Chesapeake Boating (3)

From small communities it was on to the Capital Yacht Club at the DC Wharf, which is located in southwest Washington, DC, and was our home for the next week. Development of the Wharf area was a $2.5 billion project, which is on-going. The Wharf location has many positive aspects to its location.

It was easy to appreciate being docked on the Potomac River enjoying all the boat and water activities. It was easy to appreciate all the restaurants at the Wharf, which made for very convenient dining. It was easy to appreciate the convenience of the DC Circulator, a bus that runs a regular route making for convenient rides to metro stations and some of the known DC spots.

However, putting aside the fact that most operations were interrupted because of Covid-19, it did not take long to realize that the Wharf location has a few drawbacks as well. Located south of the National Mall means traffic challenges as most activities and restaurants are beyond the Mall. Traffic in the DC area is fairly awful most of the time, but add in the all-too-often protests along with the Presidential and other official motorcades, and, getting around can be a nightmare as was confirmed during the weekend. Being on a boat with no car meant taking Uber, which we did that Friday evening to go to dinner at Le Diplomat, listed as one of the top DC restaurants. Le Diplomat was fairly conveniently located, less than 3 miles from the Wharf. However, with the road blockades because of the on-going protests, it took 30 minutes to get there and 45 minutes to get back after dinner. Then, to add insult to injury, the Uber rides cost over $100 to go about six miles!

Covid-19 meant that essentially all DC activities had been suspended. ALL the museums were closed. Only some of the outdoor parks were open. Some restaurants were open with outdoor dining and limited menus, although some restaurants did open with limited indoor dining, which was good news with the hot weather and evening showers.

So what did we do? One day we went to the Eastern Market, which is a wonderful market with a wide array of foods. One day we drove to Potomac to have brunch with good friends (we got a bit smarter and rented a car for several days with the cost of parking being almost as much as the car rental!), and, another day we drove to Bethesda to have dinner with other friends. We had lunch in Arlington and then visited the Iwo Jima Memorial. We became thoroughly acquainted with the restaurants in the Wharf area. We read on the boat while watching the paddle boaters and kayakers go by, some wearing their masks. And, another activity was watching the helicopters fly overhead on a regular basis as we were on the helicopter flight path.