The weather forecast for Washington D.C. on Monday May 16, 2022 was scattered showers with a possibility of thunderstorms throughout the entire morning – and perhaps into the early afternoon. While that meteorological report would disappoint most tourists, it was music to my photographer’s ears. Tom not only refused to set his wake-up alarm the previous night, but when he opened his eyes at 7:15am, he had little to no motivation on that Monday morning as well. I empathized with him – heck, we had packed a lot into the first seven days of the trip; including some sites that required a ton of walking. I also wondered if the harrowing 90-mile drive during the previous night’s severe thunderstorm had taken a toll on him as well. Even though I was ready and raring’ to go, I needed to face the facts that my camera guy was old, out of shape, and he runs out of gas easier than he did a few years ago. Even if Tom used that Monday to “recharge his batteries”, and the day became a complete “wash out”, we still had two full days left in our nation’s capital to see the remainder of the sites on our agenda.
Bob Moldenhauer wasn’t about to let a few raindrops pee on his parade, however. At roughly 9am, Mongo grabbed an umbrella, his rain slicker, and he headed alone to nearby Arlington National Cemetery where he planned on paying his respects to a large handful of dead astronauts. While he was gone, Tom and I lounged around our room at the Comfort Inn Pentagon City where we watched a few episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. In my mind, there’s nothing better on a rainy morning than Andy, Barney, and little Opie. When Moldenhauer returned from Arlington at roughly 11:30, he joined in the Mayberry marathon as well.
When the rain subsided by late afternoon, it was time for dinner. Tom and Bob decided on Chinese cuisine, and luckily there was a place called ‘China House’ located only two blocks from our hotel. The original plan was for my companions to “dine in”, but when they saw there was only one small, cluttered table inside the restaurant, they brought their meals back to our room. For roughly 45 minutes, I silently watched as my photographer devoured a good portion of his sweet and sour chicken, while Mongo ate chicken with cashew nuts. And the surprising part of it all – both men had leftovers. That’s right, I couldn’t believe it when I saw Tom and Bob place the remainder of their food into the room’s refrigerator.
Perhaps it was the food; or maybe it was the multiple naps throughout the day; or it could have been a combination of both – but Tom and Bob had caught their second wind and they decided to head into the National Mall for a nighttime viewing of the monuments. I was cool with that; I remembered from previous trips that the monuments and memorials looked spectacular illuminated against the black night sky.
We left the hotel at 6:15pm, and with my photographer behind the wheel, the three of us headed out on what turned into a four-hour adventure to see Washington D.C. at night. While Tom’s photos couldn’t replicate the beauty we saw with our own eyes, I insisted he share his images with you, nonetheless. With that said, sit back and enjoy Washington D.C. at night – even though I’m not pictured in many of the images due to the lack of lighting.
The view we had from the Washington Monument, located on the hill in the center of the National Mall, was spectacular at night. While we were there, I also had my first chance to stand on the obscure Jefferson Pier. Then it happened; and to be honest, I wasn’t totally surprised. After the three of us had made our way on foot to The Ellipse where we had an amazing view of the White House, I heard my companions agree to make their pilgrimage that night back to the famous ‘Exorcist Stairs’. Oh no! I had been to that site twice in the past, and even though each visit was during the light of day, I was apprehensive both times. But ten o’clock at night? With a full moon rising in the east? Were my companions trying to scoff in the face of pure evil? Were they completely insane? During the entire three-mile drive to Georgetown, I stood inside the camera case where I repeated to myself over and over and over again: “It’s only a movie. It’s only a movie.” Thank goodness I had my Rosary beads inside the case with me, even though I’m not a Catholic bobble head.
While there were lights mounted on the brick wall alongside the infamous Exorcist Stairs, which kept the area somewhat illuminated, I had “the creeps” from the moment we arrived. There was a feeling of pure evil permeating at the base of the steps, and I was terrified. There was no chance in, well, I hoped Tom wouldn’t try to carry me up those steps at night. But he did the next worst thing – he placed me on the stairs of evil where I was forced to pose for several photos. As I stood on the fourth step, shaking in my breeches, I thought I heard a deep, growling voice say: “I could push you down those stairs, but that’s too vulgar a display of power, Jefferson.” Wait, what? It got worse – the voice got personal: “Your Martha eats rats in Hell, Jefferson; you faithless slime!” That was it; I needed to get back inside my camera case and rub the heck out of those Rosary beads from JFK’s church.
I was happy, and relieved, once we left Georgetown and were headed back to the hotel. However, when my companions saw the full moon in the night sky during our ride over the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge, the pair decided to make a detour to see the Iwo Jima Memorial illuminated against darkness of night.
Once we arrived, I had to admit, that memorial looked more spectacular at night than it did earlier in the day. The full moon hung majestically in the sky behind the huge, bronze soldiers; nothing at that moment could’ve been more patriotic, at least in my mind. As I admired the breathtaking view of the illuminated monuments and Capitol in the distance, the thoughts of Regan MacNeil and her demonic possession had nearly vanished from my head. And that’s when I saw it – I noticed something was moving in the sky. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a quick glimpse of a faint object high above the Washington Monument – it moved steadily towards the south. Since the distant craft didn’t behave erratically or perform any out-of-this-world maneuvers, the unidentified flying object was likely an ordinary airplane. Or was it? Maybe, just maybe, Klaatu had returned to Washington to discuss the Ukraine situation with President Biden and his Joint Chiefs of Staff. Or perhaps the alien wanted to probe the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic to see how Greece could sooth the issues on Uranus.
It was 10:45pm when we returned to our room at the Comfort Inn; an hour later, the lights went out. My imagination went wild as I stood alongside the TV set in the eerily quiet room; the silence broken only by an occasional snort emitted from the direction of my photographer’s bed. I had survived a near-death encounter with a demon, then I escaped a potential extraterrestrial abduction shortly after. While those two paranormal events are usually the stuff nightmares are made of, they were the least of my worries. That’s because we were a little over 12 hours from a return trip to Mount Vernon; and once there, I knew I had to face the demons of George Washington’s dentures. And why would I want to go back to a place where my life nearly ended? Let’s just say the Devil made me do it!
That morning at Arlington was the wettest that I had gotten on the whole trip! But it was worth it. That evening in D.C. and Georgetown was incredible. Washington at night is breathtaking! And the Exorcist Steps at night are chilling! I will go there again!
Even though The Exorcist was only a Hollywood movie, visiting those steps at night was exactly how you described it – “Chilling”. And Washington’s monuments and Capitol at night, it doesn’t get much better than that. Parking is easier, there’s less people to contend with, and everything is more spectacular illuminated against the black sky.