(Two of) The Smithsonian(s)

Somewhere along the line, I didn't realize there were so many Smithsonians. There are, like, 17 of them, people! Yeah, it took me a while to catch on. And they're not all by each other. One was by Shauna's house near the Dulles airport. Who knew?! Not me. We only visited two of the museums - The American History and The Natural History. Both were fascinating and well worth the round-about walk we had to take to get there. Have I mentioned that D.C. is not a handicap friendly or stroller friendly town? It's not. We literally had to walk completely around the museums to get in with a stroller. Same ride for those in a wheelchair. Really stupid if you ask me. 


In the American History museum we saw Julia Child's kitchen. Oh yes we did! I loved it!! That woman was SO organized. Check out the pictures and see what I mean. She even outlined where her pots and pans went so they never got lost in the kitchen cupboards. We need her to come back and help us with our kitchen! (Please ignore the strange people in my photos. And the glare. Shauna's husband, Matt, hadn't fixed my camera settings yet, so the lighting was off a bit.)

We also saw the First Ladies' dresses at the American History museum. That was kind of fun! Some were smaller than I imagined, and others were larger and taller than I imagined. These pictures were horrible, so view at your own discretion! For whatever reason, I just couldn't get the camera to focus very well and there was lots of glare and the lighting was poor. I've put the best pictures up, and that's not saying much. 

At the time, I was reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, so when we ran on to this statue I had to get a photo: (if you've read the book, you'll know why)

Our next stop was the Natural History museum where we saw loads of animals, including the huge elephant that you see in the Night at the Museum movie. It was a treat, and I was amazed to see how they put so many of the animals in real situations. They were very lifelike. 

I think I might have disappointed Shauna. She kept asking, "Do you want to see Dorothy's shoes from The Wizard of Oz? Do you want to see this or that?" My answer was always, "Nah. I've seen enough." I really wasn't being a party pooper. There were just a few highlights I wanted to hit and we saw them all. No need to go the extra mile, especially while on vacation. :) It was great fun and I'd definitely go back to see more! 


This is the "real" Smithsonian. I thought it was beautiful and wish we would have seen it up close. Pictures suffice for now though. Loved all of it and want to see more one day! 

Library of Congress

Holy gorgeous interior! I am SO jealous of Jefferson's library it's not even funny! That man had OODLES of books. On all subjects. And they were so old and you could smell the paper and the glue and the leather - oh my! Yes, people, these are the things that excite me. Take a look at this (long) set of pictures and see what I mean by gorgeous. I only wish some of the pictures would have turned out with more detail because they don't even do the place justice. It's incredibly beautiful! 


At the end, we saw a Gershwin exhibit. Shauna HAD to have a picture with his piano, which makes sense to anyone that knows her. It was a real Steinway. And we saw his typewriter that was there, too. He wrote his own music and lyrics and was an amazing musician. That's why Shauna had her picture taken there and I didn't. I can still claim the fact that we played duets together though. It will be my "claim to fame" until the day I die. The Library of Congress is definitely a place I'd like to visit again when I have lots of time. And tissues. To wipe up all the drool I will so eagerly spend over Jefferson's library.