The Smithsonian

We are getting pretty good at using the public transportation here. Today it was so much easier than yesterday. We even brought books to read on the trip - it takes about 45 minutes from here to the mall. We spent the entire day today at the national Museum of American History. There is so much to see. There is a section in the transportation area that is about Sandy Blvd. in Portland and the effect that the automobile had on American culture, using that area to show how things changed. It was funny because we looked at the pictures of Sandy and it has not changed all that much since the 50's.

We also went through a section in which they took a house that had been built in the 18th century and showed how it had changed over the years through different owners. I thought about taking pictures, but it cannot be conveyed using a small camera. You really do have to see the exhibit.

Of course we also saw Julia Child's kitchen. Amazing. Everything is out and hanging and not in drawers. She has so many knives of various sorts that even Bob was impressed (Bob loves knives and needs a separate one for every chore.) There was a statue of George Washington. This apparently was intended to be the first Washington monument, but he is not wearing clothes and is just covered by a drape in the appropriate areas. There was too much unhappiness and folks thought that the level of nakedness was not appropriate, so another monument was commissioned. Hmmm.

On our way back to the metro station we stopped at the sculpture gardens of the National Museum of Art. Some really weird sculptures. My favorite was the eraser. All in all today we walked and looked for about five hours today after about six hours yesterday. At that point Bob was absolutely exhausted. I am really surprised that he made it that long. By the time we got back to the rv park he was feeling a little better - sitting and doing nothing on the subway and then the bus for 45 minutes actually helps you recover. That meant that he was able to make us a great dinner.

We have been eating much better dinners in Honey than we did in Fanny. It is much easier to cook with the space. It is also much easier to clean up. So last night we had Greek penne and tonight we had salisbury steaks. It makes Bob very happy to be able to cook. He is now relaxing on the sofa reading. I tried reading, but couldn't keep my eyes open, so blogging was my option. Soon to bed and another day in the nation's capital.

Stef, wait about 10 years to bring Alex here. He won't appreciate it before then.