When my wife and I lived in Alexandria, Virginia, our favorite thing to do was to go into Washington, DC and check out one of the many museums. Now, I liked to think of myself as cultured, but the real reason was that The Smithsonian Institute, home to 21 museums and the National Zoo, and many of the other attractions were free.
We could easily spend a day checking out the The National Museum of Natural History browsing everything from the 11-ton African elephant in the museum’s rotunda to the the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond. If we got tired, we’d skip out and finish up at the National Air and Space Museum, taking shots of the 1903 Wright Brothers’ Flyer or the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia.
Heck, back in the day, you could even check out Fonzie’s leather jacket, worn by Henry Winkler on Happy Days or Edith and Archie Bunkers’ favorite chairs from the show, All in the Family, in the National Museum of American History.
While all fun, I had a surprising favorite. I never expected it to happen, but The National Gallery of Art became my favorite spot on the National Mall to spend time. Check out my latest blog, The Voyage of Life, on The Heart of The Matter to find out why the museum and one particular section of the museum meant so much and continues to inspire me.
I hope you like my story. Check out the rest of The Heart of The Matter and be sure to subscribe to the site.
Image by Una Laurencic via Pexels
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
Glad you found more than you expected in your respite from the rain. Good life metaphor, I thin. 🙂
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Think 😉
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Loved that you took us along on an art walk! Great post, Brian!
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Oh I’m probably not the best positioned to take anyone on an art walk Wynne. Talk about a scary site! Talk about leaving the kids in charge of the classroom. But I’m glad it worked. I was concerned at first if the piece would fit the heart of the matter mission … felt better once I started writing about how it mattered to me and inspired me.
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Ha, ha, ha! Isn’t that fun when the writing takes you on its own journey? Beautiful!
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You are so right Wynne!
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I have been top DC once in my life as a chaperone for my son’s eighth grade class. I loved the Smithsonian. I need to go back with my husband who has never been to D.C.
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Oh you poor soul, serving as a chaperone. Hope it wasn’t too bad! I forget sometimes how fortunate I am to be on the East Coast and to slip in and out on weekend visits or even long day trips. I would definitely encourage you to check it out, there’s so much to see in the Northern Virginia, Maryland, DC region. The zoo has always been one my favorites too. Maybe not as good as San Diego, but it’s part of the Smithsonian network, so it’s free too. A true local could tell you the best times to visit. I’ve never had a bad time. Thanks for commenting!
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The chaperoning turned out to be fun! I loved the teacher and other parents. The kids were good. Yes, we need to have an east coast trip!
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Talk of DC reminded me of this. I don’t want to brag but a gazillion years ago the National Air and Space Museum had a StarTrek exhibit and we got to sit on Captain Kirk’s chair. It was made of plywood so it was hard as can be, but talk about a brush with greatness.
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Oh you rock Ally! You must be pretty special. What a brush with greatness … that’s actually really cool! Ha, ha, love that museum.
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I worked at the natural history museum and on the weekends I could park in their parking lot.. I visited those museums many times. How I miss my d.c. life!
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Wow, Alessandra, that had to be fun. Yes, parking was always a bit of a thing. You had to get into the city pretty early to get a spot. We usually took the metro or were so young, we didn’t mind having a long walk. Ha, ha. Yes, DC was fun. Good memories. I’m glad you can relate to what I wrote!
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What a marvelous tour! Thank you for sharing the day with us!
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