Sights in DC

Our five days in DC was probably our longest stay there. So we saw a lot. I already posted about Arlington Cemetery. The next day we visited the Eastern Market, which is near the Capitol Hill area. It's an old indoor market that expands outside in the warm months to include a flea market and art fair. There were some great vendors, including a Polish guy selling Polish pottery - the best selection we've seen outside of Poland! (But no, we didn't buy any.)

During the week while Brad was in meetings, I visited the Capitol for the first time. (Brad and Peter had already been.) The new Visitor Center is really well done. I also went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Presidential portraits, which Peter has been suggesting for a long time now. I made my first visit to the National Gallery of Art, where I wandered around a bit and marveled (translated: judged) at how so many people were taking photos of the artwork. I also saw two special exhibits, one on 18th century furniture (thanks to Lauren for the recommendation) and another exhibit on the Ballets Russes that taught me a lot about how ballet as we know it evolved 100 years ago thanks to a visionary Russian.

Our niece Lauren is interning at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. I  went out there for a visit one day and had a look around.

Goddard is a gigantic campus. It's the oldest (1959) and largest NASA facility. Most of that was off limits to me (due to some minor detail like national security), but it also has a visitor's center that I could visit, as well as a rocket park behind the visitor's center. This is Lauren and me in the rocket park. It's a bunch of old rockets, which are really cool to see. Once a month they do small rocket launches in the park, which are open to the public.

Yes, we're back at the Capitol. The rotunda is so pretty I had to share a photo. I also saw the Supreme Court. All these years of visits to DC and I've never been there. It was a perfect day to do so as it was practically empty. I loved it. It's one of my favorite things I've done in DC. I went to a docent talk and got the lowdown on going to oral arguments. (They're at 10:00 and 11:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays; December to March is the best time to go, unless it's a newsworthy case.) On my next trip, assuming it's in the winter, that'll be on the top of my list!