guided tour.

My Dad came to town this weekend to visit. We made the most of his two days in DC and covered a lot of ground. And just like last weekend with Scott, we walked a lot. Over the two days, we walked over 10 miles of the District.

We went to see the usual sites, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, MLK, etc. But, that is only some of the story. My Dad also wanted to stop by the Folger Shakespeare Library.  The Library is administered by Amherst College. He went to Amherst and since this was on his short list, we made it happen. I don't trek over to the Hill on a weekend for just anybody.

Turns out the library is not all that big and there isn't that much to see. Our visit was short. My Dad did make sure to pick me up a schedule of their Shakespeare performances and poetry readings. I'm not big on Shakespeare or poetry, so yeah....

But this room was pretty and now I can say I have been there.

Moving on. We stopped at what I believe to be the most beautiful building in DC, the Library of Congress. Most people don't put it on their tourist route and yet, the inside is gorgeous, it isn't run over by out-of-towners, they always have a couple of interesting exhibits, and you get a view of the reading room. When I moved back to DC in 2010, oddly one of the first things I did was to go get a library card so that I could access the reading room. Anyway, my Dad loved it.

The ceilings and detail are so well preserved and just stunning.

It just so happened they also have an exhibit through September on Books that Shaped America. We were enthralled by it. Curators chose a slew of books to put on display and to spark a conversation about the best books in America. The range was incredible and it was so interesting to think about the impact and of course to debate which books they left out.

I loved that they included the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

 

There is also always a standing exhibit, Thomas Jefferson's Library. I have always liked the way they have curated it.

We also rested between walking. Yesterday, we went to Logan Circle to sit in the grass and read our books. It was the perfect day for it. My Dad lasted about ten minutes before he fell asleep and started snoring really loudly!

Oh yeah, and we ate pretty well. Including this kobe beef hotdog from Masa 14. 

 

And after dinner yesterday, on the walk back to drop my Dad off at his hotel and say goodbye, we walked over this on the sidewalk...

All in all, it was a much needed visit and a full two days!