Stranded in D.C.: A lesson I didn't ask for

My friends and I at the Washington Monument before things went south.

Last week, I found myself stranded in Washington, D.C., with two friends, no phones and zero sense of direction in the middle of the night.

I like to believe everything happens for a reason. In this particular case, the universe decided the “reason” was to test my survival skills and teach me the importance of always having a portable charger on hand.

Let me set the scene:

I was in Washington, D.C., for a student conference with 18 peers. We had just grabbed dinner in Georgetown and decided to split up for the night. Two other girls and I chose to find scooters and bikes to ride over to the Washington Monument.

We visited the World War II Memorial, too!

It was a journey, for sure, but we eventually made it. At this point, all of our phones were under 10%, and we were taking turns using the single portable charger my friend brought. We explored the monument and then rode over to the Lincoln Memorial. It was around midnight by then.

When we decided it was time to head back, we parked our scooters and bikes — and that’s when we realized our phones were at 2%. No one had a working GPS, and the streets were completely empty. Not ideal for three out-of-state college girls wandering Washington, D.C., in the dark.

I attempted to order an Uber, and right after I hit “confirm,” my phone screen went black. A few minutes later, my friends’ phones died, too.

We stood at the pick-up spot, hoping the Uber magically went through. After 10 minutes with no sign of headlights, we accepted reality: we were stranded.

At least the view was worth it.

No people. Maybe two or three cars passing every 10 minutes. I tried my best not to panic, so we started walking back toward the Washington Monument to find someone — anyone — who could help.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally spotted two people walking from the monument.

Bless these two strangers. I borrowed a phone to call our friend back at the hotel to fill him in, and our new heroes pulled up directions for us.

It was a 52-minute walk.

I almost cried on the spot.

Thankfully, they offered to order us an Uber instead, and after five minutes of conversation and the longest sigh of relief of my life, we were safely on our way back to the hotel.

So what I’m trying to say is this:

Buy the portable charger.