Day two here in Washington DC, and here's a wee report. While the main goal for today was to get out to Alexandria, VA, I had some time to kill and decided to just grab the Metro and pick a stop and see what I could see. I chose the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop and after wandering a bit, popped into the National Archives. How cool it was to start off the adventure with a peek at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights... those documents kicked off some pretty grand adventures. I also wandered through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden for a bit, and took a self portrait using my flexible tripod attached to a park bench. A nice lady asked if I wanted her to take the picture, but I just stomped and exclaimed, "No, let ME do it!" I'm very independent. In this photo you can see that I'm carrying my jacket and tie for the evening's festivities. I carried my duds with me all day on a hanger I borrowed from my hotel. I'm classy too. You may also note that the flags in the capital are all at half staff. When I touched down yesterday, they had just laid Teddy Kennedy to rest at Arlington. How sad to say goodbye to such an amazing influence, who while clearly human showed himself to long be a man of strong conviction and voice. Bless you, Senator Kennedy!
Around two o' clock, I boarded the Metro for Alexandria. I meandered from the station down King Street toward the Potomac, taking a bit of an amazing detour to Christ Church which was where George Washington and Robert E. Lee worshipped. Not at the same time of course. I saw Washington's and Lee's family pews and learned a bunch of fun stuff. One of my favorite stories was about FDR and Winston Churchill visiting the church just weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. They sat in Washington's pew on the National Day of Prayer and the event is commemorated by a couple little plaques. My tour guide told me to sit where Churchill sat. In the photo you can see he had a bit of an obstructed view. Oops.
Another cool story was this particular pew. Back in the day, land owners were required to support their local churches by renting a family pew. This particular fellow didn't have a family, so he rented the pew and made it available to any stranger needing a place to sit. Neat, huh?
After wandering a bit through Old Town Alexandria and the haunts of various patriots, revolutionaries, artists, and artisans, I found my way to MetroStage to change into the evening attire and see a show.
Musical of Musicals the Musical was just fantastic! I so enjoyed the production and the piece itself. Everything was just great. And it was so neat to see the art in the lobby. It's a modest little showing, but I'm super proud of it. I'm so incredibly thankful to Larry Kaye and Carolyn Griffin at MetroStage for making it possible, and I look forward to it opening the door to many more nifty experiences. But on this night, one of the big joys was being joined by my friend Mindy Reid who has recently relocated to Virginia. She and her hubby Tim just welcomed little Zoe and this was her very first night out while Daddy and Daughter bonded at home. I'm honored to have facilitated the outing, and I'm so thankful to her for her friendship and support.
It was such a great day, but my dogs are barking. I may soak them before hitting the hay. Lots to see and do tomorrow! Smithsonian, here I come! Take care, all! Peace and love.
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