October 26, 2012

Clothings and Other Odds and Ends


Mage’s Shirts.

Getting there:  We reduced our suitcase load by three this trip.  One big grey case carried most things in compression bags, and our carryon’s and backpacks the rest.  We learned a lot about packing by the end of this non-shipboard trip.

No matter what the lists tell you to take, these two roundies did not get dressed up on this vacation.  We did bring one good outfit each, but the only thing we wore were the shoes.  Happy feet make a vacation every time.

Happy camera’s make a vacation too.

  
Left: The main Bureau of Engraving building.  Note the center door is missing two cast eagles.  Right:  A long metal shed-like walk.  It looks as if it was built during WWII to shelter workers.  The windows are closed off too.

More than you wanted to know:  Each day we wore fresh underwear.  Three or more days on the pants, and two days or less on the shirts - depending on spillage.  There were two shirts left to wear the morning we headed home, the good clothes, and a couple of bra’s.  Much to our amazement, we packed about right.

The mall to the Capital with the Smithsonian Castle to the Right.

Our first full day, we met Bee and Mikey on the mall.  First to the Philip’s Collection in the Philip’s house and four others combined.  We really enjoyed this stop tho I had to be the only one commenting on the Mondrian’s rusting nails - holding the canvass to the stretcher bars on the side, that was the only thing out of place in the whole museum.  Later as we rolled to the Smithsonian Castle, I was appalled at the acres of damaged grass on the mall.  When we got further up by the Capitol, we saw the ongoing, massive grass replacement program that should help keep the mall greener for generations to come.

The Washington Monument from the same spot on the mall.  I was forever taking pictures of this monument each time I went by it.

My one windbreaker was worn every day as were the two scarves I brought.  Always I wore my hat to help keep the sun away from the cataracts and skin.  (No great effort at style here anymore.  Comfort and necessity win.)   Washington offered us a quick bit of warmth mid-days except for one day that reached 80.  And too, for me the museums were always cold.  The two days with Bee and Mikey were spent rapidly visiting chilly art museums:  The Philips - I highly recommend this, The Portrait Gallery, The Fine Art Gallery, the Freer Gallery with good food to follow.  We do art well.

 
We do food well as art.  Left:  Mikey and Bee at lunch at the Fine Arts.  Right: G and Mikey with the Calder’s.

Bee, with an excellent drawing done on a gallery wall.

Mikey, Bee, and I discussing the finer points of a few famous pieces.  Photo: RGB, 2012.

Midway through the Washington days, we FedXed our dirty laundry home.  This is the second time we have tried this, and it certainly lightens our load.

Clothing dissolves into laundry with remarkable ease, and laundry must vanish into the washer at the end of every vacation.  This trip we have less than usual, and the Great Geezer is doing it now.  

8 comments:

  1. What clever travelers you have become!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You certainly have the fine art of traveling down....and it all worked out. I do the shirts x2 days and jeans for 3 or 4 myself...I don't get as dirty or as sweaty as I used to when I worked... LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great shots. At the end of summer, after the 4th of July and the International Festival and the Shakespeare on the Mall thing the grass is shot to hell. Summer heat doesn't help. The grass will be replaced and come back over the winter unless the farmers come back in spring and bring their tractors to protest the farm bill or something.

    Someone is always protesting and that plus the failure of folks to "Keep Off the Grass" plus other problems mean the Mall is mostly a mess.

    Once we had regular side walks where now we have 12 foot gravel walks. I expect some day the Mall will be solid monuments and gravel walks.

    I guess you could say its being loved to death...

    Dianne

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like a great trip. I love DC. It's actually fairly close to Pittsburgh, but I don't get there often enough.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw a documentary about the grass on the mall and the poor Park Service staff try everything to keep it as green as possible. But every event puts tents and animals, etc. there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The last time David and I were in DC was summer 1987. Wonder how much it has changed...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love that you Fed Ex'd the laundry home, how ingenious. It looks like a super vacation. Nice to see Tabor and you together. Friends and touring!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your pictures! CuzT

    ReplyDelete

postcards

Celebration of Life