DC in under 3 hours...

While planning my annual visit to see my mother, I decided to turn part of it into an actual vacation. Sort of. Instead of flying into Roanoke where the only person I see is Ma, I flew into Baltimore so I could also visit friends, and DC. I rented a car so I could get around, and so I could drive down to see Ma. I spent three nights in Roanoke in a lovely hotel that I got for about half price. It was not convenient to Ma's place, but that's okay; I felt rich staying in a hotel room with TWO TVs :)

Anyway, I left Ma on Tuesday and drove back to the DC area. I stayed Tuesday night with my friend T.C. (we went to Wesley together) after picking her up on Capital Hill. It was great to get to visit with her. She even took me to a restaurant with vegan options! Vegan cheesecake for the win!!! Wish her wife, Logan, had been in town! On Wednesday morning (the day of my flight home), I drove T.C. to the metro station and we both ventured in to DC - she to work, me to see some sights.

I lived in the DC area when the WW2 memorial was built and opened, but I hadn't done more than drive by it. Partly because I just read a book about a guy in WW2, and partly because it seemed like I should, I decided that was the one thing I wanted to see in DC. As I walked the half mile or so from the Smithsonian metro stop to the memorial, I passed the Washington Monument. I decided I should take a selfie with it. "Cuz why not"! And this began my 2.5 hour selfie adventure in DC :) I should remind the reader that selfies are not my fortè...

Me and the Washington Monument

I REALLY don't know how to do pictures in a blog... But here is the WW2 Memorial!! Top left is me in front of Texas' pillar.

Me and Lincoln

Me and Obama (not sure if he was home or not - I didn't have time to visit)

Me and the FBI (building) - Booth and the BAU were on vacation so I didn't bother going in.

Me and the Archives

Me and the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art

Me and the Newseum (someday maybe I'll go in!)

I had thought I'd go over to the Portrait Gallery to pay homage to Maya Angelou's portrait (there on special exhibit due to her passing). However, on the metro I saw a sign for a Degas/Cassatt exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. I decided that was exactly what I wanted to see! They also had an Andrew Wyeth exhibit. I used to live on Wyeth Place but I don't think I'd ever seen his art. I liked his style, but it didn't have enough color for me. No pictures allowed in special exhibits :(. BUT in the regular rooms...

Me and my favorite Monet.
One of my favorite memories of France was seeing the BIG water lilies.  

Me and the Rotunda in the National Gallery of Art

After all that art, I left the Gallery on the mall side. I consulted the map and my watch and decided to make a full loop of the mall and museums. I'm pretty sure I walked about 3 miles by the time I got back to the Smithsonian metro stop. Have I mentioned yet that it was quite humid (especially for this Texas girl!)? It wasn't hot so I'm pretty sure the wet on my face was not sweat but condensation. Anyway...

Me and the Capital

Me and the pretty fountain at the American Indian Museum (didn't know that existed - will go inside there next time!
Also, they're building an African-American Culture museum that I look forward to visiting someday.)

Me and the corner of the original Air and Space museum. 

Me and the Spirit of St Louis

Me with one of the Wrights 

Me and the Saturn 5 (aft end?) 

Me and some rockets

Me and a capsule... can't remember which one

Me and the art in front of the Hirschorn

Me and the Smithsonian Castle

Me and some dude in front of the Smithsonian Castle

Me and the metro escalator (this wasn't the tallest/longest I saw)

Me and the metro map while ON the metro!

And so that's what I saw on my 2.5 hour DC adventure :)

From there, I metroed to Van Ness where my friend Becky picked me up. We spent several hours at the Hillwood Estate - the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post (heiress of Post cereal). She was quite a collector, had fancy friends, and loved beautiful things, including gardens. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures. I was trying to save phone battery for getting out of town! You can check out the link if you really want to see it :)

To make a long story short, I got to my car and drove to the airport. I was supposed to take the car back empty. The gas light came on about the same time I hit traffic. I had no idea what the light was really telling me (5 miles? 25 miles?) so I decided to stop and get a gallon or so of gas. I happened to stop at the NSA exit. Seriously. I was close enough that my phone lost service! I didn't have time (well, I did; I just didn't know that I did!) to stop at the visitor center (seriously, there is one - how secret could this place really be?!). But I did attempt a couple pictures from the moving car...

the parking lot... there were planes decorating it I swear...

NSA

And that my friends, was my whirlwind day in DC. Thanks for letting me share!! Stay tuned for other observations from my travels!