Fri Sept 25: DC Museums

 In which we get museum fatigue ...

Second full day in DC and we are already a bit tired.  We walked over 6 miles yesterday.  AND - we aren't used to so many PEOPLE. That, plus the walking has made us feel tired quickly. Luckily I have a fab husband and he brought me a chai this morning from a local stop!

We had a few hours of Big Bus transport ticket left so we got on the bus and went back to the memorial area. We visited the memorials at a walking pace - Lincoln, FDR (a  memorial that Rick doesn't remember seeing when he was 12 and visited), Vietnam War, Korean War, MLK (new since I was last here) ...

 Bless the people who fight for us - like my dad, in WWII.

 

Then on to China Town for a quick lunch before our appointed ticket time for the National Gallery.

The Smithsonian and most museums have been closed but recently opened for limited crowds and I scored tickets to the National Gallery.   Upon arrival we learned that only about 1/16 of the museum is open, and the one thing we wanted to see - a Degas exhibit - had a 2 hour line.   What's the point of having a time stamped ticket if, when you get there, you still have to wait 2 hours   We looked at the other open areas - a display of old furniture and some very nice "practice" paintings of landscapes, clouds, water, etc.  Ever young painter needs to practice painting to become a master.  One of the exhibits referred to sky painting as 'skying', which I'm going to use for when I take pix of the sunset.

We did enjoy the Sculpture Gallery:

How creepy is this!!!

 

I love this - you can see it pop either in or out.

 

This cheered me up!

 

 

Next up - the Native American Cultural Center - we were pretty tired by then, but Rick enjoyed the Inca Trail exhibit, and I enjoyed sitting on a bench!  

We finally dragged ourselves home (7+ miles today) and found our constant companions, helicopters, still on the go.   This must be the the helicopter highway - we probably saw 40 helicopters each day including the big ones used to fly the president around.

 

 

Boat name of the day:

It was Friday so we had big plans for the night.  We did laundry and took showers!  Dinner on the boat and off to bed.