Portrait Gallery and Cosi

With low humidities we dared to venture on another “tourist” visit by foot. This time it would be to the National Portrait Gallery. Past adventures have included Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, the Renwick Gallery, and the Cézanne exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Now I am compiling a check off list of possible options. The idea is to do something different once a week and get to know the city more after having lived here twelve years. Depending on the weather and the distance the mini visits can include metro rides, which my husband loves and I don’t. And when possible we try to mix in breakfast or lunch based on our mood and location. So we walked up to eighth street and turned down by the Navy Memorial off Pennsylvania Avenue, past our grandson’s old school before they moved to Virginia, and on to the Portrait Gallery - taking care to stay under the shade. The plan was to catch the bus back home so we wouldn’t be completely exhausted. It seemed rather quiet in front of the building and we realized why - the place doesn’t open until 1130! That was a huge disappointment. I didn’t even bother to look before we left because everything on the Mall opens at 1000. So we turned around and started looking for a breakfast stop. Nothing appealed to us until we reached Cosi by the court house. So we stopped in just to have something. So we ended up walking about three miles - more than usual which is about 2.5. It will be difficult to get my husband to head that way again. He wasn’t too keen about it to begin with. We’ve been there before, but he just wasn’t in the mood. Maybe a spin on the merry go round on the Mall will be next? He likes that option even less. 

The Visiting Grandson

Since our son and his family moved away six months ago we obviously don't see them as much as we used to. So it was nice to know that we would have a lunch date with our grandson today because he was off from school and his mom had a meeting in town. They usually drive in but this time they took the 3-4 hour train ride. So I took an extra hour off, and my husband picked me up from work so we could pick him up at Hotel Monaco right across from the portrait gallery. They loaded the luggage in the car, Mom went to her meeting, and we returned to our neighborhood for lunch. Since it was his choice, we went to MatchBox on 8th Street and found out he likes turkey as much as I do. He said it would be his last real meal because he has a state wrestling tournament this weekend. It's hard to believe he is already 11 going on 12 because he acts so much older. I got dropped off back to work and Grandpa and he have a few hours to do something. What that is I don't know, but it's nice to know they'll be together for awhile. It's not like living just down the street, but it's not so bad. At least it's a lot closer than Milwaukee.  

Basis Charter School, Portrait Gallery, Archives and Navy Memorial

Our grandson changed schools this year. He attended a DC public school a block from his house through fourth grade. On his assigned baby sitting days it was really easy for my husband to pick him up because it was so close. The new school, Basis Charter School, is still in the neighborhood, but not nearly as close. One could argue that the location is even better. If you look up one side of the street, the Portrait Gallery can be seen. Down the other side of the street is the National Archives Building on Pennsylvania Avenue. In between the school and the Archives is the Navy Memorial with fountains, occasional Navy Band concerts, and very scenic views of city life. I'm not certain the boys understand the significance of all this, but I know my husband does. He even enjoys the one day a week bus ride he takes to pick the ten year old up after school. I'm sure soon that will come to an end, but in the mean time he is thoroughly enjoying it.