July 15, 2012

• larning new stuff

  Since I happen to have stuff I’m supposed to be doing, I think I’ll just give you all some more pictures.

  First stop at the Smithsonian was the Castle.  I’d never been in there before.  James Smithson donated a fortune so the little old US could have a cool place to learn stuff.  He’d never been here.  There’s a crypt thing in the castle that suggests he visited.. later. I’m presuming the statue is Smithson.

  

  Here’s the back end.  Better lighting apparently so it doesn’t look so gothic.  What an odd sort of building to see in a big city.

  

  On this back side there was a beautiful garden.  My kids were flabbergasted that it was a rooftop garden.  They couldn’t grasp that idea, even after we went 3 floors down in the museum.  I’ll tell you about the African Art exhibit later.  It’s only there from June to December, I think.  Very cool stuff.  I’m wandering a bit here.  I thought this “tree” was so bizarre.  It’s a dhobi tree.  There were lots of them. 

  

  A magnolia tree- still blooming!  And one of the skylights for the museum below.  And some lovely construction in the background too.

  

  I love this fountain!! Against my better judgment, I gave the girls coins to toss down.  I was pretty sure something untoward would happen.  They’d hit someone on the head and we’d get sued or they’d fall over the railing.  But, no, not this time.  Anyhow.  Spawn missed the fountain and her coin landed in the plants on the second floor (the spikey green things inside the railing?) and of course LLO would hear nothing of what I said.  I did amuse a lady entering the staircase (which was spiral of course) when I said I was going to replace her with a dog.  Then LLO got down there and was doing who knows what to get that coin back (I couldn’t watch) and the security guard said “no refunds” which made Spawn and I laugh our heineys off.  And she snuck up on the elevator and let Spawn try again.  And we all three laughed hysterically until we managed to find Spouseman who is so above our humor that he was hiding.

  

  See? Green spikey plants. 

  

  So, I said I really liked it, right?  One more shot. From the bottom. 

  

  One more fountainy thing.  I’m not going to do it justice.  The oval parts are covered in water.  The middle one is a mirror.  Light comes from an angle and reflects onto the screen which is the cyclops smiley face.  It was really cool and I wished I had the right psychics words to ‘splain it to LLO (who wasn’t listening to me anyhow.)  Um. I mean physics of course.  I disliked physics so much, I can’t say the word even now.

  

  And now I’m laughing again.  You wish that you amused yourself as much I amuse myself.

  • 8:06 pm
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