DC, Sightseeing, and Marching (Apr 30, 2017)

Quick confession. I’m writing this on May 1. I was really pooped after the last few days and decided to postpone updating the blog until May 1. I have time since my flight isn’t out until 4:30. With that caveat, here’s what happened yesterday.

We started the day by walking to Shirlington Station and the smoothie place there, to get breakfast. We were both ready for a bit of a break from the hotel buffet.

Then we had our own church experience, reading the Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson together. After that, we headed for the Metro and the D.C. Mall.

First stop today was the National Air and Space Museum. This is the one we skipped earlier in our visit because of the hordes of teenagers. Today wasn’t quite as bad, but still crowded. They have lots of great artifacts on display in a small space. I especially liked the suspended aircraft shown in close proximity. Give you a certain perspective.

I couldn’t help compare this museum with the National Museum of African American History and Culture that we visited in January. That’s laid out in a way to make it engaging, but it doesn’t seem like there’s just a lot of stuff on display with signs explaining it all. I think it’d be cool for the Air and Space Museum to get a makeover in that vein.

Nevertheless, it was cool to see a lot of the stuff that was there.

Next we headed to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which is right next door. Turns out you need a timed ticket. When we arrived, there was a sign that said that all the timed tickets for the day had already been given out, so we were out of luck visiting inside. Instead, we contented ourselves with walking around the sculpture garden. I really liked the fountain in the middle of the museum structure. The silly gourd was fun, and Sharon and I both liked the “stamps.”

It was probably best that we didn’t get inside, though, because we were both getting hungry. We headed to the National Gallery of Art. This has two buildings. The West Building houses what I’d call “traditional” art. The East Building is for more modern art.

We started with the West Building. First we checked out the two lunch options and opted for the cafeteria. I’d call it an upscale cafeteria and I had a great grilled-cheese sandwich and a salad.

Then we headed for an exhibit of photographs starting with and consisting of examples of really early photography. I love to see those and felt a kinship with those photographers. Some of the scenes feel like photos I like taking today.

Sharon has studied art, so of the “most notable” examples, she marked out a few we didn’t want to miss. The one photo I took was of the Vincent Van Gogh self portrait. It was cool to see it in person. It seems like all of these precious artworks should be behind barriers of some sort, but they’re not. You could just walk right up to them and touch them if you were so inclined. Of course, you’d be immediately detained and hauled off by the many security guards who are watching each gallery, but still…

Since it was Sunday, the building was closing at 6 PM. We (of course) were running out of time. I left Sharon in the gift shop (they have a couple of really nice ones) and made a quick trip to the East Building to see the structure of the building. There’s an escalator to reach it that goes under the street. The light sculpture is constantly moving and the surface is really bouncy, so that was fun.

I’m just showing one shot of the lobby, but it’s a really interesting building. The layout is definitely modern, with angles and juxtapositions you can’t quite grasp. Quite different from the West Building with it’s traditional columns and such.

Anyway, we left just before 6 and headed back to our hotel. We were both pooped, so decided to eat our leftover Italian dinners so we didn’t have to go out.

And that’s our trip to Washington D.C. for the People’s Climate March and sightseeing. I now have about 20 minutes to get this uploaded and get checked out of the hotel and I’ll be on my way home.

It’s been an excellent trip!