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Women’s March on Washington Trip (Day 6)
After yesterday’s events, anything was bound to be a lot less, well, momentus. The March did feel like a true event in history. We’ve enjoyed thinking of all the people involved, not only here in DC but in all the sister marches around the world.
So today being Sunday, we headed for church. We went to First Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, DC. Their Reading Room is where our host, Lynn, works. You can see that the architecture is striking. In truth, this church has undergone a huge transformation, from evidently a cavernous 400-seat structure to a wonderful contemporary, warm, and welcoming space. In one picture, you can see the Washington Monument, which will give you an idea of where they’re located. Or, if you know about the St. Regis hotel, you can see that they’re right across the street from there. Pretty nice neighborhood (even if it is on K Street–the lobby street).
Outside, it’s easy to spot with its modern, protruding windows. The plaza area is nice, with a long, shallow, fountain. Even the sign is out of the ordinary–a long slab with the church name standing out in relief.
The Reading Room area is on the first floor. It has several different areas separated by glass panels. The cool thing is that these panels can be stacked at the columns, so essentially the whole floor can be opened up for any kind of event that’s appropriate.
The auditorium and Sunday School are on the second floor, extending into the third, with the auditorium open on both stories and the Sunday School having an upper floor. There’s also a top floor with a Board room and other meeting space.
This new church building has only recently opened, and there are still some “punch list” items left to do. But it was open today and the usual crowd was swelled by folks who’d come to DC for the march. In fact, I saw Alden and Christi, a couple who used to be members of my church in Fort Worth years ago. They now have a 4-year old son, Reed, who’s a doll. What a nice family they are. It was great to do a little catching up.
After church and lunch, Lynn dropped the three of us off at the Museum of the American Indian. Since it was cold (around 50 degrees) and drizzling, it was a good idea to get inside out of the weather. After a quick check through security, we were in!
While we were there, several Native Indian musical groups performed, from music to dancing. Because the lobby is open for all four floors, we could hear the music most everywhere we were.
We went immediately to the fourth floor to see a short film, then we walked through some of the exhibits. As we were getting separated, we agreed to meet at a certain time and then were each free to wander where we were led. I ended up spending most of my time in a gallery with photos by a Native American photographer of all Native American subjects; in many cases his family and friends. Good stuff.
The last picture is of a statue in that museum.
When we left there, we walked to the National Portrait Gallery (stopping in Starbucks for some dessert and a hot chocolate on the way). I didn’t take any pictures here, though we did see some really interesting things; paintings, video exhibits, sculpture. There just wasn’t enough time! We had a little over an hour before the place closed and had to be chased out–along with a lot of other folks!
We made our way to the Metro station and found our way to the Red Line. We feel like old hands at navigating the maze by now; we know the routine. 🙂
Lynn was kind enough to pick us up again, and we all had a late dinner. We’re packing up before we leave in the morning because we’re going to be staying in a hotel close to the airport tomorrow night.
But most of tomorrow is another day in DC. The weather’s supposed to be cold, wet, and windy. Sharon and I want to see some of the memorials, so we’re still kind of playing it by ear. We’ll see how things look in the morning. It’s hard to believe there’s only one day left in this trip. It’s been great so far on many levels. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!
