D.C. So Far

Today was my second day in Washington, D.C., and so far, I'm very impressed!  Yesterday, I visited the Smithsonian American History and Natural History Museum.  I hadn't been since I was 8 years old, and those museums seemed so much BIGGER back then!  They are still very big, but much more "doable" now.  Maybe that's because I don't mind just doing the parts of the museum that interest me the most.  The Natural History Museum had a REALLY cool nature photography exhibit, as well as an interesting traveling race exhibit.  I also saw the Hope Diamond, which doesn't impress me much.

The American History Museum was full of patriotic/war/American History stuff, so I stuck to the pop culture things!  Fonzie's jacket, Julia Child's kitchen, Michael Jackson's hat (which is a very ordinary-looking hat, actually), etc.  Rachel and I also had lunch in the food court at the Post Office Building.  Yummy yummy all-vegetarian Indian food!  Plus, we took the elevator to the top of the building so that I could get my bearings and Rachel could point out the D.C. landmarks.  I also walked through the National Portrait Gallery, where I decided which historical figures were the HOTTEST.  Alexander Hamilton--You win!

It's really sticky-hot here, although I know it gets even worse than this.  I don't do well in heat.  Plus, everything is really over-air-conditioned, so there's a lot of body temperature shock going on.

Last night, Jeff, Rachel, and I went to a vegan soul food place for dinner.  I had a vegan steak and cheese sub, which was VERY saucy and good!  The Mac and "Cheese" didn't impress me as much.  I want ooey gooey Daiya-y saucy Mac and Cheese, and this was more like...nutritional yeasty.  Then, we went to check out the Memorials.  It's a pretty long walk to get to the Memorials, and I'm not sure if I felt like it was worth it.  The Lincoln Memorial is pretty rad, but more importantly, there was a WICKED lightning storm lighting up the sky while walking around the Mall.  Very cool.  Very postcard.  I really wanted to go to the Jefferson Memorial and dance, which is "illegal," but then I got bored/tired and just wanted to go home.  The public transportation here is pretty good, but it surprisingly doesn't reach very many of the touristy spots, so there is a lot of walking to be had.  It's times like these that I wish I wasn't wearing 2-year old flip flops that make me feel like I'm walking barefoot.  It's times like these that I really wish my spine was straight.

Today, we went to the Holocaust Museum, which was amazing.  It's really well laid-out and effective.  It was not only an emotional message, but also a great history lesson.  The museum is laid-out in a linear way that takes you through history and acts as a tour guide (without being an annoying person).  I especially like that after you are through with the Holocaust/WW2, there's a very poignant section on genocides that are going on today (Darfur, anyone?).  It's a good reminder that there are still plenty of murders that people aren't stepping in to stop.  It makes me feel really guilty, actually.  All of the visuals and facts about concentration/labor/killing camps really remind me of factory farming.  Why isn't anyone paying attention to THAT?

Before the Holocaust Museum, we went to Sticky Fingers, an all-vegan restaurant/bakery.  I had an amazing brownie.  I will be going back for STICKY BUNS.

For late lunch, we went to Cafe Green, another all-vegan restaurant.  I had an avocado/Daiya/tempeh/spinach/saucy panini.  It was DELICIOUS.  This is a really great city for vegan food.

Things D.C. has that SLO does not:

1. Humidity
2. Lightning Bugs
3. Black People

Even though D.C. is pretty cool, I am so not a city girl.  I don't like having things take forever to get to.  And germs.  And crowds of people.  And everything costing money (except for all the public museum stuff here).  I love me some mid-size cities!  Shout out to SLO and YC!

TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO COSTUME KARAOKE.