Sunday, June 26, 2011

June 2011....BUSY!!

Where to begin. It has been a very busy June. Jack's Eagle Scout Project is underway! Kate went to her leadership camp this past week and enjoyed the experience.http://www.lead-america.org/ 
I visited with my cousins while she was there and had a good time catching up with them.

There was an emergency back on LI and my siblings pitched in to help out. This week I am headed out there to visit and help out.

Here are some of my highlights from my trip to DC. I visited the 

National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Art: The Dale Collection

Lunch: Mozzarella caprese at the Italian Garden Cafe
 

Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/index.html

and the Newseum  NEWSEUM

and hit a Dive from Diner's Drive Ins and Dives http://lacaraquena.com/

It was fun to visit all these places with my cousins and one day by myself. However, I found that taking pictures without Jack and Kate in them....just feels weird. What's a view of the Capitol in the background without those two in the foreground?  Everything I did, I thought of them and how much they would like something. Whether it was the interactive parts of the newseum or the Civil War display in the Library of Congress. The 'spy' chamber in Capitol Building, where you can hear someone talking on the other side of the room because of the acoustics with the dome, was incredible but not as cool if Jack and Kate got to experience it. The dive didn't seem as exciting without sharing a fried plantain appetizer with Kate and Jack. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun but I found myseld pulling a page out of Libby's book and wore my sunglasses so you couldn't see the tears. Granted the 9/11 display made everyone cry as did the Pulitzer Prize photos in the Newseum.

The art in the the National Gallery is Incredible!! You have to visit it if you have not. The Dale collection is captivating that I saw it on Wed with my cousin and visited it again by myself on Friday after my mozzarella salad.   :)

The permanent exhibits were moving too. So much of the art depicts stories from the bible. So as I looked at dozens of Madonna and child paintings, sculptures,  etc...I saw all the mysteries of the rosary and thought of my mom and my beautiful cousin Jeannie.  They both say the rosary and inspire me to do so too. I texted her from the gallery and tagged her in the sculptures of the Annunciation (as you can't take pictures of the paintings)

The only thing that cost anything, as all the museums are free, was the Newseum. I would go again and pay for the kids to see it. It was that good! Interactive, fun, informative, moving, ...everything you want in a museum visit.

Enjoy the pictures.

Angel Gabriel















1 comment:

cathy said...

These adventures sound so fun! I love being a tourist and learning and seeing such interesting things. How can we slow summer down??