DC!!

Almost exactly a month ago, I went to DC for 2 days.
It was wonderful.
I have missed travel so much. I just stared out the window in complete happiness the entire trip down. Even when the AC broke down, I was just happy to watch the scenery go by. Trees! Hills! Deer!
Fun fact: they name the rest stops here after famous people. I didn't trust the Walt Witman one as much as the Thomas Edison one, but was completely reassured by the Clara Barton one.
And DC was lovely! I wasn't expecting to like it much, but Nick was there and told me I would love it. And he was right, of course. Just look how clean and pretty the streets are:


So different from NYC!
Fun fact: the streets in DC are just letters and numbers. So it's like a giant game of battle ship. No "street" even. Just "B" "N" "1".
Anyway, so the bus dropped me off in Chinatown, and with no map (I didn't even look at one before I left.) I headed off with only Nick's directions of "go south".

So I found the Mall with no problems, and settled down by a fountain in a sculpture garden to eat the muffin I brought for lunch.

Then I headed in the direction of what I thought was the Capitol. It was actually the Lincoln Memorial, which I only realized when I could actually make out the Lincoln statue. But first: the Washington Monument.

I really lucked on the weather this whole trip, but it did get pretty hot when you were walking in the sun. The breeze off the fountain felt really good.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked seeing all the monuments. I didn't think I would. While walking around, I noticed a lot of Honor Flight people around.

There were ducks everywhere!

The view from the Lincoln memorial. It doesn't look very far, but it is a lot of walking between all these things! So, the best thing about the Lincoln memorial on a hot day like this: it is nice cool marble.

The ceiling was so cool!

I could just sit there for hours. I almost did. Watching tourists, staying cool, if I wasn't meeting Teresa for dinner I just might have.

I stumbled upon the Vietnam memorial on my stroll back. I was kinda shocked at how sad it is in real life. Not that I was expecting it to be fun and happy, but pictures don't do justice to just how sad it is.

A pretty, tourist-free section of the park.

More ducks!

So after this, it was onto meet Teresa and then Nick! Yay for sight-seeing!

Today on the subway I saw a man wearing one white cotton glove, which he was using as the hand to hold onto the poles. So: was this a Micheal Jackson tribute or just a guy paranoid about the Swine Flu?

hot 'n cold

Happy first day of summer! Here is the forcast I woke up to:


And here's a little game I've been playing for the past week and 1/2 called guess the city. Hint: one is STL and the other is NYC.



As much as I'm enjoying this weather, I'm gonna feel a little cheated if it never warms up to sweltering. That is summer!! It is hot and sticky and uncomfortable and everyone should be able to wear tank tops and flip flops with out grabbing a sweater. Also, I want to eat watermelon, but it just doesn't seem right untill it gets hotter.

'Bout time for some DC posts...I will get to that eventually!

Michelle Obama was recently in NYC to promote the arts and said this:

"The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation. The president and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art. We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, either as a hobby or as a profession."

food sketches!

I'm trying a new thing, drawing what I eat instead of just taking a picture. We'll see how long I keep it up, but it's a nice way to make myself draw.

Spinach-garlic noodles.

Falafel on rice, with french fries for some inexplicable reason. The halal guy near work puts them on everything.

I drew this picture of what I ate at work and my shoes the other day when everyone else was out so I was eating lunch alone. However, I really did get a slice of pizza delivered, which I found pretty neato. Also, I'm on a big garlic kick lately.