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

When I went to the Nats vs. Red Sox a week ago a good friend of mine, Rob, wanted to come along.  But with the game sold out it was impossible to get three tickets next to each other.  Instead we decided to catch another game.  He had never been to the stadium and wanted to see a game, just like me he is not a big baseball fan, but it’s good to say you did it at least once.

The best day for everyone was a Sunday afternoon game on the 5th of July against the Braves.  If Will and Saundra were able to make it for the fourth, I thought this would have been a great way to end their trip to DC.  But after getting all interested parties together, it would be my Dad, Nancy, Rob and myself going to the game.  We of course followed the same plan as with the Sox game: meet at my Dad’s house, drive to Pentagon City Mall, and Metro to the stadium.

Me, Nancy and my Dad

When we arrived because Rob had never been to the stadium we walked around some so he could get a good look at the stadium.  We also got food and beer, what would a ball game be without beer?  Our seats for this game were right behind the visitor dugout.  These seats were covered so when I checked the weather early in the week there was a possibility of rain, but we would have been protected.  The weather could not have been more perfect game day.  It was in the mid-70’s I believe with near zero humidity.  Clouds hung in the sky most of the day, but rain was never a threat.  For being the dog days of summer the weather sure was not playing along.

The crowd for the game was much thinner.  I should not have seen a sold out game vs. the Red Sox first.  There might have been 15,000 people that day and that is probably just because it was a Sunday game after the 4th of July.  Everyone is already in the city for the fireworks so why not catch a game.  Even with the low turn out the crowds was pretty good.  Again there were a lot of Braves fans in the stadium, this time we Nat fans were not outnumbered 4 or 5 to one.

your OUT!

This was the third in a series with Atlanta, tied at 1-1 with the Nats winning the game on Saturday they were heading into game three with the pendulum swinging toward their side.  Right from the start the Nats quickly took the lead and by the third inning were up 3-0.  The Braves struck back and took a nibble out of that lead in the third with one run scored.  By the ninth inning, with the game all but won, the score was 5-1.  We were still staying till the final pitch was thrown and the game was officially over.  But the Braves had a little life left in them and scored two in the finally inning.  It looked like we had a game on our hand and extra inning was a possibility.  But with some great pitching the Nats won the game 5-3.  My Dad’s win streak was still holding with a win every time he sees a game.

Once the game was over we decided to hang out and let the crowds die down before fighting the crowds on Metro.  This time the staff was more vigorous in getting the people out of the seats.  With fewer fans in the stadium it was much easier to clear out.  Getting kicked out was not a problem, we decided to take the hint and hit the Capitol City Brewery in Shirlington again for some victory drinks.  We ponied up to the bar and ordered a round while we savored our teams victory.  I couldn’t wait to get to work on Monday and nag John about the Nats victory.  He is a huge Braves fan and the lowly Nats won two in the series.

crazy shot

After the first round of drinks it was getting pretty late and we needed to head back to my Dad’s house.  My Dad was grilling flank steak and Rob was staying for dinner.  With such nice weather we decided to eat out on the deck.  But before we left Shirlington we stopped by the Best Buns Bread Co. to get some bread for dinner.  While there I also picked up some lemon squares for desert, everything looked so good.  When we did get back to his house we started cooking and had some great wine to go with dinner.  We sat outside for several hours enjoying dinner and just talking.

It was a great idea Rob had to see a game at the ball park and Sunday was the perfect day to do it.  A lazy Sunday afternoon at the ball park, drinks after, and a good home cooked meal on the deck, life is perfect.  I can’t wait to do it again.

July 5, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2		3	9	1
Washington	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	X		5	14	0

Photo Gallery

Through a series of events I owed my dad a nice dinner out.  Not to one of our usual meeting spots: Fireside Grill, Hard Times, or Lucky’s Sports Bar.  I owed him something like Morton’s or Ruth Chris, a nice place.  So what I decided to do instead was take him to see the Nationals play and buy him a hot dog for dinner.  When I told him of my plan I started it off by saying I would buy him a hot dog.  I could hear it in his voice he was a little disappointed, he was hoping for something more.  Once that settled in I told him the hot dogs would be at Nationals Park for a ball game.

Now, what game to see?  I checked the schedule real quick and was not impressed with the home games I saw for June.  Unfortunately the Nationals have some crappy teams in their division and I didn’t want to see any of them.  However late in the month I saw a ray of hope, the Nats would be playing the Red Sox.  Official tickets were sold out so I had to use a ticket broker to find a pair in the outfield.  Later while at the game I found out it was an inter-league game and the Nats don’t play the Sox often at all.

view from our seats

We were going to see the last in a three game series.  The first two were looses for the Nats, in fact the first game was a complete blow out with the Nats loosing 3 to 11, 6 of those runs coming in the eight inning alone.  The Wednesday game was still a lose, but not nearly such a beat down, loosing 4-6.  My Dad and I were not holding out much hope for a win, but we had luck on our side.  Even with the worse record in baseball the last game my Dad went to, the Nats ended up winning.  We where hoping his luck would hold and we could get a little revenge.

We meet early at my Dad’s house and drove up to Pentagon City to catch the Metro to the stadium.  If you are going to see the Nats play, Metro is the only way to travel.  Yeah you can park on site, but it’s $40 and in my opinion a rip off.  The Metro was packed with fans making their way to the stadium.  Tuesdays game was record attendance, then Wednesday broke that record.  Thursdays was sold out and would be close to a record, if not breaking the record.

We had time to kill before the first pitch so we walked around the stadium and got some food.  I was very impressed with the new stadium.  If it right on the water and the whole area around the stadium is being revitalized.  Currently things have slowed down because of the financial crisis, but all that will turn around soon and the place will be hopping.  After I bought my Dad hot dogs, and fulfilling my obligation for dinner, we took our seats in anticipation of the game.  I was shorta shocked by the number of Red Sox fans in our section, and in the stadium period.  When the Nats were introduced I heard more boos then cheers.  When the Sox took the field I could have swarn we were in Boston by how loud things got.

savoring the victory

When the game finally started I was excited for the team, I had a feeling.  We were surrounded by Red Sox fan, clearly out numbered.  Our only compatriots where a group of six right in front of us, a great group of drunks.  Not sure why but during the first inning things were looking really good for the Nats.  They scored 4 runs immediately, everyone was getting a hit and getting on base.  Only downer of the whole inning was I believe they left the bases loaded, but with 4 runs scored it was alright.  This certainly had a psychological effect for both teams.  The Nats were flying high on cloud nine and the Sox tried for the rest of the game to climb out of the hole they found themselves in.

With the four runs in the first scored the crowd was also knocked out of the game.  It was a shame that more Nat fans didn’t show up, the stadium was unusually quite for most of the game.  It was not till the sixth inning that the Sox fans had something to cheer with, they scored their first run.  But in the botton of the sixth we scored two more, way to steal their thunder guys!

It was at this time that I went for my last beer and meet a lovely lady in line.  After we confirmed from others around us, Michal Jackson was in deed dead.  With that downer we changed the subject, back to the Sox.  I told her I was amazed by the number of Sox fans in the stadium, she was not at all surprised.  She was from Boston but had been living here for several years.  She said it is so difficult to get tickets to Fenway that fans travel to see them play.  It is actually cheaper to travel than get home tickets, shocked the hell out of me.

When I returned to my seat we had put another two runs on the board.  Now the score was 9 to 1 and needless to say I was feeling pretty confident about our win.  Not so confident as to walk out screaming at the Sox fans saying they suck or anything, but darn close.  As the game went on they had a ray of hope in the 9th inning.  One  guy got on base and another player hit a home run.   Just like that life was breathed into this dying team.  What fans still remained were getting all excited, they thought maybe, just maybe their beloved Sox could pull a ninth inning come from behind victory.  But thanks to some great closing piching, finally, the Nats were able to pull out a win with the final score 9-3.

and another score

My Dad and I stuck around for a while, waiting for the other fans to leave before we started to make our way home.  It was just after 10pm when the game ended and we were not quite ready to leave yet.  We wanted to revel in the victory just a little longer.  Eventually security came along and forced us out of our seats.  “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”  So we shuffled along with the rest of the fans, out the stadium and onto Metro.  Within minutes we were back at the car in Pentagon City, still not wanting to head home.

To celebrate a little more we headed to Shirlington and the Capitol City Brewery for a victory beer and wings.  Since it was after 10pm, it was happy hour all over again.  We walked out of there for less then $12 bucks, with tip!  What a great way to end the perfect day.  Long live my Dad’s streak of Nat victories.

June 25, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2		3	8	2
Washington	4	0	1	0	0	2	2	0	X		9	11	1