Winter in D.C.

There are many things about Washington D.C. that I love, and having been here nearly 10 times in my life, the majority of times in the last 8+ years while attending meetings or training, I never seemed to tire of it all. The amount and depth of culture never ceases to amaze me and the depth-less kindness of the people is always welcoming. I could continue on about some of the other desirable aspects, such as the delicious soft-shelled crab, but that's not the purpose of this blog entry. Yet, I wonder, perhaps I'm being naive, perhaps its the fact that I'm always a visitor that my rose-colored glasses lead me to happy days like these. I don't know, the area just plain makes me happy.

A little background: Long before this trip was organized, I came to the realization there was much more to life than saving and scrimping all of my per diem allowance by eating rotisserie chicken and hydroponic lettuce each night with the obligatory glass or two of wine after I worked out in the gym instead of going out to save money. I was in the nation's capital, for God's sake! (paraphrasing a very, very good friend of mine)

So, on Saturday, December 10, 2010, I set out to fill my day with all of the nascent goodness that the area offers that I could muster. I knew it would take a lot to travel, and yes, for example, I burned a hard-earned $15 on a cab ride/amateur psychoanalyst to get me from the Gaithersburg Marriott to the Shady Grove Metro, only a 15 minute ride, or so. But, by gum, I was on a mission! After buying my ticket and climbing aboard the train, I began this day's adventure sans guidebook, map... no nothing except for my smartphone and desire. (I would recommend bringing your charger so you can charge it, say if you were in a coffee shop for a length of time. Well, maybe that and at least a good pair of shoes). Reaching the Archives Metro Stop after making a transfer at Metro Center or somewhere, I got out and walked past a craft faire and wouldn't you know, one of the first things I saw which interested me was the Smithsonian American Art Museum right in front of me and a short line to get in! The second I scrambled in, I remembered it was free, and this exhilarated me! Awesome! Proceeding, I coyly stepped up to the counter where the wonderful volunteers proffered all sorts of encouragement and ideas of what to do including visiting the Norman Rockwell exhibit which had just weeks left for display! Woo-hoo! Why not go in!? It was so nice. Also nice was a particular Norman Rockwell piece of work which showed a newly returned soldier who was donning "civies" after coming home. As I stood in front of it, reading the caption, a sweet elderly woman began to tell me her story of when she was a military nurse in WW2 in Chicago's Loyola Hospital, her job being to see after young men returning from the war. It was moving to hear her story for a few minutes till her daughter whisked her away. This gallery had so much more to offer than I can explain here, so, I decided to take photos which I show here, which are perfectly permissible, as long as you're taking pictures of exhibits the Smithsonian owns, not the special collections. There were so many other pieces, here are a few:









In the next piece, you might notice that I adopted an art form of my own from a dear friend who takes pictures of herself in all sorts of objects and ways, such as shadows or mirrored objects like this! I have to admit it's always a challenge, and I am a poor reflection (pardon the pun) of her expertise, but here's my attempt!

My next stop was Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery which supposedly had works from a friend, Richard Shaw, a well-acclaimed artist in his own right. Unfortunately, all his pieces were in storage! I had seen his pieces before, they're fantastic. On the second floor there was a wonderful collection of hand-made art made from scraps of discarded junk, made into beautiful things by prisoners of the Japanese-American internment camps. Moving, that's all I can say! The pieces are all so beautiful in the Renwick. Some are very whimsical, like "Game Fish", consisting of lots of little game pieces! Fun!
















However, the Renwick is a small venue, so I went on to my next port-of-call, the Newseum. It's hard for me to describe this museum, I came away so perplexed. Was it the amazing onslaught of TV and LCD screens and just general barrage of media? Was it the horror brought back of the 9/11 attack? Was it the display of America's fascination of death and crime in the exhibit of FBI's Most Wanted, e.g. the Unabomber, the D.C. sniper, mafiosi? I dunno. All I can say is I will have to take a pass on plunking $20 to return.
Yet, notably, there was an interesting collection or two, like the following which consisted photographs of US Presidents with their dogs. Hmmm.




By this time, it was almost 4 and I was ready for art and coffee at the National Gallery of Art, just across the street, which is easily one of my top ten places to visit on this planet. I love this place, every aspect of it, the galleries bring life and joy to my soul as it did on this day and each time I go, I dance through the gift and book stores, never having enough time I try to buy lots of the smallest things to pack in my luggage, but I always end up buying too much! There is just so much to love here, words escape me.

By the time I finished buying gifts and seeing a smattering of pieces like "Odalisque", the Gallery was closing, and I needed to skedaddle to my last event of the evening; I had a ticket waiting for me for NPR's "A Jazz Piano Christmas". This event capped off a beautiful day in a beautiful place, D.C. Love it, it loves you back.