Expedition 6: The Northwest Navigations

Journey 6 in the books! Our latest metro journey was great, and this time sent us to several destinations in Northwest D.C.. This blog is your narrative of another fun day in the nation's capital. Let's start from chapter 1...

Chapter 1: A Monumental Monument
Up EARLY once more, Trent, Cortland and I met up as usual at Largo and rode down to Smithsonian station. This time, we were assigned (with a partner) to each choose a POI in Northwest D.C., and our first chosen POI was the Washington Monument.

Approaching the Monument from the station!

Built in 1888 in commemoration of our first President, George Washington, the construction began in 1848, but lack of funds and the escalation of the Civil War slowed its construction until 1879. We were able to get free tickets to go inside and ride to the top, so once the whole group arrived, we headed inside. We rode the elevator (agreeing that the elevator shaft was scary) to the top of the 555 foot monument and peeked out the windows for a while. Honestly, I had no idea the Monument had an inside, but it was an awesome experience to be up there and see the Washington D.C. landscape.

Chapter 2: A "Spacious" Museum

After hanging in the Monument for a while, and listening to some fascinating information from the guide, we rode back down to the ground and began a short trek across the National Mall to our second chosen POI, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

The squad outside the Air & Space

This was by far my favorite spot of the day; I've always loved seeing exhibits with fighter planes and the concept of space has always caught my interest. I think my personal favorite exhibit was the displays of the aircraft from World War 2.

A model aircraft carrier.

 There are actually two museums (one is in Virginia), but the D.C. location opened in August of 1946 as the National Air Museum, but as the space race heightened, it was renamed to the National Air and Space Museum. The place is really amazing, and we explored around for quite a while in the exhibits, gift shop, and even their flight simulators.

Models of the types of fighter aircraft you'd find on a carrier

 

Afterwards, we slowly made our way out (the gift shop was very distracting :D), and were on our way to Fuddruckers for lunch...

Chapter 3: Ben's Bountiful Bowls
The destination I chose with my partner David was Ben's Chili Bowl. We didn't stay long, but Ben's has history that goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. 

I honestly have no idea...

It was founded in 1958 on 1213 U St when (not surprisingly) Ben Ali and his wife spent $5,000 to renovate the building, but it was actually built in 1910 as a silent movie theater. Later, it became a pool house as it was modified by one of D.C.'s first black detectives. It was actually founded right next to Lincoln Theatre (which was built in 1922). Ben's, however, went through rough times when racial tensions exploded in the 50's and 60's, but the popular restaurant survived in what was America's largest African American community. I'd only "Ben" there once before (see what I did there?), but the food was good, and I've always wanted to go back. My grandfather and his brother grew up in the area, and the restaurant became their childhood favorite.
After we wrapped up at U St, it was time to head to our final POI of the day...

The outside of Ben's on U St.

Chapter 4: Our Final Frozen Foray
Last up on our excursion was an outdoor ice skating rink near the National Gallery of Art. It seemed pretty popular; there was a HUGE field trip group there. I have absolutely no clue how to ice skate, but some group members decided to skate, so we decided to all hang there for about half an hour. Eventually we began splitting up to head home, so Cortland, David, Trent and I trekked back to the metro to head home.

Epilogue
It was a relatively short journey, so, sorry for the short-ish blog. It was still an awesome day, and I really enjoyed the Air and Space Museum and the Monument tour. I can't wait for the next journey next year, but now I'm just hyped for Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS, and until next time!

Another sweet view of D.C. from it's Monument

Walking past the Museum of Natural History

It looked like it was gonna fall on us!

Another pic of the model aircraft carrier

Expedition 5: Our Second Virginia Voyage

At the Torpedo Factory

Another journey in the books! Metro Journey number five took us through Alexandria in Virginia, and brought us to places with some awe-inspiring art, and fascinating facts. This blog is your ride through a rainy day in the Old Dominion State. All aboard!

Station 1: A Torpedo Factory and Some Articulate Artists
Another early morning wake up! I was up and ready to go before 8:00, and Trent, Cortland and I rode to the King Street station in Alexandria. We met up with our group and hopped on the bus to get to our first destination (not in D.C., maybe the title is misleading :D) , the Torpedo Factory. 

The group outside the Factory

It's an art center with amazing collections of paintings, pictures, jewelry, sculptures, archaeology, UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHERS, and a plethora more of masterpieces. It was named for its original purpose, which was for assembling torpedoes in World War 2. The Factory was made in mid 1941, but it evolved into an art center afterwards in the 1970's.

YEEEEHAH! RIDE THAT TORPEDO, MAN!

 Now, it hosts almost 150 artists, all of whom with unique styles to their works, and 82 studios. We were assigned to interrogate (just kidding, interview) 4 artists (each with a uniquely different trade), an African American artist, and one nicknamed "Poppi." After quite a wet walk to the Factory, we meandered around for a bit, checking out the first floor.

Posing in front of one of the torpedoes

 There were a lot of pictures of sailors and posters from the 1940's on one wall, not to mention several torpedoes. We got going upstairs to check out the studios, and after peeking into a few, we entered a photographer's studio, and began to inquire on his career at the Factory. His name was James Steele, and his passion was clearly photography. He fell in love with the art when he was 12, but pursued engineering in college, working in that business for 20 years. He returned to photography after that, joining the Torpedo Factory. We talked with him for quite a while, as he had some pretty cool stories to tell and well-refined pictures to show us. He'd taken hundreds of thousands of photos with his D100E 35mp camera (that's a really good camera); he would just take pictures at random of anything that fascinated him. It was kinda crazy how much work went into his craft, too. He'd been to Utah, overseas, and even underwater to make his collections, and it was an eye-opening experience.
Next, we browsed around and entered the studio of Judith Codey, who worked with wood prints. I didn't take as many notes as possible here, but her works were like paintings on wood. She showed us about half a dozen of her favorite projects, and demonstrated how she'd put down layers of different colors to make her pictures as fine as possible. She's worked at the Torpedo Factory for 40 years, nearly as long as its existence. I enjoyed seeing her displays for sure. Our next artist we interviewed briefly was Mrs. Marian van Iandigham. She worked with paintings, and had been at the Factory since 1974. 
We had a few more things to do in the Factory, and next up was finding an African American artist to interview. Unfortunately, there weren't any permanent members there at the time, and since our final artist, Poppi, wasn't there yet either, the group elected on heading to our next destination. On to station 2!

Station 2: Quite a Watery Waterfront, and a Freedom Museum
We were HUNGRY (or maybe it was just me, I had a small breakfast), but we wanted to knock out our POI's first, so we set out on a 25 minute trek in the rain to the Alexandria Waterfront Park. It was a nice park on the edge of the Potomac River. A freaky view of the foggy river (hence Foggy Bottom) and a group photo later, we began to make our way to our final destination.
Our final assignment was to visit the Freedom House Museum.

The display at the Freedom House Museum

 It had the most historical background of our POI's, as it was a slave trade hub where Solomon Northrup from the movie Twelve Years a Slave was sold into slavery in 1841. He was a free man who lived in New York, and when he was approached in a business offer by two white men, he accepted. Sadly, the men kidnapped him and sold him in a slave state. Northrup regained his freedom in 1853 and wrote the book Twelve Years a Slave. After another long walk to the Museum, we entered, and were greeted by Ms. Chatman. We explained how our class worked, and she individually shook our hands and proceeded to tell us about the slave trade that went through Freedom House. Back then it was one of the finest places to buy slaves back then, and the wealthiest men in the country would gather and haggle over who they wanted and whatnot. The actual museum was in the basement of the building, so Ms. Chatman showed us down there and left us to explore and take pictures. It was a very interesting exhibit with examples of what the slaves wore, mock posters from then, a small model of what the actual Freedom House looked like, and even a touch screen display with some detailed information. Once we finished observing, we went back upstairs to thank Ms. Chatman.

Alright, almost done, stay with me. By the time we were finished at Freedom House, it was around 1:00, and we had one more assignment back at the Torpedo Factory. The group still had to interview the artist "Poppi," who hadn't been there in the morning. Another rainy walk later, we hustled over to studio 226 to find Poppi. Sadly, she wasn't in that day though, but we got plenty of information about her art and career at the factory. Her actual name was Dawn Benedetto, and she worked with elegant beads and inexpensive jewelry. Honestly it looked like stuff we'd found back at Bedazzled (remember the "bedazzling business?"). She's worked at the Torpedo Factory since 1997 and clearly was one of their more upstanding artists.

Some of the beads crafted by Poppi

 











And that was about it for the day! Metro Journey 5 gave us all an insight to what Alexandria is like, and once again showed us the many understated landmarks you can find in this area. Stay tuned for MJ #6! Until next time, dear reader!

Art

ART

ARRRRRRRRRRT :)

And...art. I loved the place, though!

Expedition 4: The Georgetown Getaround

Back on the journey! Metro Journey number 4 (I was sick and not able to go on the third one) was quite an adventure, with almost two dozen destinations this time.This blog is a virtual museum of Georgetown (go, Hoyas!), and its plethora of businesses, shops, and landmarks. Let's start on the first floor, shall we? 

First Floor: A Safe Way, a Mason's Mound, and a "Leafy" Library
Ugh, these early mornings are really a struggle. Up at 6:23, I was dropped off at Branch Ave. train station, and because Cortland and Trent weren't able to come on this exciting excursion, I rode with David and Kendra. I have to admit, I'm getting pretty familiar with how to read the information at train stations now. We rode the green line to L'Enfant Plaza, then switched to the orange line until Foggy Bottom station (remember Foggy Bottom?). After meeting the group, including an awesome newcomer, George, we endured a bumpy bustling bus ride into Georgetown. Our first stop was Safeway.

Safewayyyy

 A group photo and a pack of gum later, we were walking a ways to the Guy Mason Recreational playground, which had a large baseball field, impressive outdoor basketball court, and of course, a playground. Heading back past Safeway, our next stop was the Dumbarton Oaks Library. As we had a lot of destinations remaining, we took a picture and moved on to our next POI, or to you, let's head to the second floor!
Second Floor: A Cool Cafe, A New Antique Shop, and a Heck of a House
I love those section titles. Anyways, next up (and forgive me if the stops are a tad out of order, there were so many) was the Duke Ellington School of Arts. Sadly, we couldn't go inside because of construction. Moving on to Cafe Bonaparte,

The squad at Cafe Bonaparte

 a fine cafe. Next up was the decade old Jean Pierre Antiques. Up after that was a house with the most significant historical background so far, the Kennedy house. Well, one of them. John Kennedy, his wife, and his then young daughter lived there in the late fifties. Our next landmark was probably one of my favorites, the Old Stone House. It's the oldest pre-revolutionary war colonial building in existence and has been made into a small museum, as you can go up the stairways and view the rooms, and buy books and view brochures. 
Your mind stuffed? Hang in there, it's almost lunchtime. No, for me not you. Sorry. On to the Georgetown Waterfront Park, which was made in the late 1970s. Up next was an attention grabber, the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Looking good, eh?

 Celebrities and the like stay at this POPULAR hub when in the D.C. area. Even the plaque on the outside seemed fancy (anybody got $359 a night?). Our last stop before lunch (at Chipotle) was Urban Outfitters,

Snazzy!

 an upstanding clothing store in central Georgetown. Like Secondi at Dupont Circle, Urban Outfitters brought out the best in clothing, with some elegant apparel for sure. We had to visit an underground mall, but like the name, it was off the radar and we were never able to find it. At this point we were all STARVING, so we grabbed a bite to eat, and then set out to wrap up the journey with our final destinations

Third Floor: A Celebrated Cupcake Cove, Some Steep Steps, and a Key Bridge
Finally, the stop the entire group had anticipated: Georgetown Cupcakes. 

The disappointment was real though

 With requests for their fine cupcakes from our moms, we eagerly approached the line...which went all the way up the sidewalk. Oh well. Homemade cupcakes will do. One more stop, reader. The most peculiar destination of the day, the Exorcist Steps were used in the filming of the horror movie, The Exorcist. We forgot to take a scary group photo, but one more fantastic photo from the steps capped off the journey.

The Exorcist Steps, and more snazzy pics

 After a bit of a complication, the group split up so we could get to the train stations to take us home. A few of us needed to cross Key Bridge to get to the train station, so we trekked across, and then Kendra, David and I were set to ride 40 minute ride back to Branch Ave.

Fourth Floor: Just Some Stories From the Day
Metro Journey number four was awesome, and it had some unscripted happenings that got me thinking about the real world. One such happening occurred early that morning on the train. As I sat down in the crowded train, I happened to sit beside a young man, maybe in his early twenties. He looked right at me as I doodled on my phone, and I wondered if he was about to ask me something. Turns out he did. He said "excuse me, can I ask you a question?" I was surprised, but I said sure, and he proceeded to inquire on something quite unexpected. "That cross necklace you wear," he began, "what does it mean to you?" I was shocked by the question, mostly because I'd never anticipated being spoken to on the metro, but his tone wasn't accusing or condescending, only timidly curious. I thought for a moment, then told him, "it means I'm not afraid to declare Who all things point to, and it's a helpful reminder for me when things go wrong." At this point, several people were watching, and I was sweating. He nodded thoughtfully, and I asked him if he was a believer. He said yes quietly, then I asked what his name was, we shook hands, and I told him "God bless you." It was an amazing experience to be used by God to speak out among many unbelievers, and be a light in the darkness. I've spent hours imagining that very conversation with someone, so I had in my mind already what I should say. I am thankful for the experience, and I hope to minister to lost souls one day. 
The other interesting interaction came at the very end of the day. As David, Kendra and I were at Rosslyn trying to get home, we had trouble working the metro fare card machine. I saw there was a metro worker on the other side of the turnstile, and I went across to ask for help. I asked the worker for help with the machine, and she followed me over. After quite an odd process of working the machine, she asked where we were going and why we were alone. Honestly, I had expected this, so we explained we were on a homeschool research trip into the Georgetown neighborhood. She asked what homeschool was like, and if all it was was sitting at home doing school with your mom all day, and we told her that it was more than that. It's doing work at home, sure, but there are homeschool tutorials, and social events, and classes like this add to real world experience that public school kids don't really get. She nodded skeptically and told us to enjoy our day, and to stay out of trouble. Now THAT was an eye-opening conversation. I wonder if there really is a stereotype of homeschool; that it's sit at home, do school with your mom everyday, live in a box. Conversations like that are an opportunity to show that homeschool is really a blessing, and that it provides unique opportunities like the Metro Journeys themselves. Again, I'm thankful it happened, and blessed to minister

Not sure what building this, but it looks AWESOME

The outside of the Dumbarton Library

Cafe Bonaparte

Right outside Jean Pierre antiques

A nice view of Virginia from the platform above the Exorcist steps

I'M BUYING THAT HOUSE ONE DAY

The group right outside the Old Stone House

Walking on Key Bridge

And that was Metro Journey four! I hope you learned a bit about the Georgetown neighborhood, and my experiences in the nation's capital. I sure learned a lot about D.C., and I'm looking forward to our next destination. I apologize if there are stops I forgot to add, there were so many awesome places we visited. Stay tuned for the next blog. Until next time, reader!
   
  

Expedition 2: Gravelly Grounds and Profound Points of Interest

Gotta catch the train on time!

 Back at it again! Metro Journey number two was a blast, and this time it also showed us around the urban Virginia surroundings. It gave me a great view of one of my favorite human masterpieces, an outside look at one of the hubs of international fine arts, and even more! This blog is a virtual ride through my day in D.C. (and Virginia, I just liked the play on words) and what landmarks you can expect to find there. AWAY WE GO!

Stop 1: Arriving at Gravelly Point

After catching the yellow train line and riding a ways from College Park to Crystal City, we met with the rest of our awesome group. Then we began our short trek to our first destination: Gravelly Point Park. The place was planted just north of the runway of Reagan National Airport around 1746 by a captain from the Revolutionary War. It switched hands a couple of times in the 18th, 19, and early 20th centuries before being chosen as a site for a D.C. airport. In late 1938, almost 20 million cubic yards of both sand and gravel were moved onto the site for construction. As for the actual park, it has lots of space, including a football field, and on sunny days and weekends it probably gets plenty of visitors.  Merely 400 feet separates you from the runway, and it's a nice place to relax and observe airplanes taking off from the airport. It was apparently a relatively common bike path, as many bikers and runners passed us at the park. The noise was a bit disorienting, but the experience was unforgettable. It was amazing to see how busy the airport was; planes departed and arrived every other minute and roared just above us with incredible sound.

That close! It was really fun to see!

We watched about 15 jets, then, after a slick selfie, we made our way back into Crystal City.

Your Second Stop: The George Washington Hospital
The rest of our assignment would take place in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Once an industrial hub, the area was named for the fog that used to arise from the Potomac River, which touches the edge of the neighborhood. Our second task of the day was to visit the George Washington University Hospital. We didn't go inside the building, but it was neat to see the hospital and learn about its history and facts.
The current building has been in operation since 2002, but it goes way back to 1824, when it was founded as the medical department of what was Columbian College. The medical center itself was the first major one in D.C., and since has only grown in reputation. With nearly 19,000 patient admissions, almost 900 physicians, and 800 nurses, George Washington University Hospital works to save lives daily.

This was outside the main entrance of the hospital

Stop Number Three: A Fine Arts Forum
We were hungry. But it wasn't quite time for lunch, so we elected to stop by one of the "points of interest" we were designated to visit. The points of interest needed to be in the Foggy Bottom region, and had to be of decent significance, and the Kennedy Center was a clear choice. The hub of international fine arts, it was opened in 1971, but it's origin dates to 1958, when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bipartisan legislation, legalizing the creation of a national culture center. President Kennedy, who always had an affinity for the arts, was the driving force in the center's conception, management selection, and promotion. Merely two months after Kennedy's tragic assassination, Congress authorized the construction of the John F. Kennedy Center, putting forth $23 million to build a "living memorial" to their past President.

The flags of the world in the lobby of the Kennedy Center

I love those timely reminders of human creativity

Personally, I've visited and seen shows about jazz, language, and musical concepts before, but I'd never seen the entire building from the outside. Boy, is it immense! The inside is equally striking, too, with flags from some countries of the world on the ceiling of the ground floor, and displays here and there. It was probably the highlight of the day of my eastern excursion.

Next Stop: Coming Up On Japan, Folks

After our little Virginia voyage, the stop at a huge hospital, and a quick peek inside a performing palace, our next assignment was to visit a D.C. embassy in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, so we caught the train back from Crystal City to Foggy Bottom. We weren't able to arrange a visit to an embassy in the area, but we were recommended the Japan Information and Culture Center as an alternative.

The main lobby of the JICC

Once we signed in, we asked a representative some questions about the function of the center and its difference from the Embassy of Japan. The representative was very helpful and explained that the JICC's main goal is to promote better understanding of the country and its lifestyles and civilization. They often host events and shows displaying examples of Japanese culture as well as publishing Japan Now, the newsletter of the Japan embassy. The representative let us walk around the foyer area and take pictures. There was some fabulous eye-catching art on the wall, and it perfectly fit my imagination of Japanese culture.

One of the many paintings in the JICC. Japan would be an amazing place to visit one day.

Your Final Stop: An International Terminal of Treasury
Finally, we hurried over to the World Bank. We didn't enter the bank, but it still has some interesting facts. Created in 1944, the World Bank has multiplied from only one institution, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), into five separate functions. The other four include the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Guarantee Agency, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the International Development Association. They have some ambitious and inspiring goals, too.

Here are a few more pictures from the trip...

Early excursions

Cortland getting...well...wild, on our way to Crystal City

A reminder of  Who really is in control...

You almost got me, Trent!!!!

Metro Journey number two was an overall success, and once again was a ton of fun. It's cool to experience what it's like in our nation's capital, and attention-grabbing to see what I've been missing every time I visit. I hope this virtual ride was quite informative, and I feel confident that you once again reached a D.C. Destination.
Until next time!