Riding a bus is different from riding the subway in just one way: You can see things out of the windows. The Washington buses, anyhow, differed in very little else. You use the plastic credit-card-looking SmartCard to pay your fare, same as the subways, and you sit in seats that are surprisingly clean and comfy. My entire experience with public transportation came in New York, New York, and San José, Costa Rica, so it would have taken very little cleanness (or comfiness) to surprise me. Oh, and you pull the little rope to tell the driver to stop. Otherwise he might not let you off where you want to go. The subway just stops everywhere. My first experience with a municipal bus system this side of the Río Grande came early Sunday morning, when I went to the National Cathedral. No direct route existed via subway, so with a little nervousness I took a subway to the nearest stop for the bus route that would take me direct to the Cathedral’s gate. The Washington metro website has this ha

It appears to be a cardinal rule among journalists that if you visit Washington, your primary side trip must be to the Newseum. Thanks to a generous fellow conference-goer, I did make that side trip, and without paying the $23 (including tax) for the two-day entrance ticket. Washington: The Newseum VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I had told one of the editors-in-residence that I wanted to hit an art gallery down the street. He thought you had to pay for it, and anyway the National Portrait Gallery was a better bet if I was there for the art plus the history. I went ahead and tweaked my (admittedly loosely-planned) itinerary. Can you identify any of the following people’s historical importance without squinting at the information plaque next to each portrait? Washington: Portrait Gallery VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So, the whole purpose of this trip to D.C. was a worthy one: I was invited to attend a journalism conference, all expenses paid. And not only that, it was a conference for Christian journalists to meet other Christian journalists and editors and hear from some big shots (or semi-big-shots) about what it’s like for them to be a Christian in this oh-so-secular profession. Yep, all expenses paid. And I could never have attended otherwise, with accommodations such as these: Washington: The conference VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Washington, D.C. Not Washington State. That’s a lot farther away from rural Indiana. Anyhow, I spent Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon in our nation’s great capital, and just now uploaded 170 photos to Facebook. So if you’re my Facebook friend you can see pix! However, if you’re not, I will have a few up on my blog in the next several days. I’ll also write up some stories for your entertainment (or edification!) as I get the time. Maybe Monday. In the meantime, here’s some historical eye candy. I’ll try to get a bit more posted with the stories and observations I brought home. I was there for a journalism conference, I should explain, but managed to stay an extra day in order to have much more sightseeing time.