End of Year Trip to Washington DC

Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year. Unlike most people around us, we find it a quiet time when life slows down to a snail pace. We give each other silly presents and cook a feast.

But Christmas of 2025 was different. Our feast was smaller and the day was far from quiet. This is because we had an exciting end-of-the-year plan up our sleeves. The very next morning, Tanya, Leena, and I set off for a six day trip to Washington DC.

Dec 26, 2025

Johan and Kylo Ren, the dog, dropped us off at the Amtrak station in Harrisburg. Our plan was to take a train from Harrisburg to DC with a short layover in Philadelphia, leaving at 8 a.m. and arriving at DC at noon. Leaving Johan to enjoy a few days of me time, and giving Kylo an extra cuddle, we were off.

The train ride was straightforward. I like the unhurried train experience more than the security checks and mad rush of airports. We were on time, boarded, and watched the cloudy day scenery go by. I tried to imagine that I was travelling a hundred years ago. This was hard to do because of all the trash laying around. But it was a nice mental exercise.

Upon arrival in DC, we took a subway from Union Station to the center of DC. Our hotel, The Mint House, was very close to The White House. It was drizzling when we walked over to the hotel. Check in was smooth.

Our first impression of the room was mixed. We didn’t love it. It had a kitchenette and a couch along with a queen bed. It didn’t match our mental picture of what a hotel room should look like.

Not delving too much, we left quickly, stopping at a falafel and kabob place for a most delicious and satisfying lunch. After that, we walked over to a museum named Planet Word.

Planet Word was a beautiful museum about language, word, rhymes, and all related topics. Planet word is a must visit in DC. I would strongly recommend it. My favorite exhibit was a karaoke room where a voice dissected the rhyme forms of a few popular songs.

We left the museum around 5 p.m., walking over to a neighborhood grocery store. Here we bought breakfast supplies, fruits etc. It was dark, and we were tired. Calling it a day, we went back to the hotel.

The room slowly started revealing its hidden miracles. The couch was a pull out and had its own TV, usually meant for a child. The queen bed had a TV as well, for a couple. I opted for the pull out bed and the kids took the queen. This meant we had our own little pods even in this tight space. The kitchenette turned out exceptionally well equipped with plates, bowls, etc, knives, forks, cooking pans etc, toaster, microwave, oven, and even a dishwasher and a clothes washer! Making ourselves comfortable, we relaxed in our pods, and watched TV and snacked, and planned our day. By the end of our visit, we loved our little home away from home which provided us a lot of comfort on these cold days.

Dec 27, 2025

Smithsonian day! We knew what we wanted to see. The kids love to see anything related to natural history. After eating a breakfast that I made in our kitchen, we took a subway to the museums.

Having visited these museums before, I knew that this would be a tiring day, and I was right! The museum was very crowded, which was disorienting in the beginning. But we soon found our mojo and started having fun. The dinosaur fossils are absolutely astonishing, and never get old. It was easily our favorite room. We ran about, checking all of them out.

After a quick stop in the cafe for drinks, and at the museum store where the girls bought necklaces, we checked out the NASA room, mummies, and live insect rooms. It was almost 4 p.m. when we got out. We had one hour left before Smithsonian closed, so we took a quick trip to the museum of art. Considering how much we are in art, I figured it would be motivating for us. Well, I figured wrong!

All the initial exhibits were of old style paintings. They don’t inspire us at all. Everyone was immediately tired. Leena sulked, while Tanya bravely tried to show interest. We asked for the contemporary art section, and went over. But we were once again disappointed when we came across a room with large canvasses painted white (?!). One room even had a trash bag as an exhibit.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I respect the ideas. If it inspires you, that’s great. But it didn’t inspire us. There was a room with mobiles, which was the only room that the girls looked alive in. By 5 p.m. we were done with Smithsonian and it was done with us!

Our next plan was better. We saw a different kind of art, which would motivate anyone. The art of Ethiopian food. We went to a lovely little restaurant and enjoyed an exquisite, yummy dinner. Walking back to the hotel, we dived into the grocery store once again to pick a few things up. Once in room, we were back to chilling, TV watching, and having plenty of tea.

Dec 28, 2025

This was an “Elf” day. Elf days are when we decide to go off the beaten path to explore lesser known things. Taking a subway we went to Dupont Circle. And there it was. There was a farmer’s market right under our noses, as we stepped off the subway. We all immediately felt at home. We walked through the market, buying little things; apples, cucumbers, cider, raw honey, macaroons, mango juice. Luckily we carried a big backpack wherever we went and were able to throw everything inside.

From there we went to the museum on O street. The museum on O street is basically an antique store with a history. Its a fancy house with many hidden doors that you can try finding. The idea of exploring secret doors attracted us. We didn’t love it, but it was fun. Considering that it was a glorified antique store, the kinds that we find everywhere in central Pennsylvania, we found its ticket costs too steep. Anyway, we did have fun trying to find secret doors and visiting a Halloween room. So altogether it wasn’t too bad.

As we walked back to Dupont circle, we came across a used book store and went inside to explore it a bit. It was nice and quaint, reminding us a bit of Webster’s in our town, although Webster’s is next level in terms of vibes and fun. Our next stop was Dupont Underground, which is an underground art place in DC. It was previously an old train line, that was later converted into an art hub.

Unfortunately we were disappointed. Dupont Underground was closed. We went to a Starbucks nearby and were told that Dupont Underground only opened for events. The next event was in January.

Giving up, we decided to check out the shopping scene.

We first went to the Eastern markes, which is a good and craft market. It was interesting and we hung there for a bit.

We then looked for a mall near our hotel and found City Center DC. We walked over, but were in for more disappointment. City Center DC was not a regular mall. It was a bunch of overly upscale stores that were of no interest to us. We left quickly. Looking around, our GPS showed that there was a Macy’s nearby. So, Macy’s it was!

We spent the rest of the day browsing the store. It was fun, because we don’t usually do such things. Tanya and I are allergic to shopping!

When we finally came out, it was dark. We walked back to our hotel room, settling in with delicious leftovers as we tried to get the chill out of our bones.

Dec 29, 2025

This was a big walking day. The weather was in mid 50s, so we had decided to explore the DC zoo. We each had an animal that we wanted to see. I was there to see the pandas, Leena wanted to see the wolves, and Tanya wanted to see the snow leopards. We didn’t see snow leopards, but we got an eyeful of pandas, and we did try our howl on the wolves!

We visited every exhibit in the zoo, walking for hours. The greatest reward was catching a panda at its feeding time. The cutie gave us quite a show. The audience gasped and wowed as he moved about with a smile and bearing of a celebrity, but with none of the diva behavior, performing all kinds of antics, from eating, to rolling about in a tub of pine shavings!

The other notables at the zoo were fast swimming sea lions, elephants, snakes (one of which tried to bite Leena), noisy flamingoes, apes, tigers and lions. By the time we were done, the weather took a turn for the worse. Strong wind gusts started blowing, telling us that it was time to be done. We rewarded ourselves by going to a South Indian restaurant and enjoying dosas. Happy with a well spent day, we went back to our hotel.

Dec 30, 2025

Weather turned bad, and we turned toward Smithsonian. We went to the Air and Space museum. Once again, the crowd started overwhelming us. But we were on it. Figuring out the exact exhibits that we wanted to see, we went to the future of space section, planets, and early flight sections. I found the space junk information the most interesting, as usual. One always gravitates toward topics that interest them.

We then went to see a planetarium show. The previous day’s tiredness was getting us, and we found it hard to concentrate. We decided to go for a meal. The Smithsonian museum of Native American history has a cafe called Mitsitam. We decided to try some Native American food here. We ate a fry bread topped with veggies. It was delicious.

We didn’t explore the native American museum, because on our trips out west we have seen many native American museums, with more authenticity and balanced viewpoint than what Smithsonian may offer.

We felt more energetic after our meal and decided to visit the bonsai garden in DC. Unfortunately the bonsai garden is totally out of the way. We took a cab there to escape the cold. Navigating the buses in the cold weather seemed beyond our tolerance limits.

The bonsai museum was in the middle of nowhere, with no people at the information desk and barely any patrons. We were slightly intimidated and unsure at what to expect. However, the bonsai display turned out to be spectacular. It was a little beautiful surprise. The most interesting display was a four hundred year old Yamaki Pine bonsai that had been gifted to the US by Japan in the seventies.

We had to grapple with the cold and the location once we left the museum. Unsure of how to make it back to the hotel, we walked along the road, with the hope of either catching a bus or hailing a cab. After a bit of a walk we did hail a cab and went back to our hotel room.

Dec 31, 2025

White house and Renwick Gallery day! It was our last day at DC. We were tired and done. Tanya felt sick. Leena trudged along. We checked out of our hotel at 11:30. We had to leave to catch our train around 2 p.m.

With a couple of hours to go, we first visited the White House to get our customary picture taken. After grabbing coffee, we walked over to the Renwick Gallery. Renwick Gallery is also an art museum. The difference is that it is contemporary, almost folk style, American art. I really loved this small museum. I could connect with the art easily. There were many beautiful exhibits.

Once we were done, we walked back to the hotel, collected our bags, took the subway to Union Station, and then Amtrak back to Harrisburg. We had a happy reunion with our boys here, and came home to enjoy the last couple of hours of 2025. What an interesting end of the year!

I have come to realize that if you can find two or three things that motivate or arouse your interest in a trip, then that is a successful trip. With that in mind, this trip can be considered a super success. The bonsai, the Renwick Gallery displays, a display of perpetual motion at the museum on O street, as well as the mummies section at Smithsonian have given me enough ideas to keep moving through 2026. I anticipate 2026 as a spectacular year personally, but more on that in my next blog. For now, we are happy to be home.

Kylo Ren, the dog: Now, hold on, Mom. You weren’t planning to end the blog without input from me, were you? Let me tell you, 2025 end was a disaster for me. First of all, the humans have been coning me. My skin got itchy, and I wasn’t allowed to scratch it. And when I did manage to scratch it despite the cone, I ended up making a large hole in my skin, after which my humans put a shirt on me. Hmph. I peed on my first shirt, but that didn’t solve my problem. They put on a new shirt and would take it off when I went out. My humans are exasperating.

I got really dull and grumpy. Christmas was a good day, since I got many presents. The presents all smelt the same; maybe they came from the same bag of treats, but I’m not complaining. I got the most gifts of all.

Just when I thought life was getting good, bam! The girls were gone. Now, I am all up for guy time, but Papa wouldn’t let me out for walks. He said that it was too slippery. My reply would be that that’s what makes it fun. But no one listens to me around here. I got grumpy and mopey until finally Papa took me to camp and I had a good run. That was better. Luckily Papa forgot my leash at camp so we went back the next day. Papa made a fire and heated my food can on the stove. My eyes popped out. I didn’t know Papa could cook, but he was pretty good. Yum!

Then, just like that, the ladies were back. I showed them some attitude by trying to ignore it, but today Mom put coconut oil all over my body and gave me a firm brush, after which I died and went to heaven. But don’t you worry, I didn’t actually die. Life is good again.

Paisley, the chicken: Just when I get comfortable with my world, it changes. By now I can tolerate Leena, or, dare I say, love her. But she left me and was gone. Boo hoo. The big man came from the human house and gave us food and hot water. I ran helter skelter when I saw the big man, but maybe that brought his attention on me, the one outcome I didn’t desire. Luckily he didn’t stick around for long.

I did miss the hot water bottles that Leena leaves in the coop at night. Luckily, she came back yesterday and put a hot bottle in our coop. Yay. I love Leena!

How to digest grains better

As I mentioned in my last blog, the human digestion system does not digest grains very efficiently. Ways to improve digestion are soaking, fermentation and sprouting of grains.

If we look at our past, our ancestors only consumed soaked or fermented whole grains. All grains contain phytic acid (on organic acid in which phosphorus is bound) in the outer layer or the bran. Untreated phytic acid combines with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. Due to this, a diet high in unfermented whole grains may result in serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

Every seed has phytic acid, or phytate, and enzyme inhibitors. Phytic acid serves as the main form of storage of phosphorus in seeds. When the seed sprouts, the phytate breaks down and the phosphorus is released to be used by the young plant. Enzyme inhibitors prevent the seeds from sprouting prematurely.

Soaking grains allow enzymes, lactobacilli and other organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. Seven hours of soaking will neutralize most of the phytic acid. Soaking in warm water also neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors. Additionally, soaking encourages production of beneficial enzymes.

Coming to protein, protein in whole grains, especially gluten, are very difficult to digest. A high gluten grain like wheat puts an enormous strain on the digestive system. This is because gluten is not completely broken down by our digestive enzymes. While we are young, the undigested gluten may not be an issue. Over time, it can cause inflammation and damage to our gut lining.

A damage to our gut lining leads to what is called the leaky gut syndrome. To explain, gut is semi permeable. The mucous lining of our intestines is designed to absorb water and nutrients from our food into our bloodstream. An increase in gut permeability can let larger molecules through and allow toxic molecules to enter your bloodstream.

While leaky gut is real, but the associated diseases are unknown. Two recognized diseases from leaky gut are celiac disease and inflammatory bowel syndrome.

Possible disease associated with leaky gut are obesity, diabetes, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma and fibromyalgia.

Leaky gut is not a recognized disease. However, it stands to reason that since the intestines transfer nutrients into the bloodstream through their semi permeability, an increase in the permeability will cause unwanted substances to enter into your bloodstream.

Fermentation breaks down gluten, thereby making grains much easier to digest.

Sprouts are the next level in terms of superior grain processing. All the nutrients such as protein, starch, fat and enzymes required by a plant to begin it’s life are contained in a sprout.

When the grain sprouts, the enzymes activate and begin to turn the grain’s stored nutrients into usable forms.

The same process that makes the stored nutrients easier for the seed to use also makes it easier for people to use. Sprouted grains are thus very nutritious and easy to digest.

Sprouting also increases the amount of vitamins and minerals such as zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and B vitamins so that your body can absorb them.

Soaking, sprouting and fermenting are ways to improve digestibility of grains.

A cuppa history

While in India, my parents and I had discussions on a variety of topics over cups of tea. One of the topics turned out to be about the history of tea.

My parents mentioned that tea was not historically a part of Indian drinks. It appeared nowhere in the list of drinks that Indians had. Traditionally it was lassi, milk or fruit juices. Tea was popularized by the British. They set up tea stalls at every nook and corner of Indian streets. They would serve chai for free in stylish cups and saucers. My mom herself recalled drinking such a free cup of tea in a fair as a kid! They also mentioned that places in Haryana still serve milk. This fact was somewhat corroborated by friends from the region who said that they serve lassi and milk to their guests.

India is a tea crazy country. This is a fact beyond all facts! The idea that tea was popularized in the last century by the British and post independence India was intriguing to me. So I read up on it, and as it (often) turns out, my parents are right on. The history of tea in India is interesting. So here’s my Indian tea history 101!

Historically tea is a Chinese drink. As mentioned above, Indians traditionally drank milk, yogurt based lassi and fruit juices. The British got their tea addiction from the Dutch and the Chinese. Alas, the Dutch sneak in here as well. They seem to make frequent appearances in most of my stories!

Moving on, the Chinese exported tea to the British. In return, the British were exporting opium to China. The Chinese emperor understandably did not approve of this trade that created addicts in China. And so China abruptly ended tea trade with the British in 1800s. It confiscated the opium and destroyed it. The British sent warships to China, but ultimately felt that they had to own the tea. A botanist name Robert Fortune stole tea seeds from China.

The British had explored India and found wild tea growing in Rangpur, Assam around 1830s. The British proceeded to establish tea gardens in Assam with the seeds from China (and maybe local Indian tea as well). They were met with a stiff resistance from the local Assamese people. The Assamese fought against clearing their jungles for tea gardens. Furthermore, they would not work in the tea gardens. As is typical British, they brought in migrant workers from various parts of India to work on the tea plantations as indentured laborers. These migrants faced inhuman working conditions, disease, malnutrition, debt and high mortality rates of up to 50%. The British tried to keep these working conditions a secret, but it did come out. Although some rich Indian babus working for the British had taken to tea drinking, the condition of the migrant workers forced Indians to give up tea.

Around the 20th century, the British tea markets started to stagnate. That’s when the British turned to the India to expand their tea market (in 1903). The Indians were slow to take to tea. Tea advertisements in 1911 still showed white people being served tea by the brown people.

Tea hubs opened in 1920s and 30s as political and cultural hubs. Later they even became meeting places for pro-independence Indians and intellectuals. In the 1930s and 40s (during the depression), tea was aggressively promoted in railway stations across India. Free tea was offered, or one paisa take-home single-use tea packets were sold.

However, tea was not fully accepted in 1940s and 1950s. This is because Gandhi and other nationalists argued that tea was an imperialist, anti-Indian drink. The poor working conditions of the migrant workers were highlighted and tea drinking was discouraged by the freedom fighting revolutionaries. The advertisers replaced colonial messages with promoting tea as a Swadeshi drink, with revolutionaries featured in the advertisements! This is mind boggling to me. The British advertisers actually used freedom fighters that would ultimately kick the British out to increase sales on a British product. Wow! So very short sighted. Anything for a quick buck!

Darjeeling and Assam tea were expensive. But slowly production was improved and cheaper grades of dust and fannings of tea were marketed. This brought tea to the middle class. It was only post independence after tea estates and tea wholesale came to the Indian hands did tea take hold in India. The marketing also shifted to show rich Indian ladies patronizing tea drinking. Tea was deemed Swadeshi (Indian) in 1953. The shift from the full leaf black tea to the crushed, torn, curled tea allowed the customers to come up with a stronger infusions than the traditional (read “boring” from the Indian point of view) British recipe. The Darjeeling leaf tea did not lend itself well to the spicy milky tea that catered to the Indian taste. But the heavy, Assam tea captured the Indian interest. Indians then proceeded to add their spices, milk and sugar to make strong “kadak” brews that have now gained worldwide popularity.

Now one can find the “chai” tea in many cafes in the US. Chai tea has now come to be synonymous with the spicy Indian brew that we have all grown to love. But it will be remiss of me to end this blog without adding this note. Dude, chai means tea (as the Indian Spider man would undoubtedly tell you). So can we all agree to call it just chai (and not chai tea)?!

References for the image are included at the end of the blog. Many of the images are from the Priya Paul collection.