The Adventures of SV Binary: Washington, DC

Once through the Dismal we found a place to tie the boat up on the North side of Norfolk and rent a car for a trip to DC. The timing was perfect – the Potomac River Sailing Association was having their spring regatta and the current owner of my old boat, Black and Tan, offered to bring the boat up from Solomon’s Island so Sam and I could race. It was wonderful to see all my Buccaneer friends (including Ed and Shannon on Darwin who we have almost caught up with on the loop after parting ways in the Bahamas). Sam and I had some technical difficulties (always the case racing a boat that isn’t ours) which caused us to miss three races but we delighted in our one 4^th place finish where everything came together. We are planning on getting a dinghy to race when we get home is we can find somewhere that still has some regular racing of boats faster than CL16s/wayfarers/albacores.

While in DC we made sure to take the kids to the National Mall. One day went spent just walking around and taking in the sights and another we focused on the museums. It was interesting to see DC through their eyes. Riley in particular was very moved by the Vietnam War Memorial. Seeing name after name after name is certainly sobering and it is stands in stark contrast to the WWII memorial which fully glorifies war.

DC has so many museums it is hard to decide which ones to go to when you only have one day. We chose the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of African American History and Culture, both of which require you to get ticket (free) in advance. We chose these because none of us had ever been and they are unique while space, art, and dinosaurs can be seen in any major city in the world. Both museums are worth the visit but the Holocaust Museum was particularly well done. The exhibits didn’t let the anyone off the hook for turning a blind eye and the museum repeatedly ask visitors to think about what they would have done to help. Given the US’s of response to the Syrian refugee crisis and the fact that we saw 4 people wearing Make America Great Again hats inside the museum, I suspect that the answer is “not much”.