National Harbor, MD

Thursday, July 1, 2010

I was in National Harbor, MD this past week for the IES Research Conference 2010. The town is just outside of Alexandria, VA, and not really accessible to anything. National Harbor really needs its own Metro stop (although I suspect the isolation was done on purpose so the hotels can charge $7 each way to Alexandria). The whole place also has this overwhelming manufactured/fake-feeling, akin to Las Vegas, minus the gambling/shopping/entertainment.


All griping aside, I was surprised to find "The Awakening" by J. Seward Johnson Jr. in Maryland (the photo on the left). When I spent a summer in Washington DC in 2006, the statue was located at Hains Point, in DC (the above photo on the right). I knew it had moved, but I wasn't aware that it was in the same spot as my conference. It's kinda cool to look at, and it's a very popular climbing spot for children.


Summer is conference season, but I think I'm done for 2010!