Don't you just love Washington D.C.? It is one of my favorite cities on planet earth - and so much is free! God bless our tax dollars at work. It feels great to swing open the doors of a Smithsonian museum (in this case, American History) and enter MY museum, an American who has paid her taxes to help this institution flourish.
I love the sense of expectation in the air. It's like the energy I feel when walking in New York City. You just KNOW important things are happening here. My friends Barb and Jim (Gary taught with Barb in a high school in Connecticut) actually live in a suburb of Maryland, a 25-minute subway ride from Union Station where I arrived on Friday, but we have spent most of our time in D.C.
I love driving through the city - oh look, there is the Lincoln Memorial (my children remember how, on our trip in 1987, I missed the entrance to the Memorial and ended up crossing the bridge to Virginia - again and again and again), there is the White House and so on. Everywhere you look is something remarkable, somewhere significant, some reminder of recent or past history. I truly love this place.
I unintentionally happened to be here on one of the two days a year that the White House gardens are open to the public. The weather was gorgeous as I strolled by the Rose Garden, Jackie's Garden and the newest addition - the vegetable garden that Michelle and school children planted. Their tomatoes look quite good for so late in the season.
We toured the South garden (the part that abuts the huge elipse out back, not the grounds in front of the White House) so had perfect views of the Washington Monument as well. I am glad that, whichever president is in power, he has such beautiful and surprisingly serene spaces at hand for possible relaxation. I mean anyone who has the power to set off a nuclear weapon should have the possibility of bits of serenity.
I am somewhat embarrassed that I have never visited Washinton's monument in all of my trips to DC so made up for this on this visit. My you get great views from way up there. We also visited the statue of Einstein that stands outside the American Academy of Science. Great sculpture - he looks so old and rumpled and approachable that you want to sit down and chat. Many people climb in his lap for a photo op and it is considered good luck to rub his nose.
One incident of my visit stands out. Each month local members of their church (meaning those who live closest to them) gather for a shared dinner and this month it was at Barb and Jim's house. Over dinner discussions I learned that one of the members who works for the Department of Agriculture has figured out a way to turn the trillions of chicken feathers from Maryland's chicken industry into biodegradable flower pots. The Econ teacher in me was delighted. A local resource, repurposed, providing jobs and it's biodegradable. Win, win, win. Who ever knew? I won't look at flower pots the same way.
And of course Barb and Jim and I talked, talked, talked as we caught up over long leisurely meals and glasses of wine. It was indeed wonderful.
Next on to Chaleston via Amtrak. I am finally entering states new to me. I have never been in either of the Carolinas and I will be spending several days in each. Yippee!
I love the sense of expectation in the air. It's like the energy I feel when walking in New York City. You just KNOW important things are happening here. My friends Barb and Jim (Gary taught with Barb in a high school in Connecticut) actually live in a suburb of Maryland, a 25-minute subway ride from Union Station where I arrived on Friday, but we have spent most of our time in D.C.
I love driving through the city - oh look, there is the Lincoln Memorial (my children remember how, on our trip in 1987, I missed the entrance to the Memorial and ended up crossing the bridge to Virginia - again and again and again), there is the White House and so on. Everywhere you look is something remarkable, somewhere significant, some reminder of recent or past history. I truly love this place.
I unintentionally happened to be here on one of the two days a year that the White House gardens are open to the public. The weather was gorgeous as I strolled by the Rose Garden, Jackie's Garden and the newest addition - the vegetable garden that Michelle and school children planted. Their tomatoes look quite good for so late in the season.
 |
| The veggies are looking good! |
We toured the South garden (the part that abuts the huge elipse out back, not the grounds in front of the White House) so had perfect views of the Washington Monument as well. I am glad that, whichever president is in power, he has such beautiful and surprisingly serene spaces at hand for possible relaxation. I mean anyone who has the power to set off a nuclear weapon should have the possibility of bits of serenity.
I am somewhat embarrassed that I have never visited Washinton's monument in all of my trips to DC so made up for this on this visit. My you get great views from way up there. We also visited the statue of Einstein that stands outside the American Academy of Science. Great sculpture - he looks so old and rumpled and approachable that you want to sit down and chat. Many people climb in his lap for a photo op and it is considered good luck to rub his nose.
 |
| Check out the nose! I couldn't quite reach it myself so the cane came in quite handy. |
One incident of my visit stands out. Each month local members of their church (meaning those who live closest to them) gather for a shared dinner and this month it was at Barb and Jim's house. Over dinner discussions I learned that one of the members who works for the Department of Agriculture has figured out a way to turn the trillions of chicken feathers from Maryland's chicken industry into biodegradable flower pots. The Econ teacher in me was delighted. A local resource, repurposed, providing jobs and it's biodegradable. Win, win, win. Who ever knew? I won't look at flower pots the same way.
And of course Barb and Jim and I talked, talked, talked as we caught up over long leisurely meals and glasses of wine. It was indeed wonderful.
Next on to Chaleston via Amtrak. I am finally entering states new to me. I have never been in either of the Carolinas and I will be spending several days in each. Yippee!
No comments:
Post a Comment