When the Library of Congress closed on the twelfth of March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, I would not go re-enter Washington for more than two years. I do not want to reflect much on that time but finding myself suddenly unemployed like so many people, I focused on exercise and learning a second language when my job search became futile. If one cannot move forward in one way, it is good to move forward in other directions. I eventually did find work again but opportunities were south of the Potomac so my daily commutes took me away from DC. In time, as COVID cases rose and friends moved away from the area, I simply stopped thinking about going into the capital city. Then I myself relocated. Having time for vacation recently though, I decided to revisit.
Walking from Clarendon in Arlington, VA, I crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown. At its end was the Ukrainian Embassy which had always seemed quiet but it felt even more so with their ongoing war. M Street altogether felt quieter than I remember it though. There were crowds but the numbers were not like before Stay at Home orders. Some of the storefronts that I could recall had shuttered but Clyde's had expanded out onto the sidewalk with bistro tables. I looked through their window and recognized some of the staff inside. Before COVID, if I were to go out on a Friday night, it was my go-to place. Hands down, one of their bartenders could make the best whiskey sours. They all seemed to be doing well and it was good to see familiar faces. Maybe I should have stepped inside for a moment but I kept walking.
Crossing over Rock Creek, I felt like I was really entering DC again as I approached Washington Circle with its equestrian statue of our first president by Clark Mills. I encircled it, stared up for a second, then pressed on. There were many places in passing that I had always intended to go in or photograph but never found the time to do so. One of those ideas I was finally able to check off that list was the Embajada de Mexico, the Embassy of Mexico, which incorporates two New Republic townhouses from the earliest days of Washington's urban development. A uniquely photogenic complex, I have thought. The end goal of my walk was a soft-shelled crab sandwich at Old Ebbitt Grill for lunch, which was on the to-do list as well, taking me down along 16th St NW with the White House and Saint John's Church. Perhaps better known as Black Lives Matter Plaza now since the George Floyd protests that happened there in May 2020.
Having had some extra time before lunch, I stopped by the White House Historical Society's gift shop. Located in Decatur House adjacent to the White House itself off Lafayette Square, I wanted to purchase a Vineyard Vines bowtie that I had seen on my tour of the executive residence. It was something that I had desired for a Christmas party back in 2019 but had not bought beforehand. "That's on sale now," a woman managing the store said, "Or, rather, the cummerbund set is. I can sell you that bow tie with the cummerbund for the same price as the bow tie alone. We just can't sell the cummerbund sets. Nobody goes to formal events anymore." On one hand, that felt fortuitous. On the other, it wasn't what I was hoping to hear. There will be formal events again though and when those happen, I will be ready.
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