Expedition 12: A Silver Stroll

Progressing on a beautiful day in MD!

One dozen journeys complete! Metro Journey 12 was a great time, and this time took us all throughout the urban area of Silver Spring observing the plethora of fantastic art in the city. This blog is your newest tour of the exhibits of art in our nation's capital. Let's begin with exhibit A...


Exhibit A: A Helping Hand and a Continental Coastline
At it again on my tenth journey! Up early again to get on the metro at Largo, Trent, Cortland and I rode to Silver Spring station to get started. Once the squad was all together, we headed out to our first assigned POI: The Hand of NOAA. Created by artist Ray Kaskey, the large stone monument was built to broadcast the purpose of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's goal. It was a pretty neat start to a busy Maryland expedition.

Symbolic of Noah's hand releasing the doves

 Next up was a trip to the coastline. Well, the "Coastline." It's an artificial wave pool representing the crashing of waves onto the Atlantic coast. 

Exhibit B: A Collection of Columns and a Beckoning Beacon 
After the coastline, we moved on to several destinations off the East-West Highway. First up was the East West Beacon.

The East-West Beacon

The dazzling 35-foot sculpture was designed by one Ray King to (not surprisingly) be a beacon to travelers on the East-West Highway. The steel on the beacon reflects and illuminates light and is always changing colors. This was probably my favorite POI of the day honestly. 

Not far from the Beacon was the other attraction of Exhibit B: the Lotus Columns. The unique three-sided, asymmetrical sculptures were created by Mary Ann Mears with an Egyptian origin. It was neat how the columns created a sort of illusion with their shape. 

The Lotus Columns' intricate design

Up next was a huge acorn. Well, an acorn park. A tiny 0.12 acre spot off of East-West Highway, the park consists merely of a few benches, an acorn shaped gazebo, and a mural on a wall with some impressive art, but it was still cool to see all these places I never knew existed in Silver Spring.  

The acorn gazebo and mural of the park

Exhibit C: Coming up on Kaldi's
Moving on, we made our way through Silver Spring to Kaldi's Coffee bar. It was a nice and spacious cafe, and the group stayed and chilled on the sofas for a bit, then we were off for a few more stops on our final journey...

Bonus: The Wrap Up
We had quite a few more stops to go to, and I can't remember them all, but they were all fascinating. We came up on the Sisyphus, a collection of large steel orbs based on Greek mythology, the Botero Ballerinas, ever-rotating steel sculptures, and even the artful Global Refugee Mural. Afterwards, we headed to eat lunch and get home.

Overall, this Metro Journey class has been such a blessing. I've always loved exploring D.C., and this class was a perfect opportunity to get to explore plenty of it. I learned the vibes of different neighborhoods, discovered countless art displays, and made new friends along the way. I was able to minister on the metro once, eat some delicious lunches, and visit monuments I've loved to drive past with my family. I doubt I'll be able to do this class again next year, but it won't forget the Metro Journey experience!

The Global Refugee Mural

The Botero Ballerinas

  

Expedition 10: The Northwest Navigations, Pt. IV

On the way to Tidal Basin!

Another 2016 expedition! Metro Journey 10 (I had a fever and couldn't join on the 9th one) was awesome, and all the more enjoyable with the nice weather. This blog is another narrative of my 8th excursion in D.C.. So once again let's start from chapter 1...

Chapter I: Blossoms and a Basin 
Metro Journey 10 started as usual at Largo Metro Station. Trent and I rode down about 11 stops to Smithsonian. We met up and waited for the rest of the squad, then headed on foot for our first destination of the day: Tidal Basin. We were supposed to head down there to document the Cherry Blossom Trees.  

The Basin facing the Jefferson Memorial

The basin itself is somewhat man-made, created in the 1880's as both an attraction and reservoir. The 106 acre pond is only about 10 feet deep at most and has a plethora of paddle boats for tourists. All around the edge of the basin are the beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees. 

The pink Cherry Blossoms 

 The trees found in the U.S. were actually a gift from Japan to commemorate the then growing partnership between the countries. Japan gifted 3,020 of the trees to America, which were placed in several areas along the east coast. They looked amazing, with white and pink blossoms giving the trees their color. We circled the Basin and passed the Jefferson Memorial, stopped for a quick snack at a concession stand, and were on our way to our next destination of the day...

Chapter II: Adventures With Adam
The remainder of this expedition would take place in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in Northwest D.C.. We caught the train up to Woodley near the National Zoo. Adams Morgan is arguably the most ethnically diverse area in D.C., and that was confirmed when we arrived there.

 The neighborhood itself gets its name and origin from two formerly segregated schools. We were assigned to find several foreign businesses in the area and interview the managers, and although we found plenty of them, sadly most of them were restaurants and too busy for interviews. The stores we did enter, however, had a plethora of fascinating items. We also had to visit a park and throw a frisbee around. While we found the park, we forgot the frisbee. After exploring around and looking through a few foreign shops, we decided to call it a day.
And that's about it! Again, sorry this blog is so short. Metro Journey #10 was fun and took us through a very exotic-looking neighborhood, and showed us the natural beauty of our nation's capital. As the class nears an end, I can look back and say I've really enjoyed this class and learned a TON from it. It's been a blessing to travel around, meet new people, and explore D.C.. So, until next time reader!

Walking through the business area of Adams Morgan

Shoe game on point!

One of the foreign businesses we found

They're onto us!

Expedition 8: The Northwest Navigations, Pt. III

Back at it on journey #8!

Once more, a successful expedition! Metro Journey 8 took us through more fascinating destinations throughout Northwest D.C., including places in Chinatown. This newest blog is your newest adventure through the Capital. And since it's an adventure, who knows where we'll start?

Part I: A Museum of American Architecture 
At this point y'all, I'm just used to getting up at 2:00 in the morning for these trips. Just kidding, I woke up at like 7:00...I think. Anyways, this expedition required we the group meet at around 9:45 at Judiciary Square station. After an blessedly peaceful ride there, Trent, Cortland and I met up with the group at the first destination of the day, the National Building Museum. The link to their website isn't working, so here's the Wikipedia information. 

Museum from upper floor

 The Museum, formerly known as the Pension Building, was a brick structure constructed in 1887 and designed by the U.S. Army Quartermaster General. It served that purpose until the 1960's, when it fell into a state of disrepair and was nearly destroyed. Along with backlash from conservationists and a suggestion to renew the use of the building, it became a display to exhibit the building arts. By 1980, it was what is now known as the National Building Museum. It was a massive museum, with large pillars on both sides of the ground floor, and a square design for the upstairs exhibits. We got our tickets to explore around and headed upstairs to one of the rooms. There were displays with intricate Lincoln Log contraptions along with loose pieces that we toyed with (purely out of nostalgia, probably).

Couldn't resist, could you?

We explored the rest of the upstairs rooms except for the ones that were occupied with field trip kids. Then we took a picture in front of the fountain and headed out for our next stop, or to you, part 2!

Part II: Our Candy Crush Saga
I couldn't resist with that title, sorry. After the National Building Museum, we made our way through a bit of Chinatown to It's Sugar. A popular (not to mention expensive) candy store, It's Sugar was founded in 2006 by Jeff Rubin, and in the past 10 years has expanded exponentially, with locations all over the country, and even several outposts in South America. The small store we visited in Chinatown had a unique selection of candy and some quite strange ones that I'd rather not eat. We spent about thirty-seven years in there picking and choosing candy (no adult supervision meant we all went crazy buying it) and eventually left around 11:30 as it was time for lunch...

We...were...ADDICTED! Just kidding :)

Part III: A Tragic Theatre and Lincoln's Final Lodge
After an unhealthy lunch (McDonald's), we had to visit a few more spots in and around Chinatown. One such spot was the Friendship Archway. Back in the 1930's, many Chinese immigrants began to move into the area, leaving behind plenty of art and Asian structure. At its peak, Chinatown extended from G street to Massachusetts Ave. Later in 1986, the city dedicated the Friendship Archway to a local architect named Alfred Liu. After passing by the archway, we made it to the Ford Theater. Built in 1861 in place of an abandoned First Baptist church, the theater quickly gained notoriety and began to host some of the more popular shows and musicals.  President Abraham Lincoln frequently visited the theater, and was tragically shot and killed there by John Wilkes Booth in April of 1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Once we arrived, we toured the basement museum of the theater, which had plenty of information on Lincoln himself. After a quick look at the theater itself, we were on our way to the next POI. 

The group at the Ford Theater

     
Next up: the Petersen House. This was the house President Lincoln was carried to after being shot by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died there the following morning, and now the place has been made into a small museum with displays about what followed Lincoln's death along with much information about his legacy. 

A stack of Lincoln books glued together

Part IV: A Trading Company and a Departure
After the Ford Theater and the Petersen House, we had one more spot to visit: the Da Hsin Trading Company. Their website doesn't have much information, but it's a Chinese store with small odds and ends, a few exotic foods, and some cool swords too :P. We stayed a few minutes, then headed out to make our way home. 

In the back of the Trading Company store

And that was about it! Sorry if I forgot anything. Metro Journey #8 was a success, and we had fun along the way once again. I'm really enjoying this class and the places it's taking me, and I'm excited to keep journeying. Until next time, reader!

Expedition 7: The Northwest Navigations, Pt. II

Early morning walk to...the wrong museum

 Another long, fun journey! Metro Journey 7 featured new classmates, more fascinating landmarks, and LOTS of rain. This blog post is your newest walkthrough of D.C.'s seemingly endless historical destinations. Let's take that walk now, eh?

Step 1: An "Earthly" Exhibit
Here we go for another journey. I was up at 7:00 this time, and on my way to Largo to meet up with Cortland (my brother was unable to join us this time because he had work that afternoon) to begin the outing. We rode about 35 minutes to convene at Federal Triangle, and after an eternal wait (just kidding, Gavin), we got underway. Unfortunately, we ended up trekking to the wrong museum. We were assigned through clues to visit the National Museum of American History, but we accidentally went to the National Museum of Natural History.

The Natural History Museum

 Nevertheless, we wound up enjoying the experience and taking plenty of pictures, so I'll include information on it. It opened in 1910 as one of the original Smithsonian institutions. Featuring over 126 million (no, your eyes are fine, reader, indeed it is million) overall scientific artifacts, the popular green-domed museum is home to a wide variety of natural exhibits and displays. While we were exploring in the wrong POI, a college-aged lady stopped us and asked to take pictures of us looking at the displays. She and her friend were part of a neat photography class, and she wanted to practice taking silhouetted pictures. She politely asked the oldest looking people in our group (alas, I look 12) to gaze at an African animal exhibit as she took photos of them. Afterwards, she inquired about our class, and as we've done before, we explained how the Metro Journey class works. The questions we get about our group are so interesting to me; it's surprising to me when I see people with basically no knowledge of homeschool as they ask us about it. 

Step 2: A Grand Gallery
Once we realized our mistake, the nearest POI to us was the Renwick Gallery. This was probably my favorite stop of the day, as it exhibited the coolest decorative art I've ever seen. It was originally intended to be home to a private art collection of William Corcoran, Corcoran was passionate about the emergence of art in the United States with the belief that America would never be known as a great superpower without its own fine arts and craft. So, in 1858, he sought a builder what he saw as a contemporary art museum. He found James Renwick Jr., a well-known architect who'd worked on other buildings in D.C.. Since 1972, the Renwick Gallery has been a part of the Smithsonian institution. We entered the museum and headed up the stairs to look around a bit. In the upstairs was a vast room with a large, soft rug on the floor, where people were just laying down. It seemed pretty cool, so we joined and stared at a colorful tapestry elevated near the ceiling, and just stayed there for a while.

The...whatever it was, above us at the Renwick Gallery

Once we almost fell asleep, it was time to take a tour of other exhibits in the Gallery. The tour guide started off explaining the history of the Gallery's creation and construction, then lead us first to a stunning display of...index cards. There was a quite amazing display of index cards stacked like thick stalagmites made by one Sheila Duignan. The multiple pillars of partially wooden cards weighed a total of 20,000 pounds and were held together with wood in the middle.

The large index card displays 

Next up on the tour was a rainbow-colored display of embroidery threads designed by Gabriel Dawe. The guide explained that Dawe grew up in Mexico and fell in love with vivid colors and embroidery art. In this display, he used over 12,600 individual threads and countless measurements to construct. It was by far the most impressive piece of art I've seen on the journeys yet.

The eye-popping embroidery display

 We were a bit short on time, so we elected to follow the tour to one more exhibit. Up next was a series of large, wide nests made from thousands of willow branches from New York State. Created by Patrick Dougherty and his assistant, its assembly took 6 days a week for three weeks, and amazingly used very few nails; almost the entire structure was artfully woven together. Once we were done at the Gallery, we had to move on to our final POI of the day...

Step 3: A "Faithful" House 
We never ended up visiting the two other POI's we were supposed to go to (we had Carpe Librum and Cafe Grande to go to, but we never made it), but the last step in your walkthrough took us to the National Museum of American History. We had to find a dollhouse in the museum and take pictures, so after wandering through some other floors of the place, we made our way to the Faith Bradford Dollhouse. Bradford created the 23-room house to accommodate Mr. and Mrs. Doll, their ten kids, five servants, two visiting grandparents, and twenty pets. We didn't really stay in the Dollhouse long (it was too small for us anyway :P), hunger called us elswhere for lunch, then to Mrs. Fogg's (our class coordinator) house for a meeting. 

The Dollhouse. If you look closely, Antman is on the bed

Counting your steps:
And that about sums up yet another fun, RAINY day in the nation's capital. I enjoyed the Renwick Gallery a lot, and the Museum of Natural History was accidentally awesome too. I hope you enjoyed this latest blog from MJ #7. Until next time, dear reader...oh, and enjoy a few extra pictures from the day.

"Thank the maker!"

Chilling out on at Renwick Gallery

Muhammad Ali's gloves

The White House