One of the few benefits of the COVID crisis has been the accessibility of the National Mall to us. With most offices and all the museums closed until recently, parking has been a breeze and the wide walkways and lack of visitors have made social distancing easy. It's been a joy to put Lucy in the car and go for a long walk through and around some of the most monumental real estate in the world.
I guess that's what I was expecting when we headed down there around 4:30 today, too. Sure, it was a weekend, but the weather had been muggy and overcast, threatening drizzle all day, and it was getting late. As soon as we approached the mall from 14th Street, though, it was clear something had changed. Throngs of people milled about, and loud music was playing from a brightly lit stage flanked by two JumboTrons. My jaw dropped; clearly this was a festival of some sort.
Traffic was slow, but moving, along Jefferson Drive, and as we rolled along, I couldn't help but stare. It was a scene from another time-- lawn chairs, picnic blankets, children playing, food trucks lined up along the cross streets, with very few face masks to be seen.
"I guess we won't be walking around here this evening," I said to Heidi, stating the obvious.
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