WASHINGTON DC IMS  - JANUARY 2009

The weather was chilly as usual on the way to Washington. Our Dragon license plate frosted over.

THE SHOW


The Washington IMS Show is one of our favorites …. Lots of great people with interests in motorcycling and the Tail of the Dragon. It is great to see many of the friends we have made over the years and to meet people who will be coming to the Dragon for the first time. We were surprised at how many were planning trips to North Carolina in 2009.

We met several of our business friends, Lee Parks of Total Control and Aaron Stevenson of Cornerspeed and Cornerspin.

We bought some of Lee’s insulated gloves for cold weather riding. We highly recommend Lee’s book Total Control, his Level One and Level Two Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic, and his gloves. Even experienced riders can get a lot from his book and classes.

Aaron puts on one of the best track days we have ever attended, and Virginia International Raceway has always been our favorite track. We are now looking at attending one of his Cornerspin Schools to learn more about riding in the dirt.

There are always new bikes to gander at.  This year it’s the Harley Sportster Dark Custom Iron 883 and the sleek 2010 Honda Fury. Custom cycles are everywhere at the show and they keep getting more extreme.  For those looking to reminisce there are dozens of motorcycles from the past all looking almost showroom new.

And there are vendors hawking just about everything, from the innovative to the useless. We did pick-up a couple pairs of comfortable SWAT boots.

WHERE WE STAYED

The Grand Hyatt Hotel is about as convenient as one can get when staying in the downtown DC area. It is only 4 blocks from the White House, one block from Chinatown, 4 blocks from the National Mall and Smithsonian,  and 6 blocks from the Capital/Union Station. There is attached underground and nearby open parking (a bit pricey at $20 a day, but worth it).

The rooms are spacious and service is excellent. Rooms begin at $299 a night winter and $359 a night summer. If you are planning to make full use of your time in DC it is much better to stay downtown than drive or ride the subway. We were running/walking early in the morning, sightseeing all day, and walking to our dinner spot. It was nice to be able to refresh in the room before each junket.

There was a Starbucks and deli in the main lobby and we found the Cure Bar and Bistro very good with reasonable prices for a tapas dinner (small servings of various foods).

WHERE WE ATE

Breakfast

Starbucks in the lobby had some great muffins and the deli breakfast was not bad at all. I did have a pretty good ham and egg sandwich one morning in the Old Post Office food court, but I was desperate.

Lunch

Five Guys hamburgers and fries for me, 808 H Street NW. Nancy liked the Chop’T Creative Salad Company, 730 7th Street NW. We ventured out to one of Washington’s landmarks one day.

Ben’s Chili Bowl is a must visit once in your life. We shared a Chili and Smoked Sausage Dog that was greasy and messy. You really get your money’s worth with a lunch like this …. We tasted it all afternoon. We also missed seeing Barack Obama there by a few hours.

We couldn’t stomach the food at the motorcycle show after smelling the grease cooking every day for 12 hours.

Dinner

Tony Cheng’s Mongolian Restaurant in Chinatown, 619 H Street NW. All you can eat stir-fry with your choice of meats, vegetables and condiments. Don’t forget the hot sauces. Your selections are grilled  on a huge stone by Mongolian chefs. Each meal comes with rice, small vinaigrette veggie plate, ice cream and fortune cookie. The grill cooking process dates back to Genghis Khan in the 13th century when his armies threw their metal shields on the campfire to use as a cooking surface.

The Cure Bar and Bistro in the Grand Hyatt. We shared an Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie cooked in the stoned oven ($16) and Country Fried Sweetbreads with Sauce ($12).  Throw in a couple of beers and we had a great dinner for under $50 including tip.

The Elephant and Castle, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue. We loved this place in Toronto and were hungry for the Fish and Chips. The Washington E&C is nowhere near as good as Toronto. The fish serving was about half the size and the fries didn’t quite match-up.

SIGHTSEEING

Nancy had her morning runs and I took my morning walks. Washington is always an interesting place to just wander and look. Nancy runs the Mall, Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial and the White House loop. It is her most favorite place in the world to run other than her North Carolina mountain routes. We always feel safe, the city is clean (usually), and you can feel the history here.

Just walking the streets I ran across the infamous boarding house of Mary Surratt. Today it is Golo's Chinese Restaurant, but in 1865 it was the center of attention in the assassination of President Lincoln. Surratt's son and others who frequented the house were implicated in the plot. Mary Surratt was arrested, tried, found guilty and hanged.

This was one week before the inauguration and there were many things going on.  We saw an Obama motorcades rush by with a dozen motorcycle police, several machine gun cars, armored limos and rescue vehicles.

Sunday morning we got to see the entire training session at the Capital and the faux parade. There were helicopters flying, bands blaring and cannons firing. The DC Motorcycle Police were lined-up with precision. We also saw President Bush take one of his last flights on the Marine One helicopter. When the President lifts off there are two other helicopters running interference.

Security was tight everywhere we went. We were snapping some shots of the interior of the Old Greyhound Bus Station when told we were not allowed because there were government offices in the same building. Many streets were closed and when Marine One lifts-off the streets in front of the White House are blocked-off with several fire and rescue trucks are standing by. Every government building you enter has numerous guards, metal detectors and body wands. Don’t take your pocket knife when touring. We walked by the White House and noticed several unmarked white vans with savage dogs barking for a piece of us. Guess that’s why we feel so safe here.

I also spotted several large Red-tailed Hawks, one at the Capital and another at the White House. Beautiful birds who seemed quite used to bustle of the city. The one at right was in the stands waiting for the inaugural parade.

There is also other wildlife on the White House grounds. News reports said trapping was underway for a number of raccoons that had taken up residence. We wondered if these might be descendants of Grace Coolidge's pet raccoon Rebecca.

The National Museum of American History on the Mall, recently reopened after several years of renovations. This is one of the must sees in DC. Any of the Smithsonian venues should be seen on an off-season weekday. We arrived at opening to avoid some of the crowd. By noon the building was packed even on a Thursday in winter.

The exhibits here are historically phenomenal. Nancy particularly liked Julia Childs Kitchen and the First Lady’s Inaugural Dresses. She was mesmerized by the Viet Nam War exhibit …. Having lost several high school friends I couldn’t take much of it.

The Gunboat Philadelphia is on display. This 1776 Revolutionary War battleship was recovered from the bottom of Lake Champlain in New York in 1935. Even the cannon ball that sank the ship was recovered.

General George Custer's buckskin jacket is also on display. One of the unusual features of the clothing from the past was the small sizes everyone seemed to be.

The Power Machinery gallery was overwhelming in its intricacy. Huge dynamos, boilers, pumps, turbines and engines from the past are on display. Nancy took a seat and napped while I wandered through this manly Industrial Revolution exhibit.

The original 30x34 foot American Flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner is displayed in a protected chamber. Portions of the flag are missing, having been cut-out and given away as souvenirs.

My favorite section was America on the Move. This transportation hall featured vehicles of every type dating back to the 1800s.

There is a 40-foot section of Route 66, a 1903 Winton (first car to be driven across the US), a Chicago Transit Authority “L” car, a 200 ton Southern Railway locomotive, and lesser known tidbits such as an 1840 highway milepost (at right), a Lincoln Highway marker, an original Oklahoma Route 66 shield sign, and much more. We look forward to when the Tail of the Dragon can become part of the Smithsonian in this exhibit.

CLICK HERE to see even more of the transportation hall.

There is so much to see here. Plan to spend the entire day and conserve your energy. We had a roll-up in the restaurant and it wasn’t bad ….  Saved us from walking a couple of blocks to grab a bite.