Grocery Shopping

So I wasn't going to write again until after I started work on Monday, but today's events required me to tell you all about a very interesting experience.
First, let me back up to last night. After posting yesterday's blog, Chris and I decided to go see the Lincoln Memorial lit up at night. Looking at the distance on a map, we didn't think this would be any problem and set out on our adventure. If you ever think about walking from the Supreme Court to the Lincoln Memorial: DON'T!!! The Mall (as the Capitol Hill area with all the museums and monuments is called) is considerably larger than it looks and the walk is quite a workout. It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes each way and by the time we got there we were exhausted. The Lincoln Memorial itself, however, is incredible. Just one more breathtaking monument this city has to offer and it looks especially awesome when its lit at night. The walk home about killed us and we've decided that we will never try to walk that distance again. Lesson 1: places in D.C. are further apart than they appear!

Now on to today's experience: grocery shopping. I should preface this by explaining to you that D.C. is nothing like Texas. In Texas, when you need something from the store, you simply get into your car, drive 10 minutes to your destination, pick up your items and drive home. In D.C., getting to the store is much more of a journey. Since we don't have cars and there are no superstores on the Hill, we have to travel via Metro (subway) downtown to get basic things like groceries, toiletries, and a pillow (that I didn't have room to pack and bring with me). We decided to go to Target today and I had no idea how difficult that would be. First, we walked a few blocks to Union Station, purchased a rail pass and boarded the Red Line train. We rode this for a few stops, then switched to the Green Line which we rode for another four or five stops. We then walked about a block to Target. Target, while similar to every other Target in layout and services, is a little bit different in the city than you may be used to. It's located off a sidewalk in downtown in a building similar to a small mall. The store takes up two floors, much like a Sears or Macy's in a shopping mall back home, and has not only escalators for people but specialized escalators for your shopping cart so you can move between floors. It's one of the weirdest and coolest things I've ever seen! Haha.

Anyway, after shopping and checking out the real task began. We now had to get back to our apartment which meant walking back to the subway station, waiting forever for the train to arrive, boarding the Green Line, switching to the Red Line (again waiting forever for the train), walking several blocks back from Union Station and then upstairs to the room, all while carrying all of our groceries in bags. Let me assure you this is quite a workout, not only on your legs but on your arms carrying all that weight. You have no idea how heavy groceries can be until you carry them for what seems like miles. The entire trip to Target took about two and a half hours and only about 20 minutes of that was spent shopping in the store.

The moral of today's story is that Texans have no idea what it means to walk everywhere or what it's like to live without a car to run your errands. People here use their feet and mass transit to get around and do basic chores like grocery shopping and its definitely a different culture that will take some getting used to. Whether walking to monuments or Target, I've probably walked 7-8 miles and I've only been here a day and a half. Looks like I'll be in pretty good shape by the time I return in May!

- Drew

P.S. We've learned that there is a store which delivers groceries you order online for a small fee (something like $20). After today's experience, I'm thinking that a convenience fee may well be worth it to avoid carrying grocery bags on the subway.