Welcome to Washington | Sue in the City

Happy birthday to you! So guess what city I'm in? Washington DC, our nation's capital. It is the seat of power for the United States of America. Our country may be young, but what a history we have.

So join me as the Beast checks out for beauty. There's a zillion freaking people here; that hasn't changed. It's a little disconcerting—lots of vehicles. What I notice about DC is it's very clean, and it's set up very well for tourism and people to have access to the monuments and the history of the locale.

This was a very picturesque shot—Time magazine, Life magazine—of the waiting pool, the Washington Monument, and the posters protesting the war. This is important, Martin Luther King. This is all very important stuff here, you know? It's part of my personal history.

When I come to visit, you show me what you like, not what I like. I want to experience, learn, and do everything there is to do. So here I am in Washington DC, hungry, wanting to get some grub.

Ben's Chili Bowl—absolutely iconic! Ben here at this location, one of the longest-running continuous businesses of this modern era. Good food, historic—I'm all for that! What is the most iconic thing? What we're known for? Our specialty is what we call an “and.” We also recommend chili cheese fries—yummy!

I can't wait to try the food. Buon apetito! Ben's Chili Bowl—very good! You can tell that it's some homemade chili, and it's got just the right amount of kick to make it interesting, but not so much that I'll have to do the rest of eating makes me jumpy.

I'm feeling like a little kid in my head; I'm singing a little good song. Alright, look at that—there's my eyes! Hey, life below zero, above zero; you never know who you're gonna meet, you never know what you're gonna learn.

I'm Susan; I'm from Alaska. This is the Supreme Court building. I was so excited; I got to meet a little Secret Service who took this picture for me. So yay! Urmi, mommy's taking pictures!

My sixteen-and-a-half-year-old retired sled dog can't come with me on the little city tours, but I'm bringing her some little eye candy for when she gets home. Alrighty, oh look, he's backing up! You get a parking spot—oh wow, there are a lot of horses.

What the heck is up with that? That's a beautiful horse! You're welcome! Hello, President Mrs. Obama, and guess what? An honor to see the White House—named quite aptly!

I'm actually quite surprised that I can get as close as this. You know, for the general public, I know that the President and Mrs. Obama are kind of really bummed that they're not getting to meet with me. I was just too busy today.

Not a shabby place; it may not be Buckingham Palace, but you see the tourists, you see the smiles on the faces, and it does make me damn proud to be an American. I'm gonna have to come again. Tighten up the girdles, kavik! So we'll be back.