4.24.2009

highlights of T & J's excellent "earth day" adventures

A scrumdidiliumptious French lunch accompanied by one of the best 
glasses of vino I've had in some time: Domaine De Reuilly Pinot Gris. 

Oh Bethesda, how I love thee flowers but hate thee Starbucks' fake grande passion teas 
(note the fake grande in upper right-hand corner). 

We chopped off the Washington Monument but not our heads!

We were among the first in the National Mall in D.C. for the E.D. festivities, so we figured while there were no lines we'd give the pedal to power (my nickname for it) a try. The faster and longer you pedaled the more wattage you'd  produce. I think T and I got up to powering a cell phone or radio for, ohh, six seconds maybe. Meanwhile, two dudes were on stationary bikes powering the two laptops they had for visitor use....all day.


Oh but they do...

...to the soles of these killer boots. Thanks Timberland!



Off to the National Gallery of Art. Can you see the naked Spanish Dancer?

I can't remember the appropriate name for this piece, but we came up with one: La Crack.

These over-sized prints of the Oval Office caught my eye, mostly because they were so large and everything seemed so tidy, too tidy. Then I found the write-up...

Yeah, it wasn't the Oval Office after all, rather a three dimensional model of it. Awesome, right? So often I take pieces of art at face value, it's nice to know the many layers (if there are in fact any) that exist to be able to fully appreciate a piece.

Love, love, love Picasso's Blue Period (1901-1904). This is "The Tragedy," which was painted in 1903. In his early twenties, Picasso began to tint his paintings a pale, cold blue. The expressions, the color palette, and no doubt the title are in complete harmony. It gave me a slight chill. 

Here's a small section of Jackson Pollock's "Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)." I was feeling really good about finding hand prints in the painting until I got shown up by this older gentleman (must have been an art teacher) who found the dead cockroach in the painting. See the "S" shape? That's where the insect wiggled it's way through the Pollock piece to its demise. You can see it, just follow the "S" up.

At this moment captured by T, I was contemplating what would happen if I ripped my new favorite Van Gosh piece, "Roses," from the wall and ran. Then I noticed the wires strung to it that ran all the way up the the ceiling...and that security guard at the doorway...it was a fleeting thought...literally.

Then it was back to the streets, Pennsylvania Ave. nonetheless. That's where the wrapper from the organic mango tango lollipop escaped my bag and where I made the decision to stay true to my "green" efforts (although I'd only be rescuing it to then throw in a garbage can to be taken to a dump anyway, but it was the littering that bothered me)...

See that fleck of white on the pavement? Just one more bus had to pass and it was mine for the taking!

Ready, GO! Nice shot T.

Hells yeah.

We needed something refreshing after all of that, plus we hadn't eaten since Bagel Bin hehe. A green tea yogurt in an oh so "green" ecotainer--nice choice.



And that's not even the half of it. It was a fun-filled weekend, one of many more memories to add to the book.
Thanks T for a superb weekend! xo

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