Oh, the weather outside is frightful...viewing ice on the Potomac River from the train foretold the severe weather we would encounter. How cold was it? Well, let's just say it was cold enough for David to wear socks; temperatures in the single digits with wind chills 10-20 below zero!
Arriving at our hotel, we noticed the sister restaurant to Founding Farmers; Farmers & Distillers was across the street. So we ate lunch there and it did not disappoint. I'd say it was just a good as Founding Farmers.
Gary and Laurie were able to get tickets to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture this afternoon. The Museum chronicles the journey of African Americans from the days of slavery to the present; their struggles, achievements and contributions to this nation. It is a wonderful museum, a superb and needed addition to the Smithsonian.
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| Sitting at the counter, learning about the lunch counter sit-in movement in the 1960s protesting segregation. |
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| Beautiful circular waterfall contemplation room in the Museum. |
Friday
Norman was talking about how electrifying the atmosphere in his room was last night.......? But Jinx quickly clarified it was the static electricity, that created a loud pop when she plugged in her iPhone and ruined the charger!
Our first stop today was the National Gallery to see the exhibit Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry. It is a wonderful collection of paintings. One thing I read was Vermeer was deviating from the norm by placing his subjects in the foreground with less emphasis on their surroundings. It was true that this placement plus side lighting of the subject gave his paintings more impact than his contemporaries. I was reminded of Galen Rowell's photo tip reminding photographers to fill the frame with the subject!
In the paintings, we noted that ladies were often surrounded by servants helping them to get dressed. During the day, Gretchen became our lady, needing several assistants to help her don and shed the multiple layers of clothing needed to fend off of the cold!
After lunch, we took in The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire, an exhibit that highlights how 20,000 miles of trails helped the Inca build and maintain their vast empire.
Next stop was the NATURE'S BEST™ 22nd Annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History. Viewing this annual photo exhibit has become a tradition for our group. The winning photos taken by amateurs and pros from around the world are simply stunning. Mrs. Rice was a nature photographer and the daughter of the founder of FedEx. She died of an undiagnosed heart condition at the age 35, leaving her husband to raise two boys under four years old.
Dinner tonight was at Jaleo, one of our favorite restaurants. We were quite pleased to eat in this establishment today to support the owner who is involved in a law suit with Mr. Trump. After dinner, all but the Sykoras went to see the Capital Steps. The show is always entertaining making you laugh from first song to last. It is also up to date. The Phantom of the Opera parody was about the Fire and Fury book released this week.
Saturday
First stop today was at The Phillips Collection to see the exhibit about the time leading up to the painting of the Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The painting remains the best known and most popular work of art at the museum. I read in a note that once Renoir met his wife, women in subsequent paintings had a resemblance to her. I found this observation to be true as I viewed the ladies in Luncheon of the Boating Party.
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| I'm drawn to shadows in art galleries! |
Following a filling lunch at Paridiso Pizza, we headed to the Renwick Gallery which always has some unique exhibits. This year they included a sculpture with a seemingly real cloth covering a grandfather clock which on closer inspection revealed the cloth was actually part of the carved wood; crime scene dioramas built to train crime scene investigators and a stone sculpture of a pillow that looked like it was soft as down.
Urbana was the restaurant the Helms reserved for dinner but they had some hesitation due to reviews so we stopped by earlier in the day to check it out. Emily quickly befriended Carlos and got the scoop; if we came for dinner, we could take advantage of the free hotel happy hour! Well, this group could do that and ....we did! Final conclusion? The restaurant did not disappoint, everyone thought their food was great!
Sunday
Gary and Laurel headed to the Frederick Douglass House this morning which entailed a lot of walking. Gretchen was up for that but Tom had enough walking. I'm very thankful my body likes biking a whole lot more than it likes walking! So we joined the Helms and the Sykoras at the Newseum. It is a great museum depicting the history of journalism. One thing that impressed me was the wall honoring men and women who have lost their lives trying to do their job, uncovering and reporting the facts around the world!
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| Museum studio were ABC Sunday morning show was produced for several years. |
Alas, our time in Washington came to an end and we boarded the train to Lynchburg. But wait, three blocks from Union Station the train stopped and we spent three hours parked on the track waiting for an apparent brake problem to be resolved. So our January adventure was extended a bit with us arriving in the Burg early Monday morning! Thanks for a great trip Gary. We all appreciate your excellent coordination and planning!
