62 photos
These are some of the more notable buildings in DC and various scenes I observed in my wanderings.
In late June and early July, I spent two weeks playing the tourist in Washington DC and vicinity. This is a trip I had wanted to take for some years; the last time I was in DC was in the mid 1980s.
The weather wasn't particularly cooperative; I had planed to go a week earlier, but DC was baking with temperatures over 100 degrees F. But even in the weeks I was there, temperature was in the high 90s on several days.
I spent time in most of the Smithsonian museums, the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art, many of the National Monuments and such. I attended a wonderful jazz steelpan concert one evening in the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Gallery and a "dress rehearsal" of PBS's "A Capitol Fourth".
I took two side trips, one to Harper's Valley WV, and another to Gettysburg PA.
Finally while driving back to Long Island, I stopped to visit an old friend from my WBAU college radio days, Claude Call. Unfortunately neither of us remembered to take a photo there, but it is the visit that was important, not the photo.
The weather wasn't particularly cooperative; I had planed to go a week earlier, but DC was baking with temperatures over 100 degrees F. But even in the weeks I was there, temperature was in the high 90s on several days.
I spent time in most of the Smithsonian museums, the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art, many of the National Monuments and such. I attended a wonderful jazz steelpan concert one evening in the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Gallery and a "dress rehearsal" of PBS's "A Capitol Fourth".
I took two side trips, one to Harper's Valley WV, and another to Gettysburg PA.
Finally while driving back to Long Island, I stopped to visit an old friend from my WBAU college radio days, Claude Call. Unfortunately neither of us remembered to take a photo there, but it is the visit that was important, not the photo.
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National Gallery of Art
3 photos
I only took a couple of photos inside the National Gallery of Art during my wanderings there, and I only scratched the surface of their enormous collection.
But I took many photos in their outdoors sculpture garden. They can be seen in a later album below. -
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
13 photos
The butterfly pavilion, where one is in a room full of tropical plants and live butterflies, was by far my favorite
exhibit in the whole museum. -
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
15 photos
This is considered one of the highlights of the entire Smithsonian, and certainly draws the largest crowds.
Unfortunately, about half the museum was closed for renovation when I visited. But do not miss the much larger annex near Dulles Airport in Fairfax Virginia. See those photos in an album below. -
The National Museum of the American Indian and the temporary Skate Park in front of it
9 photos
The Washington branch of this museum is the latest addition to the Smithsonian's museums on the National Mall. But the New York City branch (which I need to visit) dates from 1906, and has been part of the Smithsonian since 1989.
While the museum exhibits are interesting, it was more fun to watch the skateboarders at the temporary skatepark set up in front of the museum. -
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden with Jazz in the Garden, Josanne Francis, Caribbean Steelpan
64 photos
The National Gallery of Art has a wonderful sculpture garden.
What made it more wonderful for me was a bit of luck. There are concerts in the Sculpture Garden every Friday evening, and a friend of mine from the steelpan community was appearing on the Friday after I arrived. -
Hirshhorn Museum
49 photos
There is no lack of good art on the mall, and for that matter throughout DC. I could have spent weeks just in the art museums.
The Hirshhorn's sculpture garden, unfortunately for me, was under major renovation, a big hole in the ground. But their building is surrounded by sculpture, still open.
And the highlight of their exhibits when I was there was "Four Talks" by Laurie Anderson. See my photos here. -
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
34 photos
Anyone who has ever heard of the Smithsonian knows of the National Air and Space Museum, and thinks of the building on the National Mall. But that is only a part, a small part, of the National Air and Space Museum.
The larger part is the annex near Dulles Airport in Fairfax VA. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center there has many more exhibits and is more fun to visit, as it is less crowded. If you are in the area, it is a must see.