dc trip:: national treasures day

the second day in dc was for museums. our first stop monday morning was dick's to buy new tennis shoes for my unfortunate feet. i ended up getting some nike free runs (and i looove them!) so not packing tennis shoes really worked out great for me. the only downside was they're not exactly the color i would have picked if i'd had more time to shoe shop, no one can miss me when i'm crossing the street though!

we parked our car at the verizon center and brett had a slight verbal altercation with the thick-accented parking attendant (insert major payne saying, "what we have here is a failure to communicate.") that left him feeling feisty for a good half hour. fun start to the day! we went to the national gallery of art first.

more beautiful architecture. i just love it. my new shoes were quite squeaky on that pristine, marble floor. the information desk woman was a little sad when my eyes lit up when she gave me the highlights map of the museum. she thinks i don't appreciate art, but i really do, we were just on a time schedule. you could really spend all day in here.

the whole time we were in the gallery i felt like i was reenacting that scene from ferris bueller's day off. we especially loved the water/boat paintings, and paintings where they really capture lighting and reflections so perfectly that it looks like a picture. it's amazing.

this life-size bronze work on the left is of the 54th regiment. we hung out with the prince from "the prince". brett said, "hey i recognize him! let's take a picture together." those medici's sure know how to have a good time apparently.

my favorite rooms were the impressionists. monet is my favorite. my mom has this sunflower painting up at home so it was so cool to see it in real life.

i remember learning about impressionism from ms. brewster in elementary school. she showed us paintings by monet and van gogh including this bridge painting. this painting and water lilies in general, were a go-to picture for me anytime i had a chance to draw with pastels.

the troubled van gogh in real life!

everyday we ate pb&honey sandwiches, fruit, and carrots we packed for lunch. on our way out of the gallery this little guy came right up to us like it was no big deal to beg for food. he must be used to people pulling out food as soon as they leave. he was the fattest and slowest squirrel i've ever seen in my life.

next we went to the national archives to see the magna carta, declaration of independence, and constitution. i was sad to find out that the movie national treasure is a lie and you can't take pictures once you're inside. it was so awesome to see those documents in real life. i was american history geeking out all day pretty much.

posing with a fake declaration to commemorate seeing the real thing. the movie national treasure also lied about how expensive these fakes are, does that mean all that free masons/conspiracy/book of secrets stuff is a lie too?! they sure had me fooled.

next we went to the american history smithsonian and saw more cool old stuff. lots of presidential belongings like washington's clothes and abe lincoln's hat! crazy!

we also saw more modern treasures from pop culture. i had no idea dorothy's ruby red slippers were sequins! 

"i don't know. some lady gave it to him. she even signed her name on it. some lady named... ruth. baby ruth." ha, can't imagine hitting this ball to a beast dog.

the next museum we visited was the holocaust museum which doesn't allow pictures. that was another somber/reverent/emotional place. the main things on the tour that stood out to me were the pictures of people with their story, the walls of names/family pictures/and city names, the actual beds from auschwitz, the room of shoes from holocaust victims as they entered concentration camps, the film of survivors talking about their experiences, and the room of reflection and remembrance.

the last museum we had time for was the natural history museum. (which apparently is not the one from night at the museum, dang! ha guess we'll have to go to nyc.)

i read life of pi on this trip (loved that book!) so the tiger was my favorite from the hall of mammals. brett had some second thoughts about bear hunting in alaska when he saw how big this bear really is.

"i have a big head and little arms. i'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through." oh i can laugh at that all day.

last stop, capitol hill! it was the perfect time of day with the sun sinking across the reflecting pool.

hello civil war soldiers.

 i was disappointed again when i couldn't walk on the real capitol steps, but i still took a seat like my school house rock icon "i'm just a bill." while i'm drinking from the fanciest water fountain (an actual fountain) i've ever seen, here's a shot of my bright crazy shoes!

we finished up the night with delicious thai food near dupont circle. the seating at the restaurant was lots of tables for two super close together. we noticed the girls next to us talking a mile a minute meanwhile our mealtime conversation was relatively silent. it made us laugh, but i guess that's what happens when you're tired and you spend every waking moment together for three days straight. it was nice and relaxing to just sit and eat.

before heading back to the hotel brett had to stop at whole foods to get some vegan bakery choco chip cookies. that boy and his tookies! we seriously stopped at four whole foods throughout our trip to get vegan cookies. it was the whole foods tour of dc. i'd say we spent $40 on treats during this trip. goo! we've been good and cut them out since we've gotten home though. sad day.

(psst -- reading back through this before i post it made me realize how many movie references i used! i think it's a record for unintentional movie quoting for one post. obviously i speak in movie quotes pretty frequently. #2 psst -- two more trip posts coming up!)