Tourist Books=Tender Mercies

I always thought I had a good sense of direction...then I moved to Virginia where there are no mountains, streets change names, and some streets have a name and a number. This past weekend I learned that all of those factors add to many hours driving aimlessly having no idea where I am. Luckily before I came to the state for lovers my Mom bestowed upon me some tourist books and a couple maps.  Those literally saved my life this weekend. My first adventure began Friday morning when I decided to venture out to breakfast and Target. After one hour I finally found Target...and still have no idea where The Original Pancake House is. Saturday I had planned to visit a couple museums so I decided to take the metro into DC. Getting to the metro was not a problem but coming home is a story for another time.

I had planned to visit two museums (National Geographic Society and Corcoran Gallery of Art) but due to circumstances I ended up visiting 7 destinations on my to do list. All of this thanks to my handy books (thanks Mom)! Here are the pictures of my travels...

First I went to the National Geographic Society. They currently have an exhibit on China...it was so great. I learned so much about China and this is where I began to fall in love with Asian art. They also had an exhibit on the outside of the building of a famous photographer. She has traveled all over the world and had some amazing photographs. The photo below was taken in Australia during a boat parade.

After the National Geographic Society I had a delightful lunch at my new favorite sub shop- Potbelly's. Then I made the long walk to Corcoran. On my way I stopped at the White House. Outside there were a couple protesters. This lady had no teeth and was protesting the war. This man and lady got into a huge fight...she kept telling him he was uneducated. It was hilarious! 
Corcoran did not have any exhibits I was interested in so I decided to go to the Freer Gallery of Art. Freer was a very rich man who collected Asian art and when he died he donated it all to this gallery. It was so amazing. I am now in love with Asian art and have decided my next adventure is to go to Asia.
After my love affair with Asian art ended I went to Hirshhorn Museum where modern art is housed. I am not a huge modern art fan but I decided for cultural purposes I would take a look.

After walking through many video exhibits, none of which I understood I came to this escalator. I would like to say the heat and tired feet contributed to this story. I began walking onto this escalator only to make it to the second step and fall to my hands and knees. How many escalators have I been on...probably thousands...you would think I could handle stepping onto it...when the steps are actually moving down and not up it makes going up a little more difficult. After I realized that I had tried to go up an escalator that is coming down and the crowds of people made sure I was not hurt (only a couple cuts on my feet) I had to take a picture.
Mom I have figured out what you can do with all your extra hangers. Again I don't understand Modern Art.

After becoming cultured on Modern art I wanted to go to the National Museum of American Indian but due to the mass amount of crowds in town for the 4th the line was beyond what I could handle. So I went further down the street to the Botanic Gardens. They had some really cool plants and flowers. None of my favorites but some cool ones nonetheless.
This is the jungle. I loved to see people's faces when they watched me taking pictures of myself. A couple of people would offer to take a picture but I always told them they look cooler when I do it.
After I smelled the amazing scents the jungle had to offer I headed up to the Capital. Below is a prime example of why I don't let others take pictures for me. This lady kept moving further and further back. I guess it gets the whole Capital in it...I am the dot in front of it!
After the Capital I wanted to see the inside of the Library of Congress. I had seen pictures and it looked incredible. I didn't really know what was in it but I thought I should educated myself.  This picture is the above the grand hall. It really was gorgeous inside. 
This is the 75 feet tall ceiling with stain glass.
After almost 7 hours of touring DC I was beyond exhausted. My feet felt like they might fall off and my legs ached to no end. I decided it might be time to head home and rest. This is what my feet looked like...I had on my new J Crew black flip flops and the rubber literally rubbed my feet raw.
After a short nap at home I decided I wanted to see a movie. I have heard so much about Ironman but had not seen it yet. It was so good and I would highly recommend it. Overall the weekend was very educational and I feel so blessed to be able to learn so much about other cultures and our history!