This morning on my way home from work I took what can definitely be described as the “scenic route.”
Instead of going to the Metro station a block and a half away, I went to a station much farther down the line, walking down the National Mall past museums, monuments and the White House on the way.
The Mall leading up to the Washington Monument
I used to take walks similar to this all the time. A few years ago both during a period in which I was unemployed and then later when my combination of a part-time job and a freelance gig left me with Fridays off, I made a point to go into DC a few times a month.
I didn’t have any grand objectives, just to see and experience things on my day off that might in some way enrich my life. Having grown up in this area and spent a lot of time at the various museums, I’ve seen pretty much all of the permanent collections at the major spots. So before I left each time, I would browse the various museum websites and find one or two new exhibits that had just opened that seemed somewhat interesting.
Maybe half the time these trips also included lunch with my friend who worked at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, near the White House. I sent her this picture this morning, and told her that I considered stopping into her favorite lunch spot nearby to see if they served breakfast as well:
The Corcoran Gallery
It was called Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli, and the food and the atmosphere were everything you could ever want from that type of place. My friend could not say enough good things about how nice they were and how she made a point to observe “Heidi’s Fridays.” That’s how I ended up going there so much.
She told me a story once about how she stepped up to order her favorite sandwich — let’s call it the Lewis, since I don’t remember the name — and the guy behind the counter said, “I’m Lewis!”
[I’m now told it was a Cajun turkey with avocado sandwich. “The best!!!!”]
She was so excited to have met the guy who created it, the kind of experience you do not get at Subway. That’s why it was so sad to get her reply message this morning: “Heidi’s has been closed almost a year!”
So long, Heidi.