Crystal City is a neighborhood in Arlington, VA just outside of Washington DC. You may have seen it mentioned recently on the news as the new home of an Amazon hub. Crystal City is also just one simple metro stop away from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Since hotels in the DC area are EXPENSIVE, we ended up at a little off-brand hotel called the Americana. It was literally half the nightly price of nearby options and included on-site parking! What!
Our room was one of the nicer rooms on the property. Out the curtained door in this next picture is a balcony. Honestly, Wifey wasn't a fan of the balcony and is pretty confident it is a former motel that has since been converted.
The Americana advertises as having "retro" bathrooms. And do they ever. This appears to be the only part of the hotel's interior that hasn't been updated since it was built sometime last century :) For all the lack of style, and in some places, the integrity of tile, the bathroom was clean and functional. And for the price and location, this was all we asked for.
Breakfast was also provided, although we weren't huge fans. Options included donuts, toast and other breads, and oatmeal.
We do want to warn future guests of the Americana ... some of the parking is ... low clearance, so watch your head! :)
Our lodging is summed up as Worst Hilton Ever. We've stayed in some not-ideal accommodations from time to time. Typically in a city-center or the boonies to save a bit of money for other priorities. To be honest, we've probably stayed in worse hotels. But we have never stayed in a worse Hilton.
Let's begin with the positives -
Breakfast was excellent!
So this looks like a normal hotel room. White balance is off, but candidly I don't care enough to photoshop it.
Make a guesstimate how much shorter than this desk is this desk chair .... go ahead ... A LOT. There is no world in which these were designed to go together not can the chair adjust sufficiently to set ergonomically and work at the desk. Not pictured - the Ethernet cable that was broken and fell out of anything to which it was plugged repeatedly.
Note the door - they key card has to be inserted to unlock it. Which means - no digital key.
We have spent three days near the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. They have been full of work for both Hubby and Wifey with brief respites for Food. As a result, this is a food heavy post. I promise, more adventures await so stay tuned.
Our schedules didn't allow for lunch adventures, but I imagine that Lighthouse would be an even better destination for lunch when you can see the scenery.
We are stuffed! You can't tell but there's an ocean behind us in this pic!
The second night we were in town we visited Zahniser's Dry Dock Restaurant. Wifey wasn't feeling very well that day, so no selfies were taken ... but check out this food .... YUM.
The fresh flowers on the table were a nice touch as well as the boat as decor overhead. Like Lighthouse, Zahniser's would probably be a better lunch destination ... except they aren't even open for lunch with the exception of Sundays. Such a beautiful view (I presume) wasted :)
Our hotel was next door to a typical Mexican restaurant. It served take-out as most do.
If you've been visiting here at Werdehausen Adventures very long you know ... we love us some food! One of our travel goals is to Travel the World of Food. We've had Escargot and Mussels in France, Hiroshima "Soul Food" in Hiroshima; German Food in Germany; enjoyed dishes from the recipe books of Sultan royal chefs in Turkey; Sushi in Japan; Eel in Japan; Luxemburgese Food in ...wait for it ... Luxemburg; BBQ in Texas, you get the drift. Coming to Washington DC, in our home country, we didn't really know of any 'local' types of food to seek out.
We were thrilled to discover Mitsitam. This restaurant is located on the first floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Mitsitam features dishes from various regions of Native American groups. What better food to experience in the national capital city of The United States of America than that of the original inhabitants of our country.
Knowing that parking along the mall would be impossible, we choose to park at an outlying metro station ($4.95 per day) and ride the train into the city.
Because of traffic and confusion and ... life ... we finally arrived at the Museum at 2:40 pm!
Note, Mitsitam closes at 3:00. Wifey was initially caught off guard by the layout of the restaurant. Like other Smithsonian museum cafe's and restaurant, it is cafeteria style. Her brief uncertainty at our late arrival and the cafeteria setting were for naught.
Bison Strip Steak with Red Wine Sauce
Bison Burger
Salmon, Apple and Chard, Mashed Cauliflower
Indian Taco - Bison chili over a shell with various toppings
For future visitors, be aware that Mitsitam is a cafeteria, not a sit-down restaurant. The food is excellent and there are so many different choices! It is pretty expensive but well worth budgeting as part of your D.C. experience.
Today we had the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetary in Northern VA, just south of Washington DC. Within the cemetery, we spent some time at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and visited the gravesite of President Kennedy.
We drove to the Cemetary and parked on site for $4. The Cemetary itself is free to visit, although do be prepared to go through a security checkpoint on your way in. The guards inside have maps available upon request.
The walk from the visitors center to the Tomb of the Unknown is pretty easy, only taking approximately 15 minutes. Along the way, you pass by seemingly endless rows of graves.
All perfectly straight.
The area near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is marked by entry signs reminding visitors to remain silent and show respect.
We were able to view the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while we were visiting. If anyone is more familiar than me with the words spoken during this ceremony, please shoot me a message and I'll update my captions.
After the Changing of the Guard ceremony, we walked to John F. Kennedy's grave. On it burns an eternal flame.
