Laura’s Journal: A Night on the Town (in a bus) in DC

The following post is a transcript for the image of the journal page posted at the very bottom. This transcript has been heavily edited and expanded AND I’ve added pictures, because this day was not quite exciting enough to merit its own blog post, but there was a LITTLE more to the day than the tiny journal page lets on.

Thursday, July 21, 2022
ALL OVER WASHINGTON DC

Dustin’s work crew booked a Monuments by Moonlight tour, which was fine but not thrilling. We’ve seen most of the monuments before, if not at night time. [Our bus driver/tour guide’s name was Smiley, and he did lead a very fine tour. We made stops at the Capitol building, which is still under scaffolding, the Martin Luther King Jr. and FDR Memorials, and the Marine Corp Memorial, all while winding our way through the crowded streets of DC and taking more than a few detours thanks to construction and protests. Protests also meant our stop at the Supreme Court got nixed, which is a pity because Dustin thought hopping off and joining the folks protesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade might be an excellent opportunity to get arrested for the first time.]

A twilight photo of the US Capitol Building with scaffolding covering most of the front, the dome rising above. A police car is parked to the far left in the foreground. — The scaffolding is routine cleaning and maintenance. The giant chain link fences and police care parked on the terrace is January 6th.

A row of vehicles is parked along the side of a grassy park. The cars and trucks are covered with more than a dozen American flags. People fill the spaces between the cars, holding signs that can't quite be read. One man speaks through a bullhorn. — We drove by a demonstration by the 1776 Restoration Movement. I knew nothing about them at the time, but even in the 10 seconds of observation as we drove by, I concluded they were not a group I was likely to sympathize with. Is it all the flags? I feel like people who subscribe to Reason and Kindness philosophies don’t tend to wave a lot of flags. According to their Facebook page, this group is a “Patriot *movement* for the *restoration* of our constitutional republic, and return to a moral society.”
Yep. Nope.

The sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. emerging from a block of granite occupies the middle of the photo. The background shows a blue and pink sunset sky with an airplane taking off in the distance.

The Marine Corps Memorial fills the center of the night time photo, lit from below. This is a side-on view of the sculpture, showing the faces of the soldiers as they hoist up the flag.

When we stopped at the MLK memorial, I found an info booth staffed by a bored looking ranger and asked if he had a stamp. [Given how many times I’ve visited DC, I’ve not been here since I started collecting National Park passport stamps, and I don’t have a single one yet. The MLK Memorial doesn’t seem like the obvious place to start, but it’s the first place I’ve been other than the cemetery, so this was my big chance.]

“Which one are you looking for?” [the ranger asked.] I’d forgotten how, [with so many National Monuments crowded together,] he’d have dozens of choices.

“Martin Luther King, I guess? Or whatever is close here?”

The collection he brought back for me [included Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, National Mall & Memorial Parks, District of Columbia World War I Memorial, African American Civil War MEM, John Ericsson Memorial, and John Paul Jones Memorial. We] definitely didn’t see all of these. I don’t even know who [John Ericsson] is, much less what his memorial looks like. [End of transcription.]

Close enough!

We ended our evening at the Lincoln Memorial, which really is beautiful under all its lights. Dustin was suffering from a headache, though, and the other members of his work group were wilting, so we bid Smiley an early farewell and caught an Uber back to the hotel.

The Lincoln Memorial glows white in the center of the night time photo. All other scenery is completely black, so that the memorial appears to be floating.

Tour group members pose for an out-of-focus group selfie with the Washinton Memorial and reflecting pool in the background. — Blurry night time selfie to prove we were there! The Washington Memorial isn’t even growing out of anyone’s head.

The next day was the last day in DC. Dustin worked until lunch time, and then we were free to run amok. Unfortunately, it was still hotter than the blazes of hell, and my tolerance for heat had been reduced to nearly zero after my time in the National Cemetery, so we tried to do indoor activities. Botanical Gardens have indoor spaces, right?

A group of Parodia warasii cacti fill the center of the frame. The cacti are cylinder-shaped with stripes of spines running from bottom to top. Ripples in the lines of spines give the photographer the impression that the cacti are dancing. — I feel like these cacti should have been singing and bopping from side to side.
Sha boom, sha boom!

A flower garden with foliage in many different colors, including dark green, bright green, red, and a patch of orange-and-red flowers. — So pretty!

Laura and Dustin pose for an off-center photo inside the National Botanical Gardens, with tropical plants in the background. — Inside the main greenhouse. It was less hot inside here than outside, but barely.

I regret not taking any photos of the hydroponic tomatoes. They were dozens of feet tall (long, technically – 40 feet?) and had whole bushels of fruit, all growing out of barrels that weren’t a whole lot bigger than five-gallon buckets. Mind-blowing.

We then headed over to the National Art Gallery for the last hour before it closed. We didn’t see a whole lot, but what we did see was pretty amazing.

Dustin sits on a bench, bottom left, with a large, dark painting behind him. The painting is Salvador Dali's "Last Supper." — Dustin hangs out under a Dali. Wait… what’s going on in that painting?

A close-up of Salvador Dali's "Last Supper." A semi-transparent Jesus sits at a table at center, framed by a large, metallic dodecahedron. His apostles pray to either side of him. The background depicts a sea-scape with cliffs and boats. A mostly transparent torso and pair of extended arms float above the whole scene. — I stared at this painting for ten minutes and never stopped seeing things that surprised me. Reading more about it as I write this was actually a little disappointing. It is as rich in symbolism as you’d expect, but the explanations are much less weird than I’d hoped.

A marble sculpture of a girl sitting sideways in a chair, reading a book. — *Some slightly more classic art. These sculptures are exquisite.*

A marble sculpture of a nude female, arms wrapped protectively around her torso and neck, face bowed down with shame. (I believe it is a depiction of Eve being cast out of Eden, but I didn't make a proper note). — *Some slightly more classic art. These sculptures are exquisite.*

And then one final stop at the National Cathedral, which was on the way back to Uncle Rob’s house. It was closed to entry, but the stroll around the outside was quite lovely.

The west facade of the National Cathedral fills the frame against a bright blue sky.

A cathedral grotesque featuring the face of a bearded man wearing a cloth on his head. — *These grotesques, though!*

A cathedral grotesque featuring the face of a bearded man with an extremely impressive mustache and maybe cat ears? — *These grotesques, though!*

A deep bas-relief sculpture depicting the creation of the moon. The moon is center-right with billowing clouds of creation swirling around it. — A sculpture of the Creation of the Moon, on the west façade of the cathedral, designed by Frederick Hart and sculpted by Vincent Palumbo. I find the kinetic energy and detail absolutely breathtaking.

Onward, then, to spend the rest of the day in air conditioned spaces.

Thither & Yon

(adventures & wanderings)