Pam and I planned on attending this French Wine Tasting Trade event yesterday held at the Newseum in downtown DC. We were going to be up there anyway taking her folks back to the airport, the times worked out and hence it seemed like a plan (Mike Raley used to say SLAP to indicate go whenever we were trying to do something.)
However, a not-so-funny thing happened on our way to the pour ’em. We couldn’t find a parking space in the area. Usually I can invoke my parking karma and with a little patience and maneuvering around can eventually secure a spot on the street. Not so yesterday.
We circled around for about 15 to 20 minutes before finally deciding to park in one of the garages.
The first couple of garages closest to the Newseum were “Temporarily Closed.” We then saw one a few blocks away with a line of cars waiting to get in and a $12 dollar/hour sign. (From my survey $10, $11, $12/hour seemed to be the going rate for garages in that area.)
We then decided to forget about the Trade Event and instead grab some lunch at Jaleo’s located a few blocks away. Again, after circling the area several times, there was absolutely no street parking to be had. Several garages were in the area but just to eat lunch and then pay $20 or more for the pleasure of doing so seemed like a lose-lose to me.
Our solution? We bang shangalanged out of there and went to Mama Stella’s in Clinton.
So why is D.C. so bad with its parking? Found this description confirming my findings:
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| From http://dcparking.org/dc-street-parking/ |
Bottom line – being too tight to pay for the DC parking garages, I may just have to plan a trip to France to taste some of those Bourgogne wines.
Always liked Nelly Furtado. Bet she never has a problem finding a parking spot:
