capitol — 2013 — The 21st Century Matriarch

A few days ago I posted some photographs from the kite festival held on March 30th. Some of the other sights that day are in this post.

The buffalo dancer sculpture in one of the gardens beside the National Museum of the American Indian was new to me. The stance of the figure was exotic but the face looked familiar.

Washington DC is full of classical columns. The photo of Ionic columns is from the National Gallery of Art. Another feature of the city are the fountians. They are often tucked away in small parks or courtyards between the buildings; for example, there are fountains on either side of the main entrance to the National Gallery.

The curves of the National Museum of the American Indian - both the façade and embedded in the glass of the doors at the entrance - are soothing and welcoming at the same time. They evoke the natural world in the middle of a city.

We walked the length of the Smithsonian Mall - the Capitol at one end and the White House to the side. The Washington Monument was surrounded by scaffolding - still under repair for earthquake damage.

When I made the reservations for a cruise on the Potomac to see the cherry blossoms on 3/24, the projection was for them to be near peak on that day. Then the area has some cold days that turned into a couple of weeks of colder than usual weather and the cherry blossoms were delayed. We opted to go on the tour anyway.

The day was cold and damp. Everyone stayed in the enclosed part of the boat. There was a birthday party next to us. They gave us desert parfaits to make up for the noise the little children were making; it was a nice little treat and the children actually were making happy noises making the day brighter even without the sun.

Being on the river provides a different perspective than fighting the traffic on the roads around Washington DC. The scenery slides by: Haines Point, the National War College, the capitol, the Washington Monument, the 14th Street Bridge, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, National Airport, and a flock of seagulls as we get close to our pier.