August 29th or Petruchio and Old Glory

August 29, 2009

After sleeping in (my excuse: I’m still adjusting to east coast time), and eating my delicious leftovers for lunch, a bunch of us headed out exploring.

We walked toward the mall and, after being handed free pixie sticks and a “veg-fest” brochure, arrived at the Lincoln memorial. It is big and white and awe-some like I remember. Oh, and cram packed with tourists. However, miracle of miracles, I got a picture of me and Abe with no one else. (Thanks, Abby!) I would love to go back there and take some pictures at sunset.

We started wandering toward the Washington Monument. Travel hint: the mall looks a lot shorter than it is. But. It is not short. It is long. They sprinkle park benches here and there for those with weak constitutions (I will refrain from putting a political joke here.), and steadfast determination and scary geese spur everyone else on. We stumbled across a WWII memorial with a nice fountain and cool picture opportunities. We finally made it to the Washington Monument only to find that all of the tickets for today were already distributed: A downside of not planning.

At this point we were swimming. Swimming in what? You might ask. A valid question, and to those of you who haven’t had the opportunity of walking around D.C. on a very warm, extremely humid (it was overcast) day, I’m not sure if an appropriate metaphor exists. All I can say is that I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to live under the sea, and now I know. In order to dry off, we popped into the nearest air-conditioned building. It happened to be the Smithsonian museum of American history. We saw the original flag that inspired “The Star-spangled Banner” in 1814 and a cool exhibit on the history of water transportation. I didn’t realize how many movies about boats there are: Pirates, The Hunt for Red October, Titanic etc. I relived all of them in that exhibit. We also saw a replica of a 1950s suburban household and learned about the history of the atomic bomb. The Smithsonian is well-put together. The exhibits are very visual and the writing is informative but not overly heavy. And I learned cool stuff! For example, pirates didn’t really make people walk off planks (they got that reputation from Peter Pan), and Julia Child got in a car accident the day before she got married (she was okay, obviously).

I really enjoyed the “First Ladies” exhibit with the gowns donated by all of the first ladies (Mrs. Lincoln had a ridiculously small waist), and the replica of Julia Child’s kitchen. It was packed, of course, but well worth the wait.

At this point some of the people in my group headed back to the Barlow Center. I was meeting Stephanie and Jake at 5:00, so I stayed behind alone.

And it felt great.

We’re not in Jerusalem any more, folks. No, “three people at all times” rule. I love America.

I wandered along the mall, saw a flock of tourists on segways, listened to the birds/bugs in the trees (trees are loud here), and made my way to meet Steph and Jake.

I had some time to kill so I went into the museum of crime and punishment. Correction: I went into the museum of crime and punishment’s gift store. Tickets to the actual museum were $20 and almost guaranteed to be a tourist trap. I imagine the gift store is the coolest part anyway. They had reprinted newspapers from big crime events like the JFK assassination and the day John Dilinger was killed. I ended up buying a little whistle to put on my keychain. I didn’t know what time I’d be walking home and it was cheaper than the pepperspray.

I was still a little early, so I went to wait in line for tickets to the show we were going to see. The Shakespeare Theater company hosts a “free for all” season once a year in which they put on a show completely free for anyone who wants to come see it. The catch: you have to be at the box office when it opens to get tickets. We did get tickets (there was a very long line), and then went to eat dinner at Fuddruckers. It was good to see Steph and Jake and they provided words of wisdom about big city living and empathy about the humidity. We wandered a little after and then went to the show.

We saw “Taming of the Shrew.” It was superb. The acting, the set, the jokes, the scene change music—it was all top notch, but Petruchio stole the show. I have never laughed so hard in a Shakespeare play. They really did a wonderful job; I am not sure I can be as effusive as they deserve. I was simply floored. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Then Steph graciously showed me how to refill my Metro card and then Steph and Jake walked me home (it was about 11:30 p.m.). After getting ready for bed, writing in my journal (read: my laptop), scrips, and my book, I got to sleep around 1 a.m.

We’ll see how long that schedule lasts.

The most patriotic obelisk in America (and we didn't even steal it from Egypt like the Brits).

At the Lincoln Memorial with my pixie stick holstered like a saber.

Swimming---er walking, to the Washington monument. The lovely items you see on the cement next to the reflection pond are goose poop. Surprisingly big.

I turned around after taking the previous goose poop picture.

WWII memorial, "the Price of Freedom"

Each star represents 1,000 American lives lost in WWII.

Yes. I am from Utah. This picture proves it.

Abby and I feeling close to the motherland.

I wanted to see what everyone was looking at. (In the Smithsonian)

I had to explain to the nice man what a pixie stik is.

Julie and Julia and Lynne.

Can you see me? I'm all the way in the glass doorway in the back.

The first ladies exhibit in the Smithsonian. The lights are kept low so the fabric doesn't disintegrate. There were a few dresses missing... but, then again, Hilary did always wear the pants in that relationship...

There was a costume sale in the Shakespeare store before the show. If only I didn't have luggage limitations!