the nation's capital

April 13, 2017

to Read (

Words)

for my birthday, i chose to spend the day in the nation's capital going to art galleries, eating lunch at a cool place, and just spending time with two of my closest friends. it wasn't extravagant, but i loved it. keep reading to find out what my day entailed!

first things first, we left my house around eight o' clock and got there around nine o' clock. now, why so early when most museums or galleries don't open up until ten o' clock? well, we had first planned on going to the hirshorn gallery and sculputre garden and knew we had to stand in line for timed passes so leaving early would ensure we would get a good spot in line and get a good time to go into the gallery. however, that plan did not turn out the way we wanted. when we got there the line was wrapped around the entire building. it was insane. my friends and i figured it would take up a good majority of our day just waiting in line and since we were already on a time table, we decided to leave.

as we contemplated where to go, i realized that we had all this time to do what i originally wanted to do. so i took my friends to one of my favorite galleries in washington d.c.--the renwick gallery. as i've mentioned before, there was this certain net sculpture that changed colors that i absolutely loved, and luckily it was still open! it was amazing being able to show two of my closest friends something i loved. it was also genuinely nice being able to share something like this with people who understand it and appreciate it like i do. and of course, i laid under the sculpture again and watched the colors change and blend into one another.

sadly, as i mentioned above, we were on a time table so we didn't get to spend as much time in the renwick. we decided to head off to the national gallery of art.

i've previously been to the national gallery of art and sculpture garden and actually really enjoyed it. however, this time there was a new exhibit open that wasn't open before.this exhibit was called contemporary art and totaled three floors (i think lol). as you can see below, there were many cool pieces of art. one of my favorites was where this man was painted, pulling two clouds towards him, clearing the sky, and making the ocean safe to travel on for the boat. (pictured below)

another painting i really liked was the one below. it featured a canoe (maybe a boat) of people, going into a cave of darkness and ghosts. to the left there seems to be a help line, reaching to the people in the back, but they ignoring it. there is then something right above the cave saying wow. the title of this painting is "great america". it was really deep.

another interesting thing i saw at the national gallery of art, was a woman in a smock who had set up an easel, and was painting a copy of the one on the wall. it was actually really cool. my friends and i sat down for a few minutes to watch. it was surprisingly soothing to watch her paint brush glide across the canvas, and the color strokes turning into an image.

as we continued to walk through the gallery, there were these neon signs in the contemporary exhibit. as you can see below, one of the signs said sweet, and would occasionally flash with the word substitute, and another word that i couldn't really see. and the other sign said america backwards, and was reflected below backwards too. they were actually really cool and different.

after we gazed the renwick, and wandered through the national gallery of art, we were starving. we chose to meet my mom at the hard rock cafe.

and since this trip was a celebration for my birthday, my friends and i shared a fudge brownie! but it wasn't a normal fudge brownie. it was a fudge brownie sundae served in a huge margarita glass that was filled from the bottom to the top with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, fudge, and of course a brownie. needless to say, the three of us finished it in about five minutes and were about to burst from how stuffed we were. but it was delicious.

once we got to the car, we crashed. luckily, my wonderful mom drove us and we were able to sleep on the way home. it was a long, tiring day that was filled with a lot of walking. but it was a fun filled day where fantastic memories were created. it was a great birthday celebration, and i'm glad i did it. enjoy more photographs from today below!!!

xoxo,
l.k