DC: Library of Congress (CWRU Alum Reception)

Wednesday evening we went to an alumni reception at the Library of Congress. Apparently Case Western has a huge representation in the DC metro area because the place was packed!

Eric knew a couple of people there, so we talked with them and ate lots of hors de'ourves. Have you noticed a trend in the past two weeks with us and events involving hors de'ourves? This was the fourth event we've been to serving them. I'm not complaining. Last night they had little bites of lobster.

A Senator from Ohio spoke (above), and the President of Case was also there (below), as well as some other Congress people who I didn't get photos of. There were a bunch of other faculty and staff there as well, which was kind of cool.

I had never been to the Library of Congress, which makes me sad, and actually I didn't even know what it looked like. I certainly didn't know it was comprised of three buildings. Below is the Thomas Jefferson Building, and it was by far the most gorgeous building I have seen in DC.

We were not in this building, but we were in the James Madison one, which was not as pretty but wasn't that ugly either. And inside was very nice! We hung out with James and read his quotes on the wall.

Unfortunately we didn't get to go wander around or explore, but at least now we can say we've been there.

 

Organization change

I changed up the top links into something a bit more manageable. The "Things I've Done (by state)" section now just has all the links to everything I've done that has been written up. Obviously I have done a ton more things that I haven't written, so I'll just continue to play catch up for a while! The "Statistics" page is a breakdown of some major things I keep track of, like how many states I've been to. If you think I should be keeping track of something else there, let me know. I am thinking about putting up some kind of "done, but not yet written" section too (i.e. moving the on base section to its own page), but I'm not sure about it yet. Thoughts/ideas always appreciated!

Solomons, MD: Drum Point Lighthouse and Calvert Marine Museum

Going back in time a bit to May 5 when we went to Solomons, MD, besides visiting Cove Point Lighthouse, we also saw Drum Point Lighthouse. Drum Point Lighthouse is located behind the Calvert Marine Museum, which is not its original location but it was moved there in 1975.

To go inside the lighthouse, you have to pay for the museum entrance fee (we used our AAA card and got in for $6 each). The lighthouse was opening for tours at 2:30, so we used the half hour or so to wander around the museum. I didn't take any pictures inside the museum, but it was significantly bigger than I expected and had a ton of exhibits and things to read and see. They also have a sting ray touch tank, but the rays were actively avoiding being touched by me.

The lighthouse overlooks a marina area. While we were there, a bunch of people on the sailboat below were playing with remote controlled sailboats in the water. Obviously, I now really, really want a remote controlled sailboat.

Inside the lighthouse is also much bigger than I expected. A whole family lived inside while manning it and each floor has furnishings preserved. Eric also found non-traditional items hanging out, like a couple of plastic Christmas trees in the closets.

But the coolest part is that at the top, you can actually see the Fresnal lens. We've never been able to get this close to a lens before, and it was really cool.

DC: Belgian Embassy Open House

Every May in DC something awesome called Passport DC happens. It is a chance to explore other cultures by visiting their embassies! There are obviously tons of embassies in DC, and during May many of them put on open houses. The first weekend this year was for various countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, which I wasn't interested in, but the second weekend (Mother's Day weekend) was the European Union open houses. Count me in.

We didn't get to go last year, so I really wanted to this year. I had no idea what to expect, but I love culture and other countries (I've been to Russia, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and the Bahamas). The original plan was to hit up Belgium, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Germany, and France.

Ha.

We made it to only Belgium. The lines for the shuttles were long. The line to get into the embassy was even longer. The embassy was completely packed with people squishing each other. In over 4 hours, we made it into one embassy...and the event is only 6 hours long. I don't know how people who had gone to multiple embassies did it.

In better news, we probably picked the best embassy to check out, in terms of gifts (definitely not in terms of building architecture - it's pretty darn boring). The tapestry below seemed like the only decoration in the whole place.

We received a box of Belgian chocolates (6 pieces), Belgian cookies, and a bottle of beer each. Nice beer. I got a Stella and Eric and his mom both got a Leffe - which we had somehow never had before, and which, on the next beer trip, Eric immediately bought for us. It's that good. You could also stand in another long line to wait for a piece of Belgian waffle, but we were tired at that point and left instead.

If we were doing this again next year, I would definitely drive to the embassy locations we were most interested in instead of relying on the shuttles. Also I would start waaaay earlier and get in line before they opened. It's definitely fun to go see inside places you wouldn't normally, so I think it's worth it, but it would have been better if we'd have known what we were getting into! :)

Alexandria, VA: Torpedo Factory Art Museum & A Glass Harpist

We took a cruise from Georgetown to Alexandria on a Friday afternoon/evening. Our plan was to wander Alexandria for a little bit and then have dinner before heading back on the boat. We had been to Alexandria once prior only a few weeks ago, so we had our bearings and didn't need to stop in every little shop.

One thing we didn't do last time was stop at the Torpedo Factory Art Museum. It is named such because it was an actual torpedo factory during WWII. This is my artsy photo of an old torpedo at the factory.

Now it's a place for artists to have their studios and to display art.

I do like art, but unless I'm looking at French impressionist paintings, I probably like making it myself more than looking at it (once upon a time I spent many years painting, drawing, sculpting, carving, pasting, etc.). The two main displays out in the hallway were ceramic bone piles. I could have done without them, but to each his own. There were some other pieces by the studios that I like more, and in the studios for sale were some very nice works.

After we wandered, rode the free King St Trolley up and down, and had dinner, we were headed back to the boat when we saw a crowd of people gathered around a musician. The musician turned out to be Jamey Turner playing his glass harp. If you have never seen or heard one of these played in person, it is a fantastic experience. I could have listened all night. (He is really good, by the way.)

DC: GWU Graduation on the National Mall

Yesterday morning I was officially conferred my Master's degree, while standing between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.

This is a novelty thing (at least I feel this way) and is fairly inconvenient to everyone involved, but I had been looking forward to it for the past two years. It is fun to tell people you graduated on the National Mall.

It was foggy and drizzling for most of the ceremony, but at least it wasn't cold. It was a far cry from my undergraduate graduation though, which was sunny and incredibly hot, especially in robes. Eric's Master's ceremony was also rainy, so maybe it's a Master's thing :)

So to anyone down on the Mall yesterday and anyone planning on visiting DC in the middle of May, remember to check what day graduation for GW is, because an extra 25,000 people will flood the area.

DC: Potomac Cruise from Georgetown to Alexandria

After seeing Hello, Dolly! at Ford's Theater and getting some lunch, we headed over to the Georgetown Waterfront area to hop on a water taxi to Alexandria. The Potomac River Boat Company offers several trips a day back and forth to Alexandria as well as some other destinations like Nationals Ballpark. We chose it because it was the cheapest option to get us to Alexandria ($26 each, round trip; so not super cheap, but better than the other cruise options we saw).

The trip also included a pre-recorded "tour" of the monuments and other interesting things you can see via river. The day was sunny so I made sure to grab some photos of what we were passing. Here is the Watergate Complex from the water (yes, that Watergate):

And  the Kennedy Center (we had originally wanted to take Eric's mom here instead of Ford's Theater, but it was prohibitively expensive and had no student discounts):

For me, just something that said GW:

The Lincoln Memorial with the scaffold-ed Washington Monument behind, and the Watergate steps leading up:

Jefferson Memorial:

The cruise was around 45 minutes and also talked about Roosevelt Island, Reagan National Airport, and some other sites down the river closer to Alexandria. It was a good trip on a nice day. As with any boat trip, it'll be windy/cooler on the boat and you may also get splashed, especially if you sat where we were by the front, so be sure to bring a jacket, especially if you're staying into the evening. Our cruise out from Georgetown was at 4:30pm and we left Alexandria at 9:30pm.