The value of good people (day two in DC)
Good evening all you wonderful people!
So my stay in D.C. Has been an interesting journey full of neat experiences. It has also primarily been spent in Northern Virginia! The integrity and intrigue of the day has mostly been thanks to the generosity and adventurous openness of my cousin Michael who has provided me with far more than adequate lodging (pictured below...the rest of the trip has a really high bar to exceed now!) I have included as well as breakfast foods in a quaint french breakfast restaurant in Old Town Virginia, that supplied me with great quiche and coffee!
We spent most of the afternoon on the town with brick sidewalks and old buildings as we moseyed through a romantic precipitation of slow motion snow flakes that made the whole experience feel remarkably and welcomingly Dickensian in nature!
Most of our afternoon we spent in an art museum that was once a torpedo factory! I've enclosed a few pictures below, but there were really countless talented artists that were proficient in all types of creative mediums (from photography to glass etching to sculpting ect.!) among three floors of artist rented spaces that served as both displays and some functioning art studios that were in use as we perused the works! Please endeavor to visit this place if you are ever in the area and also visit their website to gain a better understanding than I can provide; www.torpedofactory.org !
The artist of the year, and I would say deservedly so, with what little knowledge of art and art critical that I have, was Susan Makara. Her works were odd and technically intricate, spanning a vast number of themes and styles and mediums. On top of admiring her tendency to experiment it seems she always has an interesting story for both the creation and inspiration of the work as well as the meaning behind the work itself. I encourage you to enjoy her work at www.susanmakara.com
After we had run the gamut of our clumsy art appreciation and evaluation, we strolled along the aforementioned brick sidewalks and were chagrined to discover most of the stores closed for the Sunday (more on this later). I found it surprising that antique stores were so sympathetic to the devout. (The worshippers that I'm referencing are the Super Bowl fans of course.) However, we were delighted to find a charming hole-in-the-wall bookstore that was open, I guess most of the football fans still hadn't picked up their literary classics en route to the sports pub!
I refrained as best I could from both drooling on the perfectly musty shelves from which wafted that smell only old books have and purchasing the lot of them! I bought two titles I was exited about, as I'm nearly halfway done with one of the two novels I brought with me and we're only two days into the trip!
Mike also did his best and only walked out with three titles that interested him and we decided to go meet Alexa and her friend Erin at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! It was here that I remembered that the last time I was in Washington DC It was with Selden Middle School when I was in 6th grade with a huge group of kids and I got separated from the group for a few hours because I was in a little fake termite exhibit in the Smithsonian, reading the display for too long and everyone left without me. That day I got abysmally lost and strayed away from the pack and read too long. Most of my friends would be quick to note that not much has changed since then!
The air and space museum was fun and we perused it for a while... I've put some pictures below. One of the funniest things I learned there was that in 1903 a man patented a lightweight timed camera that he equipped pidgins with a means of acquiring aerial photographs!
Mike proved himself to be seemingly endlessly informed on an array of displays and technology and historical events, which was both informative and impressive!
You may have noticed a slight hint of hostility for the Super Bowl that I had earlier. That was really more for humorous satirical effect than actual disdain. It was also foreshadowing for this next sentence regarding our futile attempt to play an open mic at a venue called Union Jack's in Bethesda. This schedule change occurred because the Super Bowl overshadowed the importance of the open mic and so it was canceled. ( Please note that I have no real anger towards The Super Bowl or its participants or fans... though admittedly I'm entirely disinterested in the affair despite the blow that I take to my masculinity for confessing such a thing!).
Disappointed, we observed some monuments with Erin and Alexa (most notably the Statue of Ulysses Grant just outside of the magnificent Capitol Building) and planned our Monday as we had until 8pm to get on the bus to Richmond. We said our goodbyes to the girls and Mike and I went to get dinner at Chipotle and talked and went home As he had to be up at four A.M. for a dubiously personally rewarding job.
He has been a very gracious and entertaining host and has really inspired me to propel forward along my trip with good will towards others and with intent on having good genuine conversation and interaction! I feel that I am deeply in his debt as he is in my heart for his hospitality, as I read myself to sleep in what I realistically anticipate will be one of few comfortable beds!
I lie in grateful comfort thinking this: "No matter where you go, the value of the people you take with you will often determine the value of what you take from it"
Take care of one another!
With love,
AllOne
So my stay in D.C. Has been an interesting journey full of neat experiences. It has also primarily been spent in Northern Virginia! The integrity and intrigue of the day has mostly been thanks to the generosity and adventurous openness of my cousin Michael who has provided me with far more than adequate lodging (pictured below...the rest of the trip has a really high bar to exceed now!) I have included as well as breakfast foods in a quaint french breakfast restaurant in Old Town Virginia, that supplied me with great quiche and coffee!
We spent most of the afternoon on the town with brick sidewalks and old buildings as we moseyed through a romantic precipitation of slow motion snow flakes that made the whole experience feel remarkably and welcomingly Dickensian in nature!
Most of our afternoon we spent in an art museum that was once a torpedo factory! I've enclosed a few pictures below, but there were really countless talented artists that were proficient in all types of creative mediums (from photography to glass etching to sculpting ect.!) among three floors of artist rented spaces that served as both displays and some functioning art studios that were in use as we perused the works! Please endeavor to visit this place if you are ever in the area and also visit their website to gain a better understanding than I can provide; www.torpedofactory.org !
The artist of the year, and I would say deservedly so, with what little knowledge of art and art critical that I have, was Susan Makara. Her works were odd and technically intricate, spanning a vast number of themes and styles and mediums. On top of admiring her tendency to experiment it seems she always has an interesting story for both the creation and inspiration of the work as well as the meaning behind the work itself. I encourage you to enjoy her work at www.susanmakara.com
After we had run the gamut of our clumsy art appreciation and evaluation, we strolled along the aforementioned brick sidewalks and were chagrined to discover most of the stores closed for the Sunday (more on this later). I found it surprising that antique stores were so sympathetic to the devout. (The worshippers that I'm referencing are the Super Bowl fans of course.) However, we were delighted to find a charming hole-in-the-wall bookstore that was open, I guess most of the football fans still hadn't picked up their literary classics en route to the sports pub!
I refrained as best I could from both drooling on the perfectly musty shelves from which wafted that smell only old books have and purchasing the lot of them! I bought two titles I was exited about, as I'm nearly halfway done with one of the two novels I brought with me and we're only two days into the trip!
Mike also did his best and only walked out with three titles that interested him and we decided to go meet Alexa and her friend Erin at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! It was here that I remembered that the last time I was in Washington DC It was with Selden Middle School when I was in 6th grade with a huge group of kids and I got separated from the group for a few hours because I was in a little fake termite exhibit in the Smithsonian, reading the display for too long and everyone left without me. That day I got abysmally lost and strayed away from the pack and read too long. Most of my friends would be quick to note that not much has changed since then!
The air and space museum was fun and we perused it for a while... I've put some pictures below. One of the funniest things I learned there was that in 1903 a man patented a lightweight timed camera that he equipped pidgins with a means of acquiring aerial photographs!
Mike proved himself to be seemingly endlessly informed on an array of displays and technology and historical events, which was both informative and impressive!
You may have noticed a slight hint of hostility for the Super Bowl that I had earlier. That was really more for humorous satirical effect than actual disdain. It was also foreshadowing for this next sentence regarding our futile attempt to play an open mic at a venue called Union Jack's in Bethesda. This schedule change occurred because the Super Bowl overshadowed the importance of the open mic and so it was canceled. ( Please note that I have no real anger towards The Super Bowl or its participants or fans... though admittedly I'm entirely disinterested in the affair despite the blow that I take to my masculinity for confessing such a thing!).
Disappointed, we observed some monuments with Erin and Alexa (most notably the Statue of Ulysses Grant just outside of the magnificent Capitol Building) and planned our Monday as we had until 8pm to get on the bus to Richmond. We said our goodbyes to the girls and Mike and I went to get dinner at Chipotle and talked and went home As he had to be up at four A.M. for a dubiously personally rewarding job.
He has been a very gracious and entertaining host and has really inspired me to propel forward along my trip with good will towards others and with intent on having good genuine conversation and interaction! I feel that I am deeply in his debt as he is in my heart for his hospitality, as I read myself to sleep in what I realistically anticipate will be one of few comfortable beds!
I lie in grateful comfort thinking this: "No matter where you go, the value of the people you take with you will often determine the value of what you take from it"
Take care of one another!
With love,
AllOne
Glad to know that your journey has begun so auspiciously. I hope it is an indication of more rewarding things to come. Thank you, Michael for being such a generous host.
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