Books
Jimmy, Audrey and I checked out the Library of Congress' National Book Festival. There was much to see and many authors to meet. We didn't really take advantage of all the festival had to offer simply because it was so hot and muggy. We were worried that it would rain all day. Instead it was sunny and incredibly muggy. Match that with thousands of people and I have to admit the fun-factor was greatly diminished. We did take advantage of the free goodies. Cool bags, a great poster that I am hoping will make it home for proper framing, and the best free bottled water from Target.
Buds
The best part of the day was seeing our friends Matt, Cecily and Dylan Williams. They were blowing thru town as part of their multi-state NE adventure. We checked out the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and all sat down for some catch up time over lunch. I am amazed at how big Dylan is. We have only been gone for six weeks. We risked an angry security guard and his whistle to get this shot:
I don't know why they got so mad. We obeyed the posted rule...no one "touched" the sculpture.....so we had to jump over a little fence :-)
After leaving the Williams to continue on their visit. The Cox family headed over to the Smithsonian International Gallery to see the "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" exhibit. This is a Smithsonian traveling exhibition featuring all of Jim Henson's work. I have always loved the Muppets and Sesame Street and can remember where I was when Jim Henson died. We got to see actual "muppets" used in production as well as many sketches and other written works. I really wanted to check it all out but because the museum was in the same area as the National Book Festival it was super busy. You could barely get a good look at anything. The exhibit will be featured until October 5th so I think Audrey and I will be making another weekday visit. I have to fit that in this week.
Next we decided to get away from the crowds and go to check out Georgetown. This is one of the most historic and visually beautiful areas of DC. We cooled off by sharing a Starbucks Frappacino and did some quality people watching. Audrey decided to give the passersby a show in the window. Man she is a ham!
Blowout
As you can see by Audrey's appearance we were all ready for a great Duck game. We decided to meet up once again with Matt as well as our friend Rich Bernstein at the Summers Restaurant in Arlington. Summers is not just any sports watching establishment, it just so happens to be the home of the DC area UO Alumni chapter. It was so wonderful to walk into a sea of yellow and green. Mighty Oregon was sung throughout the evening and everywhere you looked you found some very happy duck fans. I felt like I was transported home. I think I would consider this a Rennie's east! Here is a little video snapshot:
We will certainly be back. It was a wonderful night. What a great game!! Audrey was a hit when she needed to move so we walked the room. She got many oohs and ahhs, cheers and some ex-cheerleaders gave her a pom pom. Too cute!
I can't help myself. Check out Jimmy's practical joke (for those of you that don't know Matt, lets just say he is ecstatic to live two houses from the Portland Obama headquarters)...
Brew
Well Sunday Jimmy had to go into work so Audrey and I decided to go to the North Virginia Brew Fest with my friend Betsy and her husband. As a good northwesterner I had to go and compare. I think it goes without saying that nothing next to maybe a Munich based Oktoberfest could hope to compare with the Portland Brewfest but they gave it a good try. The beers were a good selection of international and local varieties. My favorite was probably the Old Dominion Brewing Company's Pale Ale. It probably helped that it was the end of the day and the end of the BrewFest so the brewer insisted we try his selections (a couple of times) and refused to take our tickets. I think he wanted to impress the NW beer lover! Despite his generosity it was a very good beer that I would recommend. Their seasonal Oktoberfest beer was also worth checking out. I really enjoyed meeting Betsy and Patrick's friends. They were the type of folks you meet once and feel like you have known them for years. I hope to have an opportunity to hang out with them again before February.
-Kristen
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