due to their impending shutdown, the waiter gave us a 25% discount on the meal -- fortunately after I collected cash from my mother and my sister to put the entire meal on my credit card. (Trust me, they'll get it back this week.)

I see that Dafydd has already written a few excellent posts, and I know you will see even more from him this week. I will also post updates on my travels here in DC as well as keep up with the breaking news, mostly in the early mornings and later evenings. Tuesday will bring a special book review and an interview with the author, so keep an eye out that morning for what I think will be a fascinating series of posts.

Keep checking in for more updates!

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