Trip to National Habor 4/10/09

Yesterday, I went to National Harbor, and I gotta say, the website makes it a lot prettier than it looks. It's actually not all that exciting or has that much to offer. In a way, it looks a lot like Old Town in Alexandria. That's kind of ironic because you can see the same bridge in National Harbor that you see in Old Town, too.

In my opinion, I think I like Old Town more, but National Harbor is definitely cleaner. It is partly a shopping center, with many expensive stores located along the streets. So...really no point walking around in the part of the area. However, the name "National Harbor" wouldn't make any sense without a harbor. There it is in the first picture. *Points up* It's quite nice, and there's a giant sandbox with a sculpture of who I think is Alexander the Great? Not sure, I didn't exactly look up the history of it before going. The sculpture is pretty unique, because it was built to look like he was sinking into the 'sand,' with only a couple parts of him we can see. These include his head, arm, leg, and foot. If you look closely in the pic above, you might be able to make out some of his head and the giant arm reaching out. Here are a couple of pictures I'd thought I'd share:

When you're about to reach National Harbor, about 5 minutes away, this is what you'll most likely see. Note: I took this picture on the dock up close, not in the car, which is why the quality is clear. One more difference between Old Town and National Harbor, the architecture of Old Town's buildings are more old fashioned made of brick and etc, while this buildings are very modern looking.

For those of you who've actually heard of the country Luxembourg, (For those who don't, it's an EXTREMELY small yet pretty country next to France), here's a little taste of it. This view actually is quite similar to the view in Luxembourg. I might actually be able to fool someone with this, if it weren't for the tall American flag on a pole flapping proudly in the wind. :D

Here's another picture of the dock. Yep, I said I didn't take a picture of the entire sculpture in the sandbox, and I spoke the truth. Still, here you can see the arm and leg. I'd share some personal pics of me and my family, but they are PERSONAL. Otherwise, I'd post them because in some of the pictures, we're standing behind the rail and platform you see there, it looks like the giant arm is trying to reach for our head. xD

Here's something else I failed to take a picture entirely of:

It's a mural of Virginia on the floor of the platform we stood on. Not only does it locate popular cities (Jamestown, Williamsburg, Washington DC, etc) like a normal map, there are pictures of famous people in our history like George Washington as well as famous landmarks like the ones you see in the picture to the right.

Looks like a fancy place to live but I fail to see why I would want to live here considering the lack of places to eat and all the shops I can't afford to shop in. Besides for the harbor you could take a walk around during your free time, this isn't exactly a convenient place to live.

If you ever come here, there's this place I high recommend you dine at. It's called Potbelly's, and they make the greatest sandwiches. It's like yet better than Subway's and it's cheaper. Also, the resturaunt looks unique because it's in an old fashioned way with wooden polished booths, chairs, and tables. It's one of those places where where you order at t
here are cupboards and other types of furniture and appliances that give the resturaunt a vintage twist. Potbelly's is located right near the harbor!

Overrall, not the best road trip ever, but still fun, and at least I had the chance to go somewhere before spring break is over.