Staycation: Day One

The idea was multi-fold:

1. I had to burn up at least a week of vacation time before the fiscal year ends on the 31st.
2. Going someplace costs too much money.
3. People spend tons of money to visit DC.
4. I can get to DC for a pittance on the Metro.
5. There's stuff I've never seen in my own area.

True, I came to the area at least once every other year on field trips in school (even "lobbied" for gun control to Senator Mikulski when I was, like, twelve). And, yes, I lived in DC for ten years before moving five minutes away in MD. But there comes a time in every urban dweller's life when they stop going to do touristy things, no matter how awesome they are.

And so, my summer staycation was born! I wanted to visit sites I've either never been to, or hadn't been in a long time. The itinerary:

Monday
Day o' Journalism (Newseum, then home to watch Citizen Kane, which, no, I'd never seen, shut up)

Tuesday
Gallery Place Day (National Portrait Gallery, lunch in Chinatown, quick walk to the National Gallery of Art)

Wednesday
Smithsonian Day (Botanical Gardens, American History, American Indian, and the Freer)

Thursday
Day trip to Mount Vernon

Friday
Day trip to the National Arboretum, and then catch-up on whatever else we feel the need to see

And with Jake working from home this summer, I have a perfect tour group of two. After the jump...How I spent my Monday!

I had a bunch of friends in college who had to go to the Newseum in its old location, to experience a pretend news broadcast for their Communications classes. I never had a reason to go, and since the tickets cost money, it slipped out of my daily consciousness. We set aside the day to go yesterday, and after a quick stop for the amazing lunch deals at Thai Derm, we headed downtown.

Highlights of the trip were the exhibit on the FBI, the artifacts from the Berlin Wall

the exhibit about Elvis

the front pages and artifacts from 9/11

the photography exhibits, including the fabulous retrospective of Walter Iooss's sports photography

and the exhibit on our five freedoms granted by the First Amendment, which for me culminated in the display on Women's Suffrage.

Then, back home for some Armand's deep dish and Citizen Kane, which, even though I've essentially seen most of it through pop culture references and clips on The Simpsons, was still an amazing movie-watching experience.

Next post: Tuesday's Gallery Place expedition!