Day 14 - Segways rock

Another day, another great experience.  Rhonda and I had a great experience almost two years ago on a Segway ride in Canberra with our nephew Regan, so we thought we'd have a Segway ride in Washington.  Because this is the USA we upsized the experience and booked a two-hour ride (plus half an hour of training).  Anticipating a good time we set off on the Metro and then had a short walk to the Segway office.  We'd have had a shorter walk but we took a wrong turn.  On our way we saw what are possibly the worst laid cobblestones in the history of cobblestones.  Thankfully we didn't have to ride over them at any stage.

THE SEGWAY RIDE WAS BRILLIANT!  The training was well run, but we both surprised ourselves with how much we remembered - a bit like bike riding, once you can do it you never really forget.  A total of eight of us assembled and watched a short video on some key safety aspects, then we went out for training.

Our leader Sarah (on the right) giving us an extra safety briefing and demonstration

 We set off and the whole trip was fantastic.  Sarah took us to a lot of places around the National Mall, stopping every now and then to tell us about the significance of the sites.  Our first big stop was at the Capitol, where we could pose for photos.  Unfortunately, but for obvious safety reasons, we couldn't take photos while riding.

Intrepid riders

I think we were all amazed by how far we went during the two hours, but given that the maximum speed of the Segways was about 20kph we shouldn't have been surprised.

Taking a break near the White House - note how well we lined up the Segways

Highlights of the ride were Sarah's commentary, the scenery, and feeling smugly superior to people walking.  Sadly, all good things come to an end, and we finished feeling very happy, but surprisingly tired in the legs.  On our walk back we discovered how popular food truck are here (for those of you who have seen the recent movie 'Chef' you'll have an idea of how popular they are).  We saw the line up below outside some office buildings.

Then it was time to take the Metro back to the hotel.  One of the enduring memories we'll have was how many people are addicted to their 'smart' phones.  Connected and yet paradoxically disconnected at the same time.  The art of conversation is sadly dwindling.

We were too tired for much sightseeing in the afternoon, but we did manage to find Macys, a large department store.  Rhonda bought some lovely tops, and I got a beautiful Pierre Cardin tie for $30 - somebody in Australia is ripping consumers off.  I'll finish with a sign today.  They don't encourage short-term parking in Washington.  The prices on the sign below are fairly typical of parking costs in car parks (metred parking on the street was cheaper for short-term parking).

First hour $12, each hour after that (on average) less than $0.62

 

We'll be back later with our next instalment, covering the National Botanic Garden and a walk around historic Georgetown.