My Visit to Renee in Washington DC
12 May __ 18 May 2004
What the hell is the Beltway ... well i found out and if you hang on till the end of this i'll tell you ...
drawing at the airport
...one of my favorite places to work
The flight is taking off from LAX over Detwieller Beach
where Jen and Renee were Sunnnnning in mid April
Day # 2
New WWII Memorial
onwards to
the Lincoln Memorial
...high up round the inside of the memorial beautiful murals ...the subject matter you'd never ever see 'mural'd' today
dark but near naked ladies, some in puberty
Viet Nam Nurses Memorial
Viet Nam Wall of the Dead
Just an impersonal massive wall of DEAD names maybeWhole-sale WAll of Americas ignorant insane Politcal foreign policy***Stats, would be more appropriate. i'd be much more moved by a memorial to Pentagon Papers' HERO's...Daniel Ellsberg and Tony Russo and for all the money the cigarette and gun manufacture companies made off of it they should have a memorial of shame!
and down the Mall i walked
alone along
Constitution Avenue
past the Garden of Eye Sores
but O what a gathering pool
i sat next on the curb with the strange little seat Renee packed on my pack
stuffed away a curbside vendor polish-sauageDog before i entered the renowned
National Art Gallery
Rodin
the people in this 4th pic in the
background are kneeling ??? most curious # 1 is Van Gogh #2&3 are Tiepolo's
just love his little cloven hooves
i sat and nearly teared
over my favorite Van Gogh as well all who gazed upon it just stood in awe...
V Gogh..an interesting composition...
Stunningly Succulent
Manet the Great
Toulous Latrec
The GENIUS
of
J.S. SARGENT
Winslow Homer!
Caitlin Discovered
Civil War ...huge piece, but more of a gold plated replication.
Gorgeous Marble carving ...the day at the National Gallery of Art is
finished.
But first a drawing or two at the Nat'l
Gallery Cafeteria...
out doors on Constitution Ave
on the US Commerce bldg ...Historys not so fine moments!
The Justice Dept
And my May Day 13th in the City ends
at the gardens outside the Castle that is Head-Quarters to the Smithsonian
The day continues into the night
as we take Renee's really wonderful dog Niko for a long walk to the Potomac...
the sights and sounds of frogs, bats and Cicadas fill the air.
Next Day 05.14.04 The Freer Gallery (Smithsonian) but first a drawing before the places opens ... i was a week before Summer hours ...good timing
Show-Casing
James McNeil Whistler
i wish i'd a taken better images of Whistler's works but the learning curve tripped me up:)
John Singer Sargent
Freer Gallery
Freer Gallery from Jefferson along the MALL
Renee and i have hooked up
...bur
first a stop at Renee's office gives me a chance to capture a city scape
on the Orange Line Headed to Vienna Station...
...then back to the City for Night Time in DC
Korean War Memorial
Renee at the Korean War Memorial
Adams-Morgan Nite-Life
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
i always like to visit Soldiers Cemeteries whenever i go traveling...this one is BIG in So many ways
Reinactment of
REinActMent raising the flag at Iwo Jima, what a senseless military blunder.
...as far as the eye
can see
where have all
the Soldiers gone? / Gone to graveyards everyone/...
...another one bites
the dust
ARLINGTON
everywhere
ARLINGTON
through the trees
Presentation of the Colors
by the Color Guard
at the
TOMB of the UNKNOWN SOLDIER
The other-side of the Tomb
...looking up at backside of Tomb ...
...and looking beyond
Up to Lee's House
:)
Lee's House is
directly behind me... i missed getting a picture 'cause some tourista fainted
and they closed it off....The House sure appeared to be in excellent condition
and there were folks in period costume running around ...but what a view from
this ARLINGTON hill top.
The journey through ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY came to a close
but we still had time, for
me to draw,
Ice Cream and to
take Niko for
a walk at Manassas better known as BULL RUN
the Sun is setting...
a house still standing after both Bull Run Battles...
were over.
Back at Renee's new Condo
05.16.04
GETTYSBURG, PA
where the conflagration here set the beginning of the end of the Rebel Yell One can not be here without being deeply moved ...the place sticks to you. It's really a beautiful place but what happened here was a testament to the resolve of the Union Army of the Potomac...here are some pics ...you can't help but know blood flowed beneath my feet and it won't come off.
...between the 'Round Tops'
Monument at the Little Round Top
/where have all the soldiers gone/ gone to flowers everyone
Across the way from Little Round Top
- the Devils Den
NE of Peach Orchard
Portion of a Monument in the Peach Orchard.... where Pickett made his futile
charge at Lee's command....July 3rd 1863 Total losses both
sides Killed/Wounded/Missing 54,807
Monuments in the Peach Orchard
National Cemetery at Gettysburg
"Four score and seven years ago ..."
Delivered here Oct 1863
The 5 hours spent at this battle ground i could easily Triple. One other View not shown was the Circular Theatre...prelude to moving pictures... a super large mural depicting the entire battlefield 360* and narrated by a Civil War Scholar...
Time to head to Baltimore for a Baseball Game Orioles vs the Angels
Tour Guide, Renee Denise
at a Restaurant out side Camden Yards, where i had my first Crab-Cakes
and i can see one of the reasons why they are a near endangered species in the Chesapeake Bay
Renee on Steroids
Thus ended our Tour of Gettysburg and the Angel vs Orioles game ...
Day 6 begins at one end of the Jefferson Memorial island ...a survivor of the Tidal and Hurricane invasions
at the other end The Tomas Jefferson Memorial
View from Jefferson Mem
Cicada on the steps of the Jefferson Mem.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/metro/051704-2s.htm?referrer=emaillink
The sound of the Cicada:
courtesy of the Washington Post
The sound of the Cicadas is
both an alluring and odd sound ... you can't see them and what a homely site
they are but what an added dimension they provided. Everywhere the air was
filled with the sound of the Cicadas wing beats!
a gift from Cuba
i like the nude figures!
Note the life-size Nymphs supporting the fountain
ummmmmmmmm Delicious Fountains
my beautiful Tour Guide ... acting silly
Don't Say anything, Stupid, Here
Scene of the bust ...where i said Stupid Stuff and the Men in Black congregated around me and Renee. This was not a Photo-Op
strangely Public lurid statues
Now, We're at the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian affiliate)
Hiram Powers
Sculptor
John Singer Sargent at the Renwick
On our way to the ZOO
entrance to the Reptile section
Going Home....sitting in Dulles
International Airport
HOME
...the "Beltway" is a term applied to the Road(s) that circulate around the Great City of
Washington DC
Where i had such a fabulous time with Renee
Thank YOU
Love, Dad
The End