DC Trip Notes
We had a great trip for Alice's February break. There was a chair that needed to get from our house to Jason's brother before he moves back to Seattle and driving it down seemed like the easiest way to go.
The drive down was pretty easy until the last couple of hours. Just north of Baltimore it started to snow and we came through Maryland in really yucky slush conditions. But there was only one moment, when the truck next to us blinded us with a load of slush, that felt scary. We made it to our flat about when I had expected and that was the last bad weather until it was time to head home.
We managed to fit in a bunch of museums in a good mix:
National Portrait Gallery - It was very exciting to be there so soon after the portraits of the Obamas were unveiled. Alice has gotten really into Hamilton and is studying American History this year in school, so she was able to really engage with the portraits of the early presidents, and seemed suitably impressed at getting to see the new works. I was especially moved by the new photograph of Madeleine Albright wearing a dove-of-peace brooch that was on display in the New Acquisitions area.
American Art Museum - Escaping the crowds around the portraits we wandered here for a while and made some discoveries. I was impressed that Alice recognized from a distance a landscape depicting Artists Point in Yellowstone, which we visited this summer.
International Spy Museum - We visited with Adrian Mariano and his daughter and did the Spy Experience together. That was reasonably well done, but somewhat awkward with more than a dozen people in the group. I would rather have had more time in the exhibits, particularly the retrospective on Bond villains, but we had lunch reservations and other places to be.
National Building Museum - This was recommended to us by several people and was well worth the visit, though it was the only museum we ended up paying to enter. Alice had a great time in the Play Work Build area, constructing an elaborate structure with Jason, Eric, and Casey while I checked out the House and Home exhibit. We all enjoyed the Making Room exhibit, housing a model home designed to be flexible between different living groups that don't really fit the nuclear family pattern for which so much of our housing is constructed.
National Museum of Natural History - We spent an entire day here, much of it with the Kuepper-Pfeiffers. There are so many marvels and different interesting things assembled here. I particularly enjoyed the Objects of Wonder exhibit, which highlighted some particularly nifty items from the collection and discussed their provenance and purpose within the collection.
National Museum of African American History & Culture - Visiting here was one of the main goals of our trip. Advance tickets are sold out three months ahead, but some same-day tickets are released online each morning at 6:30am and Jason was our early-morning hero. On the excellent advice of friends we started at the very bottom and came up through the history of African Americans. I was very impressed by it, especially with how they worked to center women's voices throughout. They did a good job of providing different depths, so that one could read the large type in each room and move on, or stop and read about each item, individual, or episode in more depth. I liked that their history of the Civil Rights era did not center on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.--though they were certainly there and their contributions and leadership fully acknowledged--but brought a much more detailed and nuanced picture into focus. It's not a comfortable space for white people, but it shouldn't be, and it was good to see so many people of color there. After lunch at the Sweet Home Cafe--vying with the Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian for my favorite among the eating spots on the Mall--we went up to the top floor and started down through the culture sections. I got to see Food, Music, Visual Arts, and Theatre & Film before I had to run meet a friend, but Jason and Alice stayed to see the sections on Community, Sports, and Military Service and experience the interactive dance lesson from Step Afrika and the driving game based on the Negro Motorist Green Book, which I think was especially eye-opening for Alice. The whole building is beautiful and I am so glad that after more than 100 years, that particular dream is a reality.
George Washington's Mount Vernon - We did not realize when we planned our visit that it would be Washington's 286th birthday, but it meant that admission was free. We toured the house, walked the grounds, visited an exhibit about the enslaved workers, and wished a Happy Birthday to the historical interpreter representing the General. I was pleased by how excited Alice was to visit there.
I always find that I've missed people when I visit DC, so I went ahead and put out a call here and on FB for folks in the area who wanted to get together...and got a lot of responses!
On the way down we stopped for an hour to visit Emily & CJ, who moved to Philly in December. It was wonderful to see them and the gorgeous apartment they are making into a beautiful home.
Annika came up from Williamsburg to spend a whole day with us and we were joined for dinner by my childhood friend, Rhonda, who drove down from Harrisburg for the occasion. They are both museum professionals, so good people to connect.
We visited the Spy Museum and had lunch with Adrian Mariano and one of his daughters--unfortunately his other daughter was sick that day, so we didn't get to see her or their mom.
We spent a lovely evening out in Silver Spring playing games with old con friends and their son. They introduced us to Dixit, a really lovely game that works very well for a wide range of ages.
Nellie & Jared, theatre friends who moved down to the area last year, came in to have a really fun dinner with us one night, and my college friend, Sumati, who's husband is now the Provost at Johns Hopkins, came in another evening.
I had drinks with Beth Rosenberg, whom I hadn't seen in more than a decade, and with
fauxklore, whom I had never met, but with whom I had a really lovely, far-ranging conversation. And we connected for lunch in Alexandria with one of the other people from the retreat we did in Northern Ireland in 2016.
And of course we spent time with Jason's brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Casey. Alice adores them and we had a great afternoon at the National Building Museum and dinner at Momofuku. I hope we will not see less of them once they relocate.
It's kind of funny to have so many connections in a city where neither of us has ever lived. It's an interesting facet of our highly mobile modern life and a real joy to catch up and reconnect over time.
No trip report would be complete without a rundown of the eating establishments we visited.
Tortilla Coast - A quick, easy dinner a block from our flat.
&pizza - Easy, tasty made-to-order pizza. The cashier made a mistake ringing up the party before us and the woman was really rude to the cashier, so we were extra nice and patient and got a free-pizza coupon out of it. They had a selection of really interesting fruit sodas in their fountains (I had the pear & fig, which was tasty and not too sweet.)
Belga Cafe - We had dinner here on Sunday and then I went back for drinks with
fauxklore later in the week. Tasty, inventive drinks and very good food with a surprisingly wide range.
Jaleo - An excellent modern Spanish tapas place. I loved their various croquettes and the manchego & jamon Serrano grilled cheese, especially. Got to try olive capsules, which were strange and interesting.
Sweet Home Cafe - The cafeteria at the Museum of African American History & Culture, with a menu drawing from African-American communities around the country. Their shrimp & grits and duck gumbo were all delicious and Alice was crazy about their green beans. I really like having the cafeteria carry on the theme of the museum, so continue the experience presented by the exhibits.
Ambar - They offer all-you-can-eat-and-drink Balkan small plates for $50 a head and $20 for kids under twelve. We had a delightful meal and it was fun to try things we'd never heard of before.
Momofuku CCDC - Our third Momofuku experience. Each is different, but always high quality. The pork belly bao was a highlight and we got to have dessert from Milk Bar next door.
Fish Market - A nice place to grab lunch in Old Town Alexandria. Solid seafood-based menu with excellent clam chowder.
Lavagna - Probably our least favorite dinner, but entirely passable Italian standards.
The drive back was all in rain--mostly light drizzle, but ramping up to a good downpour in Connecticut. Various patches of slow traffic made us later than we'd hoped, but we made it to the EZ-Pass service center in Auburn before they closed at 7pm, so we could replace our transponder that had died sometime in the previous few weeks. It took us ten hours total, with four stops of varying duration.
Many thanks to Zeph for looking after Sadie and the house in our absence. And thanks to everyone who made time to get together during our stay. As always, we hope to get back soon!
This entry was originally posted at https://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/1302509.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.
The drive down was pretty easy until the last couple of hours. Just north of Baltimore it started to snow and we came through Maryland in really yucky slush conditions. But there was only one moment, when the truck next to us blinded us with a load of slush, that felt scary. We made it to our flat about when I had expected and that was the last bad weather until it was time to head home.
We managed to fit in a bunch of museums in a good mix:
National Portrait Gallery - It was very exciting to be there so soon after the portraits of the Obamas were unveiled. Alice has gotten really into Hamilton and is studying American History this year in school, so she was able to really engage with the portraits of the early presidents, and seemed suitably impressed at getting to see the new works. I was especially moved by the new photograph of Madeleine Albright wearing a dove-of-peace brooch that was on display in the New Acquisitions area.
American Art Museum - Escaping the crowds around the portraits we wandered here for a while and made some discoveries. I was impressed that Alice recognized from a distance a landscape depicting Artists Point in Yellowstone, which we visited this summer.
International Spy Museum - We visited with Adrian Mariano and his daughter and did the Spy Experience together. That was reasonably well done, but somewhat awkward with more than a dozen people in the group. I would rather have had more time in the exhibits, particularly the retrospective on Bond villains, but we had lunch reservations and other places to be.
National Building Museum - This was recommended to us by several people and was well worth the visit, though it was the only museum we ended up paying to enter. Alice had a great time in the Play Work Build area, constructing an elaborate structure with Jason, Eric, and Casey while I checked out the House and Home exhibit. We all enjoyed the Making Room exhibit, housing a model home designed to be flexible between different living groups that don't really fit the nuclear family pattern for which so much of our housing is constructed.
National Museum of Natural History - We spent an entire day here, much of it with the Kuepper-Pfeiffers. There are so many marvels and different interesting things assembled here. I particularly enjoyed the Objects of Wonder exhibit, which highlighted some particularly nifty items from the collection and discussed their provenance and purpose within the collection.
National Museum of African American History & Culture - Visiting here was one of the main goals of our trip. Advance tickets are sold out three months ahead, but some same-day tickets are released online each morning at 6:30am and Jason was our early-morning hero. On the excellent advice of friends we started at the very bottom and came up through the history of African Americans. I was very impressed by it, especially with how they worked to center women's voices throughout. They did a good job of providing different depths, so that one could read the large type in each room and move on, or stop and read about each item, individual, or episode in more depth. I liked that their history of the Civil Rights era did not center on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.--though they were certainly there and their contributions and leadership fully acknowledged--but brought a much more detailed and nuanced picture into focus. It's not a comfortable space for white people, but it shouldn't be, and it was good to see so many people of color there. After lunch at the Sweet Home Cafe--vying with the Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian for my favorite among the eating spots on the Mall--we went up to the top floor and started down through the culture sections. I got to see Food, Music, Visual Arts, and Theatre & Film before I had to run meet a friend, but Jason and Alice stayed to see the sections on Community, Sports, and Military Service and experience the interactive dance lesson from Step Afrika and the driving game based on the Negro Motorist Green Book, which I think was especially eye-opening for Alice. The whole building is beautiful and I am so glad that after more than 100 years, that particular dream is a reality.
George Washington's Mount Vernon - We did not realize when we planned our visit that it would be Washington's 286th birthday, but it meant that admission was free. We toured the house, walked the grounds, visited an exhibit about the enslaved workers, and wished a Happy Birthday to the historical interpreter representing the General. I was pleased by how excited Alice was to visit there.
I always find that I've missed people when I visit DC, so I went ahead and put out a call here and on FB for folks in the area who wanted to get together...and got a lot of responses!
On the way down we stopped for an hour to visit Emily & CJ, who moved to Philly in December. It was wonderful to see them and the gorgeous apartment they are making into a beautiful home.
Annika came up from Williamsburg to spend a whole day with us and we were joined for dinner by my childhood friend, Rhonda, who drove down from Harrisburg for the occasion. They are both museum professionals, so good people to connect.
We visited the Spy Museum and had lunch with Adrian Mariano and one of his daughters--unfortunately his other daughter was sick that day, so we didn't get to see her or their mom.
We spent a lovely evening out in Silver Spring playing games with old con friends and their son. They introduced us to Dixit, a really lovely game that works very well for a wide range of ages.
Nellie & Jared, theatre friends who moved down to the area last year, came in to have a really fun dinner with us one night, and my college friend, Sumati, who's husband is now the Provost at Johns Hopkins, came in another evening.
I had drinks with Beth Rosenberg, whom I hadn't seen in more than a decade, and with
fauxklore, whom I had never met, but with whom I had a really lovely, far-ranging conversation. And we connected for lunch in Alexandria with one of the other people from the retreat we did in Northern Ireland in 2016.
And of course we spent time with Jason's brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Casey. Alice adores them and we had a great afternoon at the National Building Museum and dinner at Momofuku. I hope we will not see less of them once they relocate.
It's kind of funny to have so many connections in a city where neither of us has ever lived. It's an interesting facet of our highly mobile modern life and a real joy to catch up and reconnect over time.
No trip report would be complete without a rundown of the eating establishments we visited.
Tortilla Coast - A quick, easy dinner a block from our flat.
&pizza - Easy, tasty made-to-order pizza. The cashier made a mistake ringing up the party before us and the woman was really rude to the cashier, so we were extra nice and patient and got a free-pizza coupon out of it. They had a selection of really interesting fruit sodas in their fountains (I had the pear & fig, which was tasty and not too sweet.)
Belga Cafe - We had dinner here on Sunday and then I went back for drinks with
fauxklore later in the week. Tasty, inventive drinks and very good food with a surprisingly wide range.
Jaleo - An excellent modern Spanish tapas place. I loved their various croquettes and the manchego & jamon Serrano grilled cheese, especially. Got to try olive capsules, which were strange and interesting.
Sweet Home Cafe - The cafeteria at the Museum of African American History & Culture, with a menu drawing from African-American communities around the country. Their shrimp & grits and duck gumbo were all delicious and Alice was crazy about their green beans. I really like having the cafeteria carry on the theme of the museum, so continue the experience presented by the exhibits.
Ambar - They offer all-you-can-eat-and-drink Balkan small plates for $50 a head and $20 for kids under twelve. We had a delightful meal and it was fun to try things we'd never heard of before.
Momofuku CCDC - Our third Momofuku experience. Each is different, but always high quality. The pork belly bao was a highlight and we got to have dessert from Milk Bar next door.
Fish Market - A nice place to grab lunch in Old Town Alexandria. Solid seafood-based menu with excellent clam chowder.
Lavagna - Probably our least favorite dinner, but entirely passable Italian standards.
The drive back was all in rain--mostly light drizzle, but ramping up to a good downpour in Connecticut. Various patches of slow traffic made us later than we'd hoped, but we made it to the EZ-Pass service center in Auburn before they closed at 7pm, so we could replace our transponder that had died sometime in the previous few weeks. It took us ten hours total, with four stops of varying duration.
Many thanks to Zeph for looking after Sadie and the house in our absence. And thanks to everyone who made time to get together during our stay. As always, we hope to get back soon!
This entry was originally posted at https://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/1302509.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.