Monday, April 27, 2026

17 April 2026 Washington DC: Evan's Day and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

 


Evan picked the Smithsonian Natural History Museum which is one of the fan favorites.  We hit the fossil hall, gems and minerals, mammals and had a snack at the cafe.  We spent a good two hours inside looking and reading.  There was a place where you could see yourself morph into one of the pre-human  species.  The images were not so good but we gave it a try.  We ubered back to the house and then headed out later for dinner at Yardbird



Hot enough for a parasol


Passing by the African American Museum


250 years!


What, a bird habitat!


We are here


One big elephant!


Hot stuff at the equator


Hard pass on the jellyfish burgers


My favorite sea slugs, the nudibranch


Whaler!


Indigenous art


Okapi butt


A sleepy rhino


Deep thoughts are occuring


Megalodon! 


LJ is happy


More deep thoughts


Looking dsown on the elephant


The back of the hope diamond


The Hope Diamond


The Flame Topaz, 49 carats from Brazil


A huge chunky emerald


A 423 carat Sri Lankan sapphire


Huge aquamarine


Super funky crystals


Elephant butt


Saber tooth tiger


Massive Mastodon 


Dinosaurs everywhere


Chomping down!


Everybody, tusks in the air


And we are out


Time for hugs


Funky car


In the uber and passing a synagogue


Dinner at Yardbird


Camouflaged 


The Yardbird


A fancy bar


A mocktail for Evan


Sipping the sweet nectar


Oh no, it is too much


He is down!


The kitchen is a hive of activity


Apple strudel


Dessert has brought him around again


An odd looking PT Cruiser


Bold and bricks heading home


 It has been 3 years and 312 days since we began our Migration

Sunday, April 26, 2026

17 April 2026 Washington DC: Evan's Day a Big Brazilian and the Washington Monument

 


We also wanted the kids to experience another style of eating and what better than the Brazilian restaurant?  They have a excellent salad bar but the wise patron knows not to fill up on the salad.  We had three kinds of steak, chicken, sausages and it was all terrific.  We then ubered over to the Washington Monument.  It was the tallest building in the world for almost 50 years until the Eiffel Tower eclipsed it.  It is still the tallest obelisk and the tallest free standing stone structure.  Standing at the base and realizing that the only thing holding it together was gravity and friction.


Some sort of super antenna


Another painted building


Time to climb


Go Evan go!


Down into the metro again


We got to wondering if these metro stations also work as bomb shelters


Nice decorated building


Flowers!


The Waldorf Astoria is closed...for now


Fancy lighting outside


Ben Franklin is stoned


Are these folks training  on these fance cameras?


Ben again


More flowers


Fogo for lunch


We are early and have to wait a bit


Salad salad salad


and more salad


Leslie is getting her finger awfully close to the knife


Nice and rare


Not too close with this finger


They brought out only one dessert for the two of them


This photo spurred us on to the monument


There it is, the largest freestanding stone structure in the world


Ringed by flags


It is also the tallest obelisk


No no no no no no no no and no pictures at the entrance


Fine tile work in front of the elevator doors


A cardboard cutout


big numbers on the elevator


Peeking out the windows


The capital


500 feet and facing east


The white house minus the west wing


Lincoln memorial


The Pentagon


Tomas Jefferson


Repaired portion of the monument after the 2011 earthquake


The lightning rods


A ceremonial topper


How the interior is laid out


Escorted to the elevator and instructed on the descent


490 feet and going down


The elevator slows down twice too allow us to see the memorial stones on the inside 


Lots of detail on this one


The lady wearing these socks talked non stop so the socks were very appropriate





 It has been 3 years and 312 days since we began our Migration