I really dug the pottery, and was unusually fascinated by cuneiform writing. I also got a few decent pictures of precious gems and stuff.

Got up relatively early today (10 or 11) and rode the metro down to the Mall. Caught the National Air & Space Museum, and the National Archives. Half the time I spent in line I was thinking that we as Americans are so literal minded, it might not be a bad idea to just let the documents perish and embrace the ideas they bequeathed to us. When the interminable waiting was over, so was my silly mental rambling. It’s worth the wait. I’m not usually one to value the object as much as the meaning, but in this case, the objects convey a much stronger dose of meaning than usual. If you’re in town, you really should go see the articles of freedom.Also today, we went to see Mama Mia! Best show I’ve seen in ages. Well cast, well sung, highly energetic cast, and there’s really nothing not to like. Okay, so I’m way behind on these posts, and since I originally wrote this, I’ve seen the movie version. So if you saw the movie version, it pales in comparison to the DC production. I have never seen a more energized cast, and I’m considering going back to DC just to see this show again. If you are in the area, you really must see this show. I’m not saying the writing is brilliant, or that the plot is life changing, it’s simply that I’ve never seen a show come together so well and be so much fun.

Some time last night, every single muscle in and around my left knee seized up as though trying to turn to stone. Took all night and most of the day resting, plus a really hot bath to loosen it up enough for me to gimp around a little. Carin was kind enough to do the hunting and gathering and brought back a yummy sandwich from Potbelly Sandwich Works. Far as I can tell, it’s a chain. Damned good sandwiches, but the people who work there are slow and inattentive, so it’s a good place for when you have some time to kill. Once I was fully awake, I paid the bucks to get an internet connection to see just what was going on with my ATM card the last couple of days. Turns out when the hotel (The Westin: City Center, be warned) needed a card to cover incidentals, they put a $2,200 hold on my account, thus crippling my vacation plans. The best they could do was authorize a reversal of the charges, which should take effect Monday. Color me PISSED!

However, all was not lost. Thanks once again to the lovely DC Metro, Carin and I went to Union Station, did a little window shopping and saw WALL*E (or however the hell it should be spelled). Very good movie, and I especially liked the traditional short film that preceded it, and which seemed to be based on the video game Portal. A lovely evening was had by all.

Oh yeah. And I was able to get in touch with Joe and Kelly, friends of mine from high school I haven’t seen in at least a decade. They’ll be joining us on The Mall for the Independence Day Festivities. Shiny!

HWF, or Hiking While Fat, is a common ailment of the fat man who, while considering himself active, often forgets how long it has been since he was last active. So our hike yesterday ran to about 6 miles, and consequently, our feet were in poor shape. So we decided to familiarize ourselves with the DC subway system, which so far has turned out to be relatively clean, very efficient, and beats the heck out of walking. We took our time at the International Spy Museum and managed to burn most of an afternoon there. A good time was had by all, but really, use your $18 to subscribe to The History Channel in HD, and you’ll get a better experience. Throw in a little research on Google, and you’ll get plenty more interactivity than the museum provides.

So today was our first real day in DC. Transferred from our surprisingly nice hotel (Courtesy Inn & Suites) in a fairly scary part of town, to our totally posh hotel (The Westin: City Center), which is just a couple of blocks to the mall. Carin took a nap while I played around with Google Maps a bit trying to see what was close. After she woke up, we gave the google thing up as cute but impractical, and grabbed a tourist map from the concierge.

From said map, we managed to do quite a bit of site seeing on foot. We covered St. Matthew’s Cathedral, The White House, The National Mall, The Washington Monument, The World War II Memorial, The Korean War Veterans Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Einstein Monument. And fireflies.

I had never seen fireflies before, and at first, given the several hours of walking in the heat and humidity, I thought I just might be having some kind of “episode”. Turns out I was getting my first early evening look at fireflies. They’re pretty, and fascinating, and just a little bit magical. Shiny!