A couple of "Washington Landmark" photos from our excursion last Saturday. It is kind of funny to watch the tourists stand on the mall and take pictures of their family trying to "lean" against the Washington Monument. The Bean was mortified that I wanted to take her picture next to the Monument, so these are all I got. It is hard to imagine that this tall, lanky girl is the same one from the picture at the bottom. I swear sometimes I hardly recognize her.
I Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street
Even though I do not do it enough, there are times I do take advantage of living so close to the nation's Capitol. Particularly if it involves Muppets. The Bean and I took a rare Saturday trip into the big city to visit some of our favorite Muppets. The Smithsonian's International Gallery is hosting a special Jim Henson exhibit titled "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" (press release). The exhibit will be at the Gallery until October 5, and there is a traveling exhibition as well. The Bean and I had a great time exploring the exhibit. It is on the small side, but seeing Bert, Ernie, and Kermit up close and personal was well worth the Metro trip.
The exhibit spanned Henson's career from his early days at the University of Maryland to Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal, and Fraggle Rock. I loved the early puppets he created for commercials...the precursors to the Muppets we all know and love. It was fascinating to see how simple sketches he put on paper could evolve into such wonderful characters. It made me a little sad to think that we lost such a great creative mind at the young age of 53. But, it was comforting to know that his characters will certainly live on for years to come in the minds of so many people around the world.
*The photo shown at top is not from the exhibit (they wouldn't allow you to take photos), but one I took when we visited the Henson exhibit at the National Museum of American History a few years back. Hopefully when the Museum opens again this fall, the Muppets will be back.
The Kitchen
As I mentioned yesterday, I was able to visit the Julia Child exhibit at the Museum of American History before it closed for the next two years. Here are some of the pictures I took. The last one is of her fridge. The kitchen exhibit is the real-live kitchen from her home...complete with old phone books on the shelf and a fridge full of magnets and photos. The photo here to the left is my favorite. I am pretty sure it was taken by her husband in their very first kitchen in Paris. I love how large she looks in that setting. She contrasts so perfectly with that dainty little stove. Bon Appétit!
Doing the DC
Since I didn't have any time to take new knitting pictures, I thought I would put up some other stuff from when my mom and step-dad were here over Memorial Day weekend. On that Sunday, we decided to take the Bean to some museums while the boys went to a DC Nationals game. Little did we know that Sunday was the day of the big Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally. It had just started when we got to the Natural History Museum around 11:00. Four hours later, it was still going strong.
Here's the Bean riding the Metro with my mom. It was the Bean's first time on the Metro, and she was pretty underwhelmed. I think she thought there would be snacks.
Here she is at the Natural History Museum. She is pissed off because it took me so long to get a good shot of her and the elephant. Besides the fact that people kept walking in front of me. I love the expression on her face. It is one I have come to know quite well.
The Museum of American History has a new Jim Henson Muppet exhibit. Here are a few pics:
This last one is my favorite thing in the American History Museum. It is a huge statue of George Washington. I love it because he looks so buff. Who knew George was such a hottie...wood teeth and all!
All in all the Bean was not that impressed with the museums. She didn't understand why you couldn't try on Dorothy's shoes, why anyone would want to look at skeletons, and why would you want to see a bunch of stuffed animals when you can go to the zoo and see real ones. She had a point. When I asked her what she liked best about the day, she said seeing the motorcycle parade. I guess I'll have to keep my eye on her and her taste in boyfriends!
