Sing hey!

Continuing the DC trip...on Saturday we happened onto a Whistler exhibit in the basement of the Freer gallery which, out of all the art we saw, inspired me to most to really paint. These were tiny oil paintings on wood panels with the grain sometimes showing through. Very painterly, and once again, reproductions of these don't come anywhere near to conveying how luminous and subtle they are.

We ate lunch in the Air and Space Museum which housed the Spirit of St. Louis. Looking at that early plane I thought, "Lindbergh had to have some nerve to get into that flimsy piece of metal and fly it across the Atlantic." As far as I can tell, there wasn't a way for him to see straight ahead; the only windows were on either side.

The American History Museum had an exhibit including dresses from past first ladies, including one of Nancy Reagan's I recognized instantly, thanks to all the time I spent with my Nancy Reagan paper doll growing up. This particular dress had Ronald attached to it (they were dancing), but I used to bend him back behind her when he wasn't wanted.

They also had Julia Child's kitchen, which I'd read about in an article recently but didn't remember that's where it was. What a funny lady.

By this time we were absolutely exhausted and stumbled into the Capital City Brewing Company for dinner. Oh, and how happy that we did! I knew it was a good restaurant when I saw one of my favourite Simpsons quotes printed on the menu. It was happy hour, and a Capital Kolsch for each of us was just what we needed. Now I understand the appeal of a pub that Tolkien and Lewis felt after a long day tramping about the countryside. I don't know if anything's ever been more welcome than sitting down to that cold beer. Pippin was right:

O water cold we may pour at need
Down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed
But better is beer if drink we lack
And water hot poured down the back!