Going Green in the Nation's Capital

Last weekend I drove down to Washington D.C. to visit my longtime friend, Jacob. While D.C. might not seem that far (I didn't think it was either), it is actually 6.5 hours away from Providence! I did have several people who doubted my ability to drive that long without harming myself or someone else (I am thankful- I know you are just looking out for me! But my parents, Nick, and my boss? I must be a worse driver than I thought), but I made it safely without making any wrong turns until I got into Washington D.C. (Not my fault, either- Google's directions were super confusing! Although, it probably wasn't Google's fault, either... a French architect designed the city layout.)

I couldn't resist putting this picture up (sorry,, Jake!)... apparently Jacob forgot to look in the shower when he was picking up his apartment.

A pictures of the houses near where Jacob lives... aren't the lovely?

The Washington National Cathedral is across the street from where he lives. I would have taken a picture of the view from his window, but it was rainy/overcast/foggy for most of the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Jacob took me exploring all over the city, but first we ventured into the business district to check out Jacob's office. He works in the Education and Resources Department for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). If you are at all environmentally-savvy and into construction/architecture (okay, maybe there aren't that many of you), you may have heard of "LEED certification." According to the USGBC, "LEED certificate provides independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, profitable, and a healthy place to work." Their rating system looks at the following categories: site sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, regional priority, indoor environmental quality, location/linkages (is linkages a word?), and education and awareness. There are different levels of certification resulting from scores on their rating system, with the highest being "platinum," and naturally (no pun intended), since this building is their headquarters, it happens to have a platinum rating. Below are some of the highlights from my tour...

There is a fountain in their lobby- must add to indoor environmental quality. The stairs that are in front of the water fountain were made without using a crane. To have less impact on the environment, they used some type of polymer glue that Jacob compared to super-power duct tape.

Now this is a high-tech... there are sensors on the roof that adjust the shades automatically depending on the amount of light received. The light never reaches any of the workers' eyes (see how the desks are moved back?), so no one gets hot. There are even white carpet tiles that are designed to reflect more light into the room. They call this their "green corridor."

No, you are not dreaming--4 Starbucks coffee machines in the kitchen! I'm not even a coffee drinker and that makes me jealous! Love the orange wall, too.

They only eat on reusable plates and silverware (I don't remember what they are made out of, but it's something recycled), and the next bay of the dining area has dishwashers (Energy-Star certified).

An X-Box, fut ball table, and other games- how do they get anything done?

On a prominent wall, they arranged quotes (that employees had submitted prior to moving into this new building) in the shape of a tree. I think I might steel this idea (or did they steal it from me? I can't wait to use Wonderful Graffiti!)

Here is an up-close shot of the quotes... what quote would you add?

In the basement is an amazing gym- it's at more than twice the size of my apartment (which isn't that big, but still- a gym? So jealous!)

An outside view of the building

Around lunchtime, we went to Eastern Market to socialize with an organization Jacob has volunteered with since he arrived in D.C. Youth Ventures is about empowering youth to be leaders and change-makers in their communities. The students meet every Saturday for several months and eventually complete a business proposal (complete with $1k to get their idea off of the ground if it is approved.) We listened to several students talk about their experiences with the program. I didn't even know any of the students for more than 30 minutes but was still touched by their stories and attitudes.

After the presentations, Jacob and I wandered around the flea market with his friends Phipps and Maria. While I was looking at pashminas (which I now use *all* the time and take everywhere I go- thank yo Erica!), Jacob told me he had found a vendor selling old maps. I was randomly looking through a pile of European maps when I came across a map of Macedonia! Some of Nick's family roots are in Macedonia- he even visited his grandpa's first cousin and the family farm in what is now Slovenia when he went backpacking in Europe in 2006. I couldn't tell exactly how old this map was, but I knew it wasn't made anytime recently. I decided that I would walk around a little more to see if I really wanted to get it.

About 15 minutes later, I was back at his booth. The seller thought it was over 100 years old, and I ended up talking him into a 20% discount. If you hold the map up to the light, you can see the place where it was sewn into a book and the lines from how the paper was made. At the bottom of the map, someone had even written "CA 1750" in pencil. I'm pretty sure it's not 250 years old, but you never know! I am going to have someone look at the map before I put it in a frame. I was planning on surprising Nick with it when he came to visit, but I couldn't wait that long! I ended up scanning the map and sending him the picture when we were skyping. Nick is not the most animated person I've ever met, but his face lit up when he saw his gift (the best feeling in the world- this is why I love giving presents to other people... finding the perfect something for a friend or family member is so rewarding to me).

The Eastern Market area...

An inside view of the Eastern Market (not my picture)

The scanned map- it is a little blurry on the left because it wasn't put all the way down on the glass there (didn't want to wreck it!). Isn't it cool? Wish I could read Latin!

After the market, we walked through the mall area of the city. (When you are in another city, people that live there sometimes have a warped view of how far things are. For example, Phipps said that it wasn't far to the Jefferson Memorial. When you measure the distance, though, it is over 2 miles! Definitely got my exercise in that day.) This was my first visit to the Jefferson Memorial... it was a little cold, but the view was still very pretty.

The Washington Monument through the cherry blossom trees... I am going back to D.C. in the spring for a pharmacists' convention, which will be just before the Cherry Blossom Festival.

It is made entirely of marble- isn't that amazing?

Jacob and I at the Tidal Basin

Aren't the monuments beautiful at night? (Not my picture, unfortunately...)

Here are some more pictures I took when walking through the National Mall...

The Capitol Building

The original Smithsonian Museum...

After we visited Jefferson Memorial, we went to the Museum of Natural History. I've been there before, but it has one of my favorite exhibits- Gemstones and Minerals! (Of course I would like that one- I love anything bright and shiny!) Jacob likes the dinosaur exhibit, which is actually pretty amazing... some of the fossils are even a little scary looking!

Here I am trying to imitate Jacob's favorite one in the exhibit...

And here is Jacob trying to do the same. Who won?

I couldn't pass up a giant dinosaur iced sugar cookie at the museum's cafe!

I tried to take a picture of the absolutely gorgeous pink gemstones I liked at the exhibit, but it never turns out to look anything like what you see in person.

The Hope Diamond (obviously not my picture)... Too bad it belongs to the people of the United States, or I'd try to convince someone to buy it for me! :)

That night we went out with a group of Jacob's friends in Chinatown and had an absolute blast! Jacob's friends were so nice, and we got along instantly (or at least I thought so).

Jacob and I on the Metro

Mollie and Jacob on the Metro

I don't remember if this is before or after Anne and I rescued a deaf girl who was passed out in the bathroom... you never know when knowing a bit of sign language will come in handy!

Why do boys constantly feel the need to ruin pictures?

We took about five pictures of the four of us (left to right): Phipps, yours truly, Jacob, Mollie. This is honestly the best one we got.... the whole thing reminded me of being in a photo booth.

Thanks for a great weekend! I'm looking forward to visiting D.C. in the spring!