I Do Stuff…

sculpture hallways at the National Gallery of Art

Photo Gallery

Monday was a federal holiday so both Nancy and I had off. With all the snow still on the ground we wanted to get out of the house for a while and decided to take a trip to DC. Last semester Nancy had an art appreciation class, for extra credit she could visit any art museum and write a one page report.  The class is long over, but we finally decided to visit the National Gallery of Art.

When we arrived in the DC it was pretty desolate with the federal government closed and the city declaring a snow emergency. Finding a garage near the National Gallery of Art was actually real easy. When we surfaced from the depths of the building we had a choice to make, see “old” art or the “new” art. I have been once before to the old art gallery and I was impressed. The marble architecture of the building is amazing. Outside the building looks like any other museum on the Mall. When you walk in from the Mall entrance you are greeted with a huge rotunda and a fountain. There are giant black pillars of marble that ring the space and go all the way to the ceiling.

random sculpture

From this main hall you can go two ways, left or right.  (Map: ground, main)  Down each hallway you will find various exhibits ranging in style, country and period. Starting from the 13th century and going to the 19th century spanning most every country in Europe. The collection of art includes paintings by such notables as Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, da Vinci, Picasso and many others. Not being familiar with art I was able to point out many famous works myself. Those paintings when you see them you say “I know that piece,” you might not know who painted it, but you know they are world famous works of art.

If you have time I would suggest bringing a book to read while you are there. I know it sounds weird, but there are two garden courts that are just beautiful and so peaceful. Being an art museum there is not a lot of talking, just low murmurs from patrons. In fact the museum has a policy that cell phones are not to be used in the exhibit areas. If I worked in DC I would take my lunch breaks at the two garden courts to relax and decompress. Or sit in front of some of the pieces of art, many of the master works have couches you can sit in while contemplating the meaning of life or what ever the artist intended.

I have always had a great respect for artists; painters and photographers in particular. They have this vision in there head and they somehow transfer that to canvas or cellulose. I might not be able to appreciate all the finer details, but I can still appreciate the work.

The House of Parliament, Sunset by Claude Monet

After leaving the museum we were hungry so we found a sports bar to grab a drink and lunch. I was hoping to have more options, but most places where closed. We found the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern to enjoy a nice cold beer and some sandwiches. As we ate our lunch the snow really started to come down. The ground was to warm for any accumulations, but at least it was snowing. By the time we left it was almost a full blizzard and I was loving it. Nancy couldn’t wait to get back to the Jeep and into the warmth. On the short walk back to the Jeep Nancy magically transformed herself into the squirrel whisperer.  There where a ton of squirrels inhabiting a small park with some trees.  Living in the city they are use to humans and probably get a lot of hand outs.  Well Nancy starts squeaking and one decided to be brave and check it out. Fortunately it didn’t get to close, but I got some good closeups.

Driving out of the city with the snow proved to be a bit of a nightmare.  It was not a full blown rush hour, but traffic was heavy and slow.  We finally arrived back at her apartment around 5, almost time for me to leave for class.  It was great spending the afternoon in the city as it was almost empty.  The snow kept most people away so the streets and museum were pretty quite.  I still want to hit the modern art museum next door, might have to do that when spring arrives so I can take advantage of the color the season brings with it.

path along the Reflecting Pool

Photo Gallery

For most federal holiday they happen on Monday or Friday and often the government shifts around the day off to fit this ideal model.  So having Veterans Day in the middle of the week just felt odd and out of place.  On top of that Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast and decided to sit on top of Virginia ALL day.  I was planning on getting outside to do a little hiking but that got washed out, literally.  So when my dad called saying he was going to DC to visit the Vietnam Memorial, possible Arlington National Cemetery, and the Smithsonian’s American History Museum I decided that was a better day spent than inside my house.

We got some what of an early start, I went to his house around 10am so we could take Metro into the city.  I was not overly concerned with high traffic today, middle of the week and rain would keep most people away.  Plus the more people I talked to it was about a 50/50 split on who had off.  Needless to say there was plenty of parking in the garage and seats on the train.

When we got to the Smithsonian stop and took the long escalator ride up we got our first taste of just how miserable the weather was going to be.  I was hoping that the further north we traveled things would improve, but of course that was wishful thinking.  The wind would howl blowing cold moisture soaked air, layers of warm cloths were the only defense against this onslaught of mother nature.  A good rain jacket or umbrella was a must too.  My dad’s umbrella decided to break down and provide only minimal defense against the rain, but for today it would do the job well enough.  The rain falling was never heavy, just a steady, even, rainfall.  Enough to make it not fun to be outside.

Vietnam Memorial

The walk from the Metro stop to the Vietnam Memorial is about a mile and half, not that far, but no fun in the rain.  We made the most of it and I was able to get a couple nice shots considering the day.  We passed the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial before we reach our destination.  Around the memorial were a ton of veterans mingling and reminiscing about days of old.  The cold and rain were not enough to keep these guys from honoring the memories of their fallen brothers.  It was inspiring really, I imagine many of them dealt with much worse in the jungle to let a little rain bother them today.  We tried to get close and walk along the wall but police had it blocked off to the public.  An officer said they were preparing for a ceremony at 1pm and we should come back around 3pm if we wanted to get closer.

We spent a good amount of time standing around looking at the wall talking about Vietnam and the current war.  The conversation around the memorial was definitely different than the one on the train ride up or the walk over.  My dad was in country for 17 months as a MP at a southern airfield.  He has never talked about it and I never bring it up.  But I know it affected him.  We talked a little about what the American public was like back then and again now.  To me it is eerily similar now as it was back then.  The public is loosing patience with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, just like in the late sixties with Vietnam.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.  Will history repeat itself?

lobby of the museum

With our sole searching done we trudged along towards the American History Museum.  They recently remolded the museum and opened it back up to the public, plus we wanted to get out of the rain.  Walking along Constitution Avenue we quickly noticed that the roads were blocked off, not even pedestrians were allowed to cross the road.  We knew it was for someone important, and we assumed the President.  A few minutes later we see police motorcycles drive by followed by three heavily armored limousine and 10 or so black SUV’s.  The motorcade even had an ambulance thrown in for good measure.  One of the SUV’s looked like it could have communicated with Spirit and Opportunity on Mars.  That’s just the way he rolls.

Getting to the museum we made a quick stop at the cafe on the first floor for some lunch and much needed hot coffee.  It felt good to be inside and out of the rain.  Next we got a map of the museum and started exploring.  The guide we talked to recommended the Star-Spangled Banner, Julia Child’s Kitchen, and American Presidency.  But before we saw any of these we started with America on the Move since it is on the first floor.  My dad loves trains so it was an obvious first choice.  It is pretty amazing to see how far we have come in this country.  But when you considering how massive it is, it’s no wonder we love to travel.

Next it was up to the third floor and work our way down.  The big attraction here is the Price of Freedom display which shows every war America has been in.  From our countries the little known wars in our early history all the way up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan we are bravely fighting.  We took our time especially walking through the Vietnam section.  I am pretty sure it brought bake memories for my dad.  He pointed out on a giant map the place he was stationed in country which was pretty neat.

a funny statue of Washington

On the second floor is the Star-Spangled Banner, this is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what eventually became the national anthem of our country.  When I was a kid the flag use to be displayed so when you walked in from the Mall entrance it was the first thing you saw.  As time went on they covered it and would only display it for a brief time during the day.  Now, it is entirely encased in a environmentally controlled chamber away from people and light.  Throughout the flags history people have not taken the best care of it.  Large sections were cut out and sold and at one time it was displayed outside on the museum wall.

We had time to check a few other section of the museum in our limited time.  Of course we couldn’t see everything in the few hours we had, but we saw everything we wanted to.  It was great spending the day with my dad in the city.  It reminded me of my youth when he would take my brother and I up regularly to check out the museums.  Even in my thirties going to the museums with my dad is a lot of fun.

Daniel Tosh - kicking comedies ass!

Had a great evening in the city this past Saturday night.  Months ago I got tickets for Nancy, Jeremy and I to the Daniel Tosh show at the Warner Theatre in DC.  I have seen several show there and they are always good, definitely wont be my last.  With the show starting at 8pm we had plenty of time to find trouble before it started.

Nancy and I decided to drive up real early and head to Shelly’s Back Room for some drinks, food, and fine cigars.  It is one of the last places in the city you can smoke indoors.  I forget what the exact loop hole is that allows them to continue to smoke indoors.  Honestly I don’t care what it is, I just care there is a place where you still can still smoke.  Luckily the restaurant is only one block from the theatre entrance.  It is the perfect place to go before or after a show at the Warner or National Theatre.

When we left around a quarter to 8 I had a good buzz going, but being so close to the venue it didn’t much matter.  There was a huge line outside the theatre, I was surprised it was so long, but it moved quickly and in no time we were inside and sitting in our seats.  We were seated on the orchestra on the right side, pretty good seats if you ask me.  My only complaint is the size of the seats.  I am not a fat guy, but even I find the seats to be very narrow.  God help you if you are over weight, you will never fit into the seats.

The show started a little late, some people don’t understand that 8pm show time is the start of the show.  People were still filling into the theatre up till 8:30pm, that I just don’t get it.  There was an opening act, some guy also from Los Angeles whose name escapes me.  He was really funny and talked for about 15 minutes.  You could say it was ethnic comedy, he kept talking about poor black people.  It sounds really bad, but it was very funny.  We all were surprised by how good he was for an opening act.

When he walked off the stage, without delay or much fan fair, they introduced Daniel Tosh.  This giant of a man proceeds to swagger onto the stage.  He was really funny.  I would say his humor is sorta insult, but not all the time.  And even when he does insult people it’s not that bad, I have definitely heard worse from other comics.  For one of his jokes, I don’t even remember how it went, he ends it by saying “hot pocket.”  Nancy leaned over to me and ask “Did he just say ‘hot pocket?’”  He then talks about how he got advice from Jim Gaffigan on that joke and Jim recommended he just end it with “hot pocket”.  It totally worked.  By the end of the night my face hurt I was laughing so much.  What a fun evening.

Photo Gallery

For several years now I have seen Baltimore’s Artscape come and go, never being able to make it.  This year I was determined as ever to catch “the largest free outdoor art festival” in the country.  Every year they get hundreds of artists together and close several city blocks for all the booths and stages.  Not only do they have traditional artists, but dance troops and what I was mostly interested in the local and national musicians together as well for free concerts on several different stages.  This years artists included Cake and Robert Randolph.  With Cake making an appearance it didn’t take any arm twisting to get Jeremy to come with me.  For the first time in years I was finally getting to Artscape.

Jeremy and I got together in the early afternoon to start our trek to Baltimore.  I had never been to Artscape nor the part of town it was located in.  Needless to say we were going to be winging it, just like so many adventures from our youth.  When we got close to the festival we found a garage that was only a couple blocks from the festival and followed the throngs of people towards the festival grounds.  When we arrived it was a giant mass of people walking down the closed streets.  I just couldn’t get over how many people were there.  But I guess being right in the middle of a large city and a free event, brings out the people.

Our first priority was bathroom, drink,  and food, in that order.  We hit one of the “food courts” to grab some grub and found huge lines of people waiting.  It was nice to have all the food in one spot, lots to choose from, but everyone had to go to the same spot to eat.  Instead of picking what we wanted, we settled for the shortest line, a Greek place.  After waiting only 15 minutes or so we placed our order with the lady and promptly got our food.  For some reason she couldn’t take our money and told us to see the guy next to her.  So we cut in line and paid.  He told us $23 for the food and drinks for which we quickly gathered our money and got $2 change.  While looking for some napkins the lady start yelling at us to pay, saying we owed her $20 for the food.  The guy starts yelling at us asking for more money, so we just walked away.  We paid in full and apparently got ripped off for doing so.  Food vendors can be some shady people.  With food and drink secured we found a nice shady spot under a tree and joined the hundreds of other festival goers in eating some food.  For being over charged it was rather good too.

After lunch Jeremy and I parted company.  Jeremy took the recording gear and headed to the pit to secure a spot.  I headed to one of the other stages to catch Higher Hands for a few songs before meeting back up with Jeremy.  On the way to and from the Festival Stage I stopped by many of the booths to check out the art work.  I was very impressed by what I saw from most of the vendors.  I would have actually bought some of the pieces but the prices were to steep for my pockets, so instead I just marveled at what I saw.  I have always been impressed with artists, of all kinds.  I have always been a little jealous of artists actually.  The fact that these people create something and display it for the world to see has been something I wish I could do.  I wish I could create something beautiful the way these people do.  The closes I come right now is with my photography.  What I do might be called creative, but I think of it mostly as being at the right place at the right time.  Nature has done all the work by creating the world around me, I just take the pictures.

Cake copyright: Kathleen Hill

Higher Hands was not finished with their set before I needed to head over to the main stage for Cake.  When  I arrived the tiny amphitheatre was packed with people.  Jeremy said he was down in the pit near the stage right corner, now I just needed to find one man in a crowd of thousands.  When I got to the pit I quickly ran into a wall of people that made it near impossible to get to him.  He was about 20′ from me but because he was taping I was unable to get his attention, yelling would have been a bad idea.  And besides even if he knew I was there I couldn’t get any closer.  So I took up my spot and just enjoyed the show, only missing two songs of the set.  From my vantage point I could barely see the stage, but I certainly could hear them play.  The photo to the right is a good approximation of my limited view of the stage.

As the set progressed Cake played many of their hit songs, which I recognized, and even a song from their as yet unreleased album.  John McCrea said there is no official release date and they would release it when they wanted.  They currently don’t have a major record label and are taking their new found freedom from “the man” to its fullest, which seems to suit them very well.  Every now and then I would see John poke his head out.  With my limited view of the stage it allowed me to do a lot of people watching which I love to do.  Quite a diverse group of fans made it to see them play.

Once the set was over the crowd quickly dissipated which allowed Jeremy and I to take up a much better position on the hill.  We managed to snag a spot about half way up the hill just left of center, right next to the tapers.  Up next was Robert Randolph and the Family Band.  A rockin’ soul/funk/fusion band that is hard to describe, you just have to see them.  The band does a good job of getting the crowd into the music and their shows are always a party.

Robert Randolph copyright: Jeff Quinton

They came out and rocked the house with their brand of funk and the audience ate it up.  They played a ton of covers, two from Michael Jackson who recently passed away, Man in the Mirror and Billie Jean.  For Billie Jean a young kid, maybe 10 or 11, came on stage and stole the show with his break dancing skills.  The whole show was like this……good.  By the time the band walked off stage at the end of the set it was almost 10pm.  But you see the guys milling around next to the FOH board deciding what they are going to play and a few minutes later come out for an encore.  With the clock marching towards 10pm there was not much time to squeeze in the two song encore.  As they played on I saw coming up the stage stairs a police or fire chief and he looked pissed.  The sound guy and he talk real quick and the sound man gets a panic look on his face.  The city takes their curfew very seriously but Robert didn’t care about any curfew, he just wanted to play.  The crowd was digging the music and he wanted to give them everything he had.  Eventually the band members slowly walk off stage leaving Robert playing a melody on his guitar.  Slowly he walks off stage, still playing, and has a pow wow with the chief.  Then just stops playing, there was no more show.  I definitely thought the power would have been cut mid-song or the chief walking on stage and pulling the cord from Robert’s guitar, something like that.  But I was glad to see them playing as long as they did.

After the show we filtered out with the rest of the crowd.  It was great seeing variety of people that attended the festival as we walked back to the car.  When we got back it was off to Sabatino’s for some midnight grub.  I for one was hungry and thirsty.  I had visions of tiramisu and cappuccino dancing in my head.  When ever I am in Baltimore I stop by Sabatino’s for some late night eats, usually to sober up too.  When we arrived I was hungrier than I thought and ordered a bowl of mussels along with my usual.  Everything was so good, what a way to cap off the night.  After food and a little time to rest we headed back home to Virginia.

CAKE
1. Stickshift and Safetybelts
2. War Pigs
3. Ruby Sees All
4. Love You Madly
5. Frank Sinatra
6. Wheels
7. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
8. Sheep Go to Heaven
9. Daria
10. Short Skirt/Long Jacket
11. Comfort Eagle
12. Untitled*
13. Mexico
14. Never There

Note:
* – John McCrea said Cake may or may not release a new album with this song on it.

Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Start time 8:32pm
1. Sunshine Of Your Love jam
2. Deliver Me
3. I Need More Love >
4. Wanna Be Starting Something jam >
5. I Need More Love
6. The March
7. jam >
8. Man In The Mirror
9. Shake Your Hips
10. Jesus Is Just Alright
11. Gilligan
12. Billie Jean
13. I Don’t Know What You Come To Do

encore:
14. Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That
15. Thrill Of It

walked off stage 10:02pm

sun dial from the Carlyle House

Photo Gallery

So after years of trying to get Nancy to travel the short distance to Old Town Alexandria for a day of fun it finally happened.  But not because of my doing, a couple she knows was going to the Torpedo Factory, one of the reasons I have been trying to get her to go, and invited us along.  I couldn’t believe it when she agreed to travel to the “city”.  Finally!  We were headed to the Torpedo Factory for a day of culture and fun.

Saturday when we went couldn’t have been better to be outside in this historic district.  The sun was shining and them temperatures were very comfortable.  I decided to take Metro and just meet everyone there at 4 o’clock.  Since i wanted to walk around a take a bunch of pictures this afforded me ample time to get there early and enjoy the city.  While walking down from the Metro stop they had an Armenian festival at City Hall.  They had all sorts of craft vendors and when I was passing through a group of dancers were on stage doing traditional dance, you wont see this stuff on MTV.

I was able to spend a good hour walking around the city, mostly along the waterfront, and got some good shots.  Nancy and the troops were running a little late which allowed me the extra shooting time at the Carlyle House (picture).  A historic site with a fantastic garden in the back yard that is being restored.  Unfortunately their delay would limit our time at the Torpedo Factory.  It normally closes at 6 on Saturdays, but tonight they had a special engagement and were closing at 5.  So we only had about 30 minutes of time to walk around.  Every type of art medium you could think of is represented here, most of which was for sale.  I was really impressed with the place and would love to come back when I can spend a few hours walking around.  With three levels and all these little cubbyholes hiding different artists, many of who are happy to talk about their work, there is a lot to see.

Eventually when we got kicked out we walked around downtown and did a little shopping.  The first place we went to was Conrad’s Furniture Gallery because of their pitch.  When we walked by they offered us free drinks and hors d’oeuvres.  Who can refuse free alcohol and food?  The place was very trendy and offered a wide variety of things for sale.  Nancy walked away with a hand blown green glass blow from Turkey, or maybe Morocco.  I wanted to use it as a cereal bowl but that idea got shot down quickly.  Nancy doesn’t know yet what she will do with it, but she knows it will be the bases for furnishing her house.  I fail to see how you can base the whole decoration of a house, or even a room, on one single bowl, but if anyone can do it it would be Nancy.

row houses

We still needed to kill time as our dinner reservations at The Wharf, was not till 6:30.  The hors d’oeuvres wet our appetite so we tried to get seated early for our reservations.  When we arrived at the restaurant it was completely empty on Saturday night.  Once we got seated we checked out the menu and it was limited and expensive.  Plus Nancy doesn’t eat seafood and the selection of chicken/beef was only two items.  So we decided to dine and dash, well more just the dash.  We didn’t order anything, not even drinks.

Fortunately for us just down the block we found another restaurant that looked more appealing, the Fish Market.  It was still a seafood place, but the menu had more options of non-seafood items.  When we walked in the atmosphere was much more relaxed compared to the other place.  Even the drink selection was better, the crazy sizes and names made it a done deal.  I must saw that I was impressed with the food as well.  I had the Admiral’s platter, basically a little of everything.  With the exception of the crab imperial that tasted awful, everything was good.  And the hushpuppies, it had been so long since I tasted such good hushpuppies.

After dinner we decided on some bar hoping and this is how we ended our night in Old Town.  Our first stop was at the Tap Room which was right next to the car.  Definitely a locals bar, very quaint with cool architecture.  Next it was off to O’Connell’s, you might have quested it, an Irish pub.  Here we lucked out and got a table outside on the sidewalk.  On such a beautiful night we could not have asked for a better location.  Plus I love to people watch and it was great to see the diverse crowd of people walking around that evening.  It was so good we had two rounds of drinks before we did a little shopping at Le Tache.  I won’t go into what this place is, but I saved the night when I found it only one block up from O’Connell’s bar.  A very interesting place, very upscale with a helpful staff, I can’t wait to go back.

For a night cap it was Bugsy’s and their sports bar located atop their pizza parlor.  I was amazed by the amount of crap, I mean memorabilia, on the walls.  In the middle of looking around we noticed it was almost midnight and that the garage would be closing soon.  We were not ready to finish our evening, but we were forced to leave.  After getting back to the car I hitched a ride to Metro and that ended a great day in Old Town Alexandria.  We are all hoping to get back soon and do an official bar crawl.