Museums galore

There are so many museums in Washington D.C. that you would have to be insane to try to see them all in one trip. We certainly made a valiant effort, but since we are not insane, we didn't get to more than a fraction. The first afternoon, we visited the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum (not to be confused with the National Gallery of Art, which we also visited later in the trip, or any of the other American Art or National Galleries in D.C.).

Benjamin visited the Smithsonian Natural History Museum on his own one afternoon while I was at the ALA conference.  I went last year when I was in D.C. on my own, and figured that, being a natural history buff, he would want to spend a lot of time looking and wandering. And he did. I assume he saw this whale, since it is in the main hall and kind of hard to miss! (That picture is from my trip...he was too busy looking at the exhibits to remember to take pictures. The nerve...)

We visited the excellent American Indian Museum...where I was too busy looking at exhibits to take many pictures. And we stopped in at the National Air and Space Museum. That place was jammed, mostly with parents and children. Planes and such are rather interesting for children - go figure.

Anyway, we saw some of the museum, including the Spirit of St. Louis.  What is so strange about that plane to me is that there is no window in the front. I couldn't get a good picture of it, but Lindbergh would have had to stick his head out the side door or something to actually see...something confirmed by the Wikipedia article about the plane.

We also saw some of the space capsules and modules that were used in past space programs. It turns out that when they build the part that is going into space, they also build at least one back-up and/or training module. Those are what the museum has. So little! I think that my dreams of being an astronaut have been firmly squashed by the small size of the capsules and the design of the toilets (no pictures, sorry).

This one reminds me an awful lot of the Starbug used on Red Dwarf.

We didn't restrict ourselves to museums, of course. We also ate lots of good food. This was one of our favorite finds. A Mexican-style tapas restaurant. So very, very good.

The Jefferson Memorial, taken in March 2009 during the Cherry Blossom Festival

 I love the building for the Jefferson Memorial, the Greek temple feeling, the way it sits across the Tidal Basin from the rest of the Mall area. Because it was so far on the other side of the Basin, I didn't get a chance to see it up close on my visit last year.

Good grief he's tall!

This trip, despite the heat and humidity, we made a point of walking around the Basin (and gobs of obstructionist construction) to see Jefferson. (I posted my Franklin and Jefferson posts out of order, since we actually saw Jefferson first, then walked through Franklin backwards, but oh well.) Up close, the building is, sad to say, a little less impressive. It seemed a little dingy, and smelled a bit like stale sewer water. Maybe that was just the heat, or the construction.

The statue is impressively large, at any rate, and there are nice excerpts from Jefferson's writings on the walls. I can't say that Jefferson is my favorite president - I mean, I am incredibly impressed with everything he did and studied and invented, but somehow he just leaves me a bit cold. Perhaps a hangover from the semester I had to spend studying him and the movie Jefferson in Paris for a high school research paper? 

Anyway, I hope that his monument gets a good cleaning and a polish once the construction is done outside.  And if a few more people learn something about democracy by visiting, then I am not going to be upset. But I'd recommend they take a trip to Franklin Roosevelt when they are done!

Franklin and Fala

Of all the presidential memorials in D.C., I think the Franklin Roosevelt is my favorite - partially because of the monument itself, and partially because unlike the Jefferson and Lincoln monuments, it was not swarmed by people and yelling tweenagers.  It is designed to feel like four different rooms, each representing one term. There are no steps, which makes it easily the most accessible for people in wheelchairs, or on crutches, or just with bum knees. Each room had lovely water features, quotes and statues. The shade was welcome, because even at 10:30 or 11 in the morning, it was hot.

Eleanor only has this little nook, but at least she has that - I don't think any of the other presidential wives are mentioned at all. (Wikipedia says she is the only First Lady depicted in a memorial).

We sure could use something as visionary as the CCC these days. Every state park we have been to in Arkansas has some sort of notice to the effect that the trail was first cut by the CCC, or the lodge was built by the CCC, or the bridge was put in place by the CCC workers who had to lug each rock in over 5 miles of trail, by hand. You get the idea. They did great work, and it gave people hope and money in a time of national distress.

Right out of a black and white picture - the breadline.  At least we haven't fallen that far, yet.

This statue was not in the original design, but I think it is great that it is there, even if Roosevelt was never pictured using a wheelchair.

This statue was somewhat controversial because you can't tell that Roosevelt is in a wheelchair. Check the Wikipedia entry for more information about that. I don't care, one way or the other - it is just a nice statue.

And it has Fala.  You can tell that she has been well-loved by her shiny ears and nose. I had to give them a rub as well. How great is that - a pet in a presidential monument?  I mean, Lincoln liked cats, but all we get for him is a big august statue - nothing to make him human. Same with Jefferson. But Roosevelt, well, he gets Eleanor and Fala.

The Statues of Washington D.C.

Good gracious me, D.C has tons of statues! They are everywhere - the traffic circle, in front of random buildings, at monuments, in front of museums, int he bathroom. Well, maybe not the latter, although, it really wouldn't surprise me.  What casinos are to Las Vegas, statues are to D.C. (and I have seen slots in the bathrooms in Vegas!). Here are just a few of the statues we saw while we were there in June.

Yes, this one is inspired by the little brush/blowy thing that people used to use to clean out typewriters..   And look at how big it is. Just imagine the typewriter that would need it!

Most of the statues have little signs telling you not to touch, not to sit or climb on them, which is always sort of a bummer, even for grown-ups. This arrangement, on the other hand, specifically encouraged visitors to sit on the chairs. A nice rest on a very hot afternoon.

Some sculptures were grave and thought-provoking, others were just plain goofy. This set of statues were in the Sculpture Garden, which is part of the National Gallery of Art. There were many more scattered throughout the garden area, just off the National Mall.

This fountain is at the center of the garden, and all around the rim, people sat and dipped their feet in the water. We joined in - did I mention it was a really hot day?  In the winter, this pond is converted to a skating rink. How neat is that?

This is one of several statues outside the fantastic National Museum of the American Indian. If you are in D.C. and have a chance, visit this museum. Eat at the cafe (it is pricey, but the food is mostly worth it  - for the love of cultural diversity, just don't eat the chicken strips!) - it showcases Native American foods from all over the country and even South America. Watch the little introductory video and wander through the exhibits.

Many thanks to Jeannette for pointing us in the direction of Albert here. He sits in a little grove of trees outside the National Academy of Sciences. He was another statue that encouraged climbing (or at least didn't discourage it).  In fact, it was rather difficult to get a picture of him alone, because a family with several children was visiting, and climbing all over him. If we had been alone, I might have climbed him myself, but I have too much dignity (err, was wearing a skirt that might have flashed innocent bystanders). What a pity.

Monuments and memorials

OK - at least one more DC post for you today - the Monuments and Memorials. It seems impossible to see all the monuments and memorials in DC, especially in the space of one afternoon. Despite the short time frame, I did manage to see quite a few. You can't miss the Washington Monument, since it towers over DC, and the mall in particular. It was so omni-present that I took far too many pictures of it.

I did not do anything on this list, however, but then, I didn't go up in the monument itself. You have to stand in line to get tickets (and then stand in line with the tickets, just like at Disneyland, but without the music and scary, life-sized cartoon characters). No time for that for this blogger, so I just took the pictures and moved on.

Nearby to the Washington Monument is the World War II Memorial. The columns with wreaths stand for each state, and continue all the way around the fountain. It is tasteful, but somehow it was far less moving than the Vietnam Memorial.

Seeing the sheer number of names alone is striking, sobering. There was a volunteer with a handy-dandy little computer index who would look up names for you, if needed, and help you find them on the wall. The wall itself is a mirror, and a blackness that absorbs the light.

The Lincoln Monument is also quite striking, and I would have liked to sit there and watch it for a while, but without all the other people.

This strange monument was in Alexandria, near our metro stop. It is the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Hmm. Just what is it with all these pointy topped monuments?!

I didn't get to see the Capitol Building, except from afar, and never got close to the Jefferson Memorial. And there are countless other memorials and monuments that I would like to see, whenever I get back to DC...So I guess I had better go!

NPR! NPR!

Did you think I had forgotten about my promise (or was it a threat?) to tell you about my tour of NPR? Anyway - NPR is my favorite radio station. It is about all I ever listen to, apart from the BBC Radio Scotland feed on my computer. The first thing we do when we move or travel is figure out where the NPR station lives on the dial in the new location. So, I was thrilled when I discovered that NPR does tours of its studio in DC every Thursday morning. Right then and there I determined to skip whatever session was on tap at the seminar and go to the tour.

All these pictures are from Studio 4A - the studio where they interview musicians. It was the only room we were allowed to take pictures of. Ah well. We got to see the office areas, where the reporters and researchers and producers work, and we even got to see Scott Simon working on an interview! He was in a studio, and we were int he observation room, and he waved! For NPR geeks, this was a swoon-worthy event.

Studio 4A is an amazing space - the floor, ceiling, and walls are acoustically designed to provide perfect sound for radio, so you can hear every note as it was intended. They have a specially room with a Plexiglas shield for drummers, when they have rock bands. This is as it ought to be! Keep the drummers separate.

If you are an NPR geek like me, and are in the DC area on a Thursday, take the tour! It's free. If you listen to NPR and don't give monetary support, please reconsider. The tour guide told us that only 10% of listeners donate to their local stations, and NPR has not been immune from the current economic climate. They have had to lay off reporters and other staff. We need their special, balanced (or at least biased in the proper direction) reporting on issues.

DC Buildings

The Smithsonian Castle - no two turrets are the same!

DC has an abundance of really interesting buildings. There are the official buildings - White House, Capitol, and so on, there are the museums - Smithsonians (all of the various branches), the National Archives etc, and the private houses...I could go on, and I only saw a small portion of DC! Here are a few of my favorite buildings - the White House you saw in the magnolia pictures, I never got close to the Capitol building, and I didn't take any pictures of the really cute townhomes in Alexandria's Old Town area...

Here is a not very good shot of the National Archives. As an archivist (I haven't relinquished that title, even though I am currently masquerading as a reference librarian) I was excited to see it. Too bad I couldn't go inside - you have to apply for tickets 6 weeks in advance! It is a nice, impressive looking building across the street from the Mall.

This building is where we spend most of our time during the week: the United States Patent and Trademark office. All the buildings on either side were also USPTO buildings - what do all those people do?


The Jefferson Memorial. S. and I elected not to walk that far, so we only ever saw it from a distance. I see it every once in a while on Bones, which is set in DC - now I can say I have actually seen it!

This is perhaps the most important building of my trip - the headquarters of National Public Radio (NPR). I listen to almost nothing else on the radio. If my tuner broke and was stuck on a station, it would be whatever NPR is in the town I am in. I took a tour with a group of like-minded public radio geeks (proudly self-professed) on my last day in town. More about that in a later post.

And here, not too far from NPR, is the entrance to DC's Chinatown. I didn't have time to go in, but the gate was pretty cool. All the signs on the surrounding buildings were in English and Chinese, including the one for a Chipotle and the Verizon Center arena.

Cherry Blossoms, oh my!

When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to DC at the end of March, she told me that I had to make sure to see the cherry blossoms. I looked at the cherry blossom festival website, and figured it would be worth a trip, but I didn't really think it would be all that impressive. I mean, so many festivals turn out to be disappointing. Well, I was wrong. The cherry blossoms were incredible.

S. and I ended up going to see them twice, once on Sunday when everything was gray and misty and dew-covered (see final picture), and once on Tuesday, when the sun was out and the blossoms were all fluffy.

There were a lot of people both times, out enjoying themselves and the sights. And I can't blame them. The only thing that would have made it better was if the cherry trees smelled as good as lilacs!

Magnolias in DC

DC is a couple of weeks behind, spring-wise, to Arkansas. This was great news for us, because it meant that all the flowering trees were at their peak. The famous ones are the cherry trees, and I will get to them later in the week, but the other beautiful ones were the magnolias.

S. and I set out to explore the Mall area, and our first stop was the garden outside the Smithsonian Castle (picture of that later in the week, with the buildings themed post). There, the trees were thick with blossoms - see top picture - and the ground was covered with a light snow of petals. We have this variety of magnolias in Arkansas, but according to S., the frost always gets to them before they can come to full flower - and that is what happened this year. So it was nice to see them in such numbers in DC.

Later in the day, we came to some large building, surrounded by a fence - I wonder what it could be? I was excited to see the bee hive in the grounds, right next to another magnolia. The hive was busy, and you could see the bees going in and out, even from a distance.
By this point in the day, the sun had come out, the dew had dried, and the flowers were wide open. Just lovely.
Stay tuned this week for cherry blossoms, interesting buildings, monuments and memorials, and a tour of NPR.

I'm back!

We (my co-workers and I) made it back from Washington D.C. safely last Thursday. Our plane made an unscheduled stop in Little Rock, instead of Memphis, because the Memphis airport was closed due to bad weather. At first, the Powers That Be said we might be able to get off, instead of going back to Memphis, where we would have had to wait until Friday for a flight or rent a car to get home. Then, They said no, we had to stay on the plane, because there weren't any stairs available - which was completely bogus because I could see 4 sets just sitting there out my window. When the 25 or so of us for whom LR was our final destination started to protest, the flight attendant and pilot got working and eventually we were allowed to get off. Our luggage, however, had to go back to Memphis. The very unhelpful woman at the airline desk said that there was no way to check if our luggage had arrived, apart from coming back to the airport. This is not correct, as I learned by pursuing it on the computer and phone on Friday morning.

Anyway, we got back, and got our luggage. I'll be putting up pictures all week. Now, it is back to work. Whee!