Washington D.C. - Freedom, Death, and Wax (Day 2)

 Day Two in D.C. was when Matt and I split up. First, we went on a guided tour of the National Archives. No pictures though - none were allowed. Neither was mace. The girls in ahead of us in the security line obviously didn't read the rules on the website like I did a million times. The National Archives are where the original (we didn't see the map on the back...) Declaration of Independence is kept, along with the Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta. The room looks very similar to that used in the Nick Cage movie whose name escapes me right now, but was not nearly as bright. It was actually hard to see because of how dim it was. I had to pull my glasses back out and almost got body slammed by a guard. Those American History people are strict. National Treasure. That's the Nick Cage movie.

 We didn't have a lot of time at the Archives because Matt was there for a conference, so after seeing the Constitution - he went conferencing and I just went. My first stop was the National Gallery of Art. I took pictures of things that I thought Matt might like to see and things that I thought were pretty. Enjoy:

I wish I could tell you more about the pictures above, but I can't. It has simply been too long and I have other things on my mind. I really enjoyed seeing the Rodins and more than a few Degas. Though the Degas may have been a little pervy for me. I'm not sure that I would have let my fourteen-year old daughter pose for some of those pieces. I guess times were a little different in the 1800's, but that wouldn't fly now.

One thing that I thought was interesting is that artists can go to the museum and actually look at an original masterpiece while they were attempting to copy it. I wish I could paint well. I may spend some time with Bob Ross while we are in Tallahassee and I have no friends or social life.

 Oh, oh! There it is. A real Monet. I don't know why I like Monet's works so much, but I do. Claude makes me want to go to France to see what he saw. Well, Claude and croissants. 

 After I got my fill of Art, I hoofed it over to the Holocaust Museum. I thought about whether I wanted to actually go to the Museum for months. Until I walked through the doors, I still hadn't decided. I knew what happened - more than most. One of my papers in law school was about past and current genocides. I know more about the Holocaust than I want to know. But I went in. 

I didn't learn anything new from an overall perspective. I did experience the personal tragedy of about a hundred victims. The museum highlights (is that the best word for something so awful?) snippets of each person's story during the three story exhibit. There was a name and a sentence. A name and a picture. A name and an artifact. Every thing - palpable or incorporeal - had a name. A person's name. The museum made me experience the horrors far more than any book has ever done.

Only guard yourself and guard your soul carefully, lest you forget the things your eyes saw, and lest these things depart your heart all the days of your life. And you shall make them known to your children, and to your children's children. Deuteronomy 4:9. 

 I am glad that all those people are having their stories told in such a tangible way, but I am not going back. I remember and cannot forget. 

From the Hall of Remembrance. 

 After the Museums, I headed back to the hotel to freshen up. Matt and I facetimed with Thomas and then headed to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum for drinks with the stars. Big pharm companies host events during conferences like this. One of the companies invited Matt and his guest to a grinner at the wax museum. We went, confused people with statues, and left. While we were there, we ran into a few famous people.

I helped George cross the river. 

Matt sat really close to another George. 

We left the creepy wax place to go to dinner with one of the dermopathologist (sp?) who has been courting the LSU and Tulane residency programs. When a patient goes to the dermatologist and has something removed, most dermatologist send the something to a dermopathologist to look at and determine what it is. Big groups court residency programs so that when the derm residents go out to practice, they'll send the somethings to them so the dermopaths make money. It's perfectly ethical. When I get to be involved too, chances are, it will be delicious. 

Again, I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but the dermopath that Matt and I like a lot (there are two that court LSU and Tulane) invited the LSU and Tulane residents to a private dinner at a hopping restaurant. It was fun and delicious (real size portions, by the way), and free. We were wined and dined and had a blast. My introverted self was exhausted after being at TWO social events, so we went back to the hotel and called it a day.  

It's possible that I packed a lot into my days because I was trying not to think about the huge chunk of my heart at home. I wasn't teary, but was missing my boy some kind of bad. 

Washington D.C. - An afternoon with the scholars and an evening with the snowflakes

Y'all. In case you couldn't tell already, our first full day in DC was crazy busy.  After our Capitol experience, we went to the Library of Congress through the tunnels.

From the second floor of the reading room at the LOC. 

There are two super neat things at the LOC - a Gutenburg Bible and an exhibition featuring Thomas Jefferson's library. If you don't know what the G. Bible is, google it. Lemme tell you about the library. I hate to be repetitive, but it was super neat. The LOC (and a lot of benefactors) is attempting to recreate Thomas Jefferson's personal library.

TJ's library

See those little book marks coming from the tops of the books? It is a coding system. A certain color was the exact book that Jefferson owned, another color was a copy of a book that Jefferson owned, and a third color was for pretend books that TJ was known to possess, but the book is so rare that the LOC hasn't been able to obtain a copy yet. The library that is being replicated are the books that Jefferson sold to Congress after the little incident that happened in 1814. You know, it involved few matches and soldiers wearing red....  That is how historians actually know which titles to find.  See? Super neat.

SCOTUS

When we left the LOC, we made a brief stop at the Supreme Court. To be honest, it just looks like a big courthouse on the inside. The only difference is that there are very few people when it is not in session and it is very clean. No prisoners awaiting sentencing here, no sir.

THEN... We went to the Museum of Natural History! Have you ever seen the animated dinosaur movie 'We're Back?" If so, think 'Museum of Natural History' in the Professor's voice.  Along the way, Matt complained about his feet hurting so much that I had to carry him. For a mile.

Just kidding.

About the carrying, not about the whining.

Anyway.

The Museum was a little disappointing, but Matt and I still enjoyed it. What I wanted to see the most were the dinos. The disappointing thing was how much of the dinosaurs weren't actually dinosaur bones but replicas. I guess I get it, but still. I wasn't prepared.

After catching a cab back to our hotel (I told you that he couldn't hang), we rested for a few minutes then trotted out to dinner.  I don't remember the name of it, but it was one of those super fancy, tiny portions, large prices places. Matt and I got several small plates to try but I don't seem to have any pictures. Probably, I took a picture, but the object was so small that it didn't come out so I just deleted it. The one thing that I did take a picture of was the complimentary sweet bites at the end of the meal. They look full-size in the picture, but don't be fooled. The macaroon was about the size of a quarter. The meal was delicious, but I left feeling hungry and poor. Not the best of feelings.

The best of feelings? Snow. Snow when you don't have to worry about driving or a kid catching a cold or the ickiness that is Louisiana snow. Snow flakes that can be seen lazily drifting down without any rain with them. Snow that falls on your hair and coat collar that is so delightful that you don't even consider brushing it away. Well, since the restaurant was about two miles from our hotel, we did have to brush it away or be collapsed under the weight of it, but you get the idea. It was dreamy.  

After we got back to the hotel and Matt soaked his feet in some Epsom salt and hot water, we crashed. It was like midnight and we'd been up since 4 a.m. to see sunrise with Lincoln. It was like a day in Rome, but with dinosaurs and snow. In short, exhausting yet incredible.

Washington D.C. - in the Wings of the White House and the bowels of the Capitol

Doesn't that title just make you cringe?  I did that on purpose.

After our early morning power walk to Lincoln for sunrise, we hightailed it back to the hotel to don more professional apparel and hot footed over to the White House. Like two blocks from our hotel. If not for some annoying parking complex, we could have seen the White House from our window. Speaking of our hotel room, supposedly, we had the best room in the place. It was no honeymoon suite but it was pretty nice. Top floor, corner room. All Matt did was ask. Sometimes it embarrasses me when he does stuff like that, but other times, I'm just impressed.

Enough of that mushiness.

Lemme tell you about security at the White House. In-friggin'-tense.  Not only did we have to request to visit six months in advance with all kinds of sensitive information (did they really need my blood type? I'm kidding, they asked everything BUT my blood type.), but once we got there, we had to have nothing on our person but our admission confirmation page, IDs, and our cameras/phones with very specific instructions on usage. We had to go through security with our IDs three times before we got to go inside the building. THREE TIMES. We were corralled through the whole inspection process so I'm not sure why the multiple body cavity searches were necessary (kidding about that too. The body cavity search part, not the three ID checks). And naturally, since we were in DC and you have to go through a metal detector to go inside the Walgreen's, we had to do the whole empty-your-pockets-and-walk-slowly-through-the-scanner thing too.

 Y'all.  See those portraits on the back wall beyond the velvet rope? 

That's Martha and George Washington. In the East Room. This room is where Lincoln and Kennedy were um, kept before they were buried. In Washington, the vogue phrase for that is "laid in state." I've never cared for that part of saying goodbye before or during a funeral but neither Mary Todd nor Jackie asked my opinion. 

Interestingly, that portrait of George Washington is THE one that ol' Dolley Madison "saved" when the British set fire to the White House. I actually asked one of the Secret Service agents about it and he said that Dolley didn't actually save it but had a couple of the soldiers cut it out of the frame and rescue it. Also interestingly, this portrait is a copy of the original. This one was painted by the exact same artist who did the original, but it isn't exactly the same. The artist intentionally misspelled titles of the books so that he could tell the difference. 

George and Martha. 

The picture below probably looks familiar if you replace us with a podium and a president. This doorway is where most presidents have press conferences and stuff.

Outside the front door.

Once we finished seeing about five or six rooms in the White House (which is all we were allowed to see...), we left! And caught an Uber (ugh.) to the Capitol building.  I know, you can't wait to hear about the bowels!

The capitol is kind of like all those buildings in Italy - being renovated.... scaffolding everywhere.

 Back when I was in first grade I wore those bows with the metal clips. One sunshiny day I was riding on the merry go round in a manner which was ill-advised and fell off. I the back of my head at the perfect angle and force to cause the metal clip to cut my head. My mother was called to the school to take me to the doctor. I was a bloody mess so the elementary gifted teacher offered to drive my mom and me to her husband's office just a few blocks away. Her husband was Dr. Abraham. A veterinarian. He was in medical school at the time but wasn't a medical doctor.

Anyway. 

He shaved my head, stitched me up, and I still have a pretty gnarly scar today. Shortly after that, Dr. Abraham became a family practitioner in Mangham and went on to be elected to Congress while Mrs. Abraham came to be my gifted teacher and prefer me over all my other siblings.  I'm kidding, Jeffrey is probably her favorite. But I digress. 

When Matt and I decided to go to D.C., first thing I did was text Mrs. Abraham. She and Dr. Abraham's office lined up our tours and suggested sights to see.  Once we got to D.C., Mrs. Abraham gave us a tour fit for a foreign dignitary. 

We started our tour by visiting Dr. Abraham's office and meeting all of his staff in the Cannon House Office Building. It takes a lot of local staff to run a Congressional office. I couldn't work for a member of Congress. I'm not sure that I could deal with the security searches. Then, we went through the tunnels to get to the Capitol. The tunnels are the bowels that I referenced in my title. Clever, huh.

Mrs. Abraham showed us the Exhibition Hall which has impressive displays of Capitol Hill since the Capitol was in its design phases. There is also a model of the rotunda where viewers can see the paintings (that are currently covered in tarps) that encircle the inner dome. Think Italy, but George Washington is Jesus.

We also got to go inside the Congressional Prayer Room. You won't see this if you go without Mrs. Abraham...

Know what else you won't see?

The view from the Speaker's balcony. First, why oh why does the Speaker get his own balcony? It's not like he has time to use it.  Mrs. Abraham didn't think that we could go out there, but she flashed her fancy pin and used her Southern charm to give us a look. Naturally, we took a picture. See that straight row of green right in the middle? It's the National Mall leading to the Washington Monument. I know, fancy.

We also got to see TWO voting sessions in the House chamber. The House chamber is where the state of the union address is given. We were spitting distance from Nancy Pelosi. I can't say that I care for her, but she's kind of a big deal.

After we finished our tour, Mrs. Abraham treated us to lunch in the Congressional dining room. Also kind of a big deal.

Once we finished lunch, one of Dr. Abraham's aides took us on a tour and then back through the bowels into the Library of Congress.

But more on that later... Also on Day 1 we went to the Supreme Court, the Natural History Museum, and a fancy dinner with a walk through the snow.

Washington, D.C. - Sunrise in the American Rome

I did a lot of research and reading before we left for D.C. - checked out library books, scoured the internet, talked to other D.C. visitors, yet nothing quite prepared me for actually being in D.C. It really is America's version of Rome. There are historical buildings on every street and, of course, one walks. A lot. Granted, the splendor of D.C. was not equal to that of Rome, but it was certainly cleaner and there wasn't nearly the  mass of humanity we encountered in Rome. 

We got in to the city late Wednesday night and went straight to our hotel and sleep. I convinced Matt to get up early with me on Thursday to see the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise because all my books said that was a must-do experience. The whole walk there (in below 30 degree weather, mind you), I fretted because I could see the sun rising and I just knew that we were going to miss it. I whined quite a bit, actually. 

Spoiler alert: We didn't miss it. 

There weren't a whole lot of people on the streets but there were more (seriously dedicated) runners than I would have imagined since it was SO early and SO cold. We actually had Lincoln to ourselves for about ten minutes with the rest of the time interspersed with athletes. 

From inside the Lincoln Memorial, looking out at the Washington Monument. We were literally at Lincoln's feet.

After we saw Lincoln, we walked a few yards down to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It was smaller than I imagined it to be, but once I started walking beside the panes with the names etched on them, it seemed so much longer. Too long. Neither Matt nor I actually knew anyone on those panes, but I don't think it lessened the impact. 

A look down the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The Wall is on the left. 

We kept walking down the Mall (that held no shops, BTW) and visited the World War Two Memorial which was only recently completed. We didn't get to see it in its full glory because the fountain was off but it was impressive. I don't have a picture of it here but feel free to google it.

The Washington Monument has 50 American flags encircling it to represent, you guessed it, the fifty states. Here they were all they way up, but there were still quite a few around the city at half-staff for Justice Scalia. 

After we left the Mall, we headed back to our hotel to put on fancy clothes and hoof it to the White House for an 8:30 tour. More on that later! Also, the Capitol building, lunch in the Congressional dining room, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and that's just part of the FIRST DAY!

Baton Rouge Bucket List - Mardi Gras

I'm not a huge fan of crowds. Especially crowds that are all about free things. That's why I don't go midnight Black Friday shopping. It's also why I'm not a huge fan of parades. However, since we are saying goodbye to Louisiana for a year, we want to do some quintessential Louisiana things before we go. One of those things is Mardi Gras. We didn't really feel up to trying to get a Nola parade with a toddler so I decided about an hour and a half before parade time, that we'd hit up a BR parade and run the risk of Thomas hating it and staying up late which would make him a little hard to handle.

We barely made it, but we got downtown and a pretty good spot shortly before the parade. We weren't overly crowded, nobody around us was smoking, and the people seemed to be pretty well behaved. Once the parade started, the kids around us got a little feisty but it really wasn't bad. Thomas sat on Matt's shoulders for about half of the parade but then we switched out and I held him. Thomas actually got more beads when I was holding him - I guess because the krewes didn't want to risk hitting him and I am not especially tall. He got TWO footballs which he is crazy about - one of which a girl-dad gave to him! Now all he wants to do is put beads around his neck....

We left early but only missed a couple of big floats. It was eight o'clock and Thomas was ready.  And now: pictures!! The headphones went on as soon as the parade started. Surprisingly, he didn't try to take them off. I think Thomas knew that they were a good thing....

On Sunday, we went to the dog parade. It was Star Wars themed so there were quite a lot of dogs dressed up as Yoda. And Darth Vader. It was cute, but overwhelming. So. many. people. And dogs. Thousands of people.  We left early from that one too because Thomas didn't really seem to be enjoying it and I couldn't see the doggie floats because of all the people.

We're hoping to go to some parades in Mobile next year (you know, the birthplace of Mardi Gras...). We'll see how they compare...

He did love it, he was just tired. 

On the way to the dog parade! With football and puppy in hand. 

The Louisiana (Half) Marathon

Back in March of 2015, I ran a half-marathon in Dallas. I nearly died. I declared that day that I was done with them. Then, I got the itch again and I said that I would run one more half. I signed up for the Louisiana Marathon - that's what it's called even though there's more than just a marathon. Marla was going to run the whole marathon and I was going to run the half and call it quits.  Marla ended up having to defer until next year, but I said that I wouldn't defer because this one was IT. Three is enough for this season of my life. Training for a run like that takes a lot of time and commitment. Frankly, there are a million other things that need my time. I swore (and still swear) that the LA Marathon was it for awhile.

Naturally, I didn't train like I should have but I still wanted to run it and did what I could in the few runs that I was able to do before the big weekend. The weekend before the race, I ran my ten-miler and loved it. There's not much that beats the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish a long run. I knew that I could run the half, but decided that I was going to make a point of enjoying the process and not stress about my time. Sadly, it was at mile 8 that I realized that had I made attention to my time and pace, I could have done what I originally wanted, but alas...

Race day came and it was super cold. Matt was with me at the start point as he's been with me for the start of all of my halfs. I took off when it was my turn, cranked up my music (Thanks, Leighann), and just went. I people watched, thought about life, and ran. Just ran. I walked when I wanted to, but mostly tried to push myself without overdoing it. I can seriously say that I really enjoyed it. I never thought that I was crazy for doing another one or regretting it. I was excited about every step that I ran over walking.

I only took one picture. I was saving the battery on my phone as best I could so that the GPS could run for the whole race. I wanted to see my mile-by-mile pace after it was over so I needed my battery.

This fireman runs half marathons frequently in his turnout gear. Even if the tank on his back was empty, he's still looking at about 50 pounds of gear while holding the flag. I was impressed. He ran a good bit and walked some. He stopped for pictures whenever asked - and took Abita shots along the way. I was behind him for longer than I care to admit....

Even though Marla says that I'm still on a high from last weekend, I do have a new thought. I'm strongly considering running a whole marathon in the fall or winter. Either October or December, depending on which I decide to do. It's possible that I'll decide that I just can't devote the time to it that it requires but for now, I'm about 80% committed.

I know, I am crazy.

Confessions of an exhausted mother

I'm still relatively new at this whole mother thing. I don't have it mastered. I'm not an expert on child-rearing. And I'm certainly no one's go-to person for advice. I do some things right (like making my kid wear a coat during the winter) but I also do some things wrong (like not letting my kid play in dirt). I've learned during the past year and a half that sometimes, I just have to do what works. More often than I'd like to admit, what works isn't something I'm proud of. Even though this blog is public and accessible by anyone who comes up with the right google search terms, I've decided to tell you about a few of my less-proud moments. Here are my confessions, if you will.

No matter how great a day was or how well behaved Thomas was during the day, I do look forward to bedtime. His and mine. But mostly his. Now especially, bedtime is not a battle. We snuggle and sing, then I lay his little body in his crib and I go do the work that didn't get done during the day. Or I sit on the couch with my husband and watch TV. Or I color in my coloring book*. Basically, Thomas's bedtime is the mark of a very productive (or relaxing) part of my day. I look forward to it at some point in every. single. day.

I eat donuts in the laundry room. Thomas LOVES donuts. Loves them. Actually, his sweet tooth may be larger than mine. It's a problem. We limit his sweets intake quite a bit but for special occasions, he gets little treats. Today was a big deal so we went for donuts. Thomas ate his allotted number before I got to eat mine so I had to hide in the laundry room to eat mine so he wouldn't see me and covet my donut. I've also hidden king cake in the laundry room. And anything with a straw....

About once a month or so, I have to have some Mommy time. Matt will come home and I'll lock myself in my room for about fifteen minutes and do something mindless. Fifteen minutes of reading a beach book. Fifteen minutes of exfoliating my face. Deep cleaning my bathroom. Anything for a few minutes of silence to recharge. It's draining, this whole parenting thing. I love being able to stay home with Thomas and all the time that we get to have together, but sometimes it's hard to keep up with his energy levels and his attention demands. Not to mention the work that pays the bills...

I love my little boy more than I ever thought possible. I'm exhausted but deliriously happy. It's possible that the delirium is from lack of sleep but the happiness remains. I'm so thankful to have him.

Giselle, on the other hand, is another story. She still rebels against me. STILL. I feed her every single day and she STILL prefers Matt. I just don't get it.

*Don't judge. Okay, go ahead and judge a little. Does it help if I tell you that it is a Harry Potter coloring book and my mother gave it to me for Christmas? No? I didn't think so.