It rained
through the weekend, which was fine with us since we were washing clothes, and
cleaning out the trailer. Monday morning, however, started out nice and sunny.
While Karen was out in the driveway organizing the trailer, a neighbor came by
with the ‘community’ lawn mower and offered to leave it for me in case I felt
like mowing Alison and Andrew’s yard. It’s been raining for so many days in a
row here, that all the yards are overgrown with thick green grass. Remembering
the farmer’s adage, ‘make hay while the sun shines’, I fired up the mower and
went to work.
It was still
nice weather in the afternoon, and Alison had commuted to work on her bicycle,
so I rode into D.C. to join her for the return commute. Along the way, I
snapped a few pictures on the National Mall.
Alison got us
admission reservations for the newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum
of African American History and Culture, on Tuesday afternoon. Karen and I
caught a city bus to the Metro Station and rode the Orange Line into the
mall. We were early, so we took in a Paul Cezanne portrait exhibit (and the
obligatory Napoleon painting) at the National Gallery of Art before heading
over to the NMAAHC.
The NMAAHC provides
a comprehensive overview of the African American experience, complete with lots
of photos and artifacts (including guitars owned by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley) documenting the many stories of individuals and
families. Having just spent the past several weeks traveling up through the ‘low
country’ and other southern states, it was interesting viewing these areas
through the lens of African American history, as opposed to the tourist-oriented
perspective of places such as Savannah, Charleston, Greensboro, and Edisto
Island.
For dinner,
Alison and Andrew’s friend and neighbor, Margaret, served us homemade pesto
pasta. This is one of Andrew’s favorites, and now that we’ve had it, it’s one
of ours, too. Thanks Margaret!
Next:
Probably more museums, bicycle rides, and maybe a haircut and shave?
Looking good! Give Alison a hug for me!
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