Mar 27, 2011

We were almost the last people on the bus, but we made it in time. The bus trip wasn't so bad once I got my calzone at the rest stop since I didn't have time to eat breakfast.

We got dropped off on the Mall and the weather was really nice for walking around.

We went down to the basin and walked along the water where the cherry blossoms were growing. The Cherry Blossom Festival had been mostly canceled because the forecast was for snow. They messed up.

We spent a lot of time among the trees, taking pictures of them and in them. That's when the hunt for a place to sit down began. We walked through the city around the places that I knew had restaurants but ended up near Union Station.

The Billy Goat Tavern sign drew me in and we went in to see what it was like. It was a weird little place with a cafe on one side and a bar on the other.

We all got grilled cheese and fries. And it was good. We sat there for an hour talking, drinking and eating our fries. Someone played one ridiculous, loud song on the jukebox and then it went back to being quiet. I'd go back.

We headed back to the Mall and went to the Hirshhorn Museum, where I took a lap around the top floor and saw some interesting things before going to the basement to see the ColorForms exhibition, including Olafur Eliasson's "Round Rainbow." I love the simplicity of it and how it changes so frequently with a really amazing result.

We headed back toward the bus but stopped in the Sculpture Garden to check out some cool art and a cute child. This is Roy Lichtenstein's "House I." The illusion is really cool when you stand in front of it. I want a sculpture garden.

When we got back I tried to work on my midterm for a while with poor results. Alex and Cait picked up Popeye's from some shady location and brought it back to eat while we drank wine. We watched some movies, but were more interested in taking photos of ourselves on the webcam.

The night was fun and the wine I got from Heritage's was really good. Alex's boxed wine did not quite live up to the quality of the bottle I had, but it was good in its own way, if not a little too sweet. 'Twas a fun day.

Aug 11, 2010

Once we figured out our transportation Katie and I headed south to Washington, DC, effectively avoiding the hefty tolls usually associated with that drive by simply taking another highway. Awesome.

When we got into the city we went to Sticky Fingers vegan bakery and cafe. Katie had read good things about it so we checked it out for lunch.

We got chik'n quesadillas and grilled cheese with tempeh bacon. They were both delicious. The quesadilla was awesome. It's hard to find vegan cheese that actually tastes good and melts like regular cheese but this stuff is it.

We had to try some of their famous cupcakes as well so we each got one for there and one to take home. The peanut butter fudge that I got was great but the banana chocolate peanut butter one that I took home was even better.

We made our way to the 9:30 Club after eating and the line was still wrapped around the building waiting for doors to open.

We went across the street for a drink while we waited for people to shuffle in. We watched Telemundo and we had a view of the front door of the club so we knew when to head in. Spanish television is fun to watch with the sound off. I guess it doesn't really matter if you don't know the language.

We got in about fifteen minutes before Something Corporate came out. They were the only band playing so we didn't have to wait through any openers.

They played so many great songs. Everyone in the crowd and on stage was really into it. I forgot how much fun their shows were.

They slowed it down a few times, playing "Walking By" from Audioboxer, which is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Probably my favorite actually.

At the end of "iF U C Jordan" Andrew danced on his piano keys just like the old days. It seemed more like a funny nostalgic thing now though instead of the original craziness that it used to be.

Their encore was awesome, starting with "Konstantine" and adding in "Forget December" on the fly. Andrew seemed really sincere in thanking everyone and they put on a great show, playing almost every song they've recorded. I'm glad we got a song from the EP and a b-side at this show. If they never play again this would be a great farewell.

The ride home seemed long but it actually took less time than the trip there. I'm glad I know this back way there now. It's much cheaper. It was a great day.

Apr 9, 2010

We boarded the bus in the morning and actually left on time for Washintgton, DC. Hottle came back and talked to us during the bus ride so it went pretty quick.

Once we got into the city we walked Alex over to the RAINN office so she could attempt to do an interview for her photojournalism project.

It was pretty chilly out and I didn't bring a jacket so while we waited I went to get a chai tea and hung out in this coffee shop.

When Alex was finished we walked down to the White House and took some photos.

There were tons of people out there of course but I like this shot of the protest signs in front of the building. I went up to see what was going on there.

This woman has been out there everyday since 1981 to give people information on the atrocities of war. I realized this would be a perfect subject for my social issue photo assignment so I shot a lot of pictures and took some video of her explaining why she was there. I think it will work well.

We traveled over to the World War II memorial next. It's such a nicely designed monument that I feel like the meaning is lost. I feel that way about most of the things here though. There are tons of people visiting these things but everyone is getting their picture in front of them and then leaving. No one is taking time to consider the lives lost to prompt such a memorial. I understand it, I just think it's unfortunate.

We ran into Andrew, Mike and Eddie while we were there so they joined us and we all walked over to the Vietnam Memorial.

Don't be fooled, despite the sun and the short sleeves it was chilly out there. It was still a pretty nice day to walk around.

We climbed the steps to Lincoln where I got shots of people taking pictures to use as part of my "experience of Washington" photos for class.

We were all pretty hungry after a day of walking around so as we headed back past the other side of the White House so the other group could see it as well we started looking for food. We stopped at Cosi to get some sandwiches and soup. I felt like I had to keep getting food that would warm me up. The manager was making comments about us moving the tables to sit together and then said they don't usually allow pictures inside. He was having a bad day.

We finally went to a museum at the end of the day; The National Portrait Gallery. There were some new paintings that weren't there the last time I visited and we checked out the Framing the West installation. It showed a lot of the first shots of the US Western expansion. The photos weren't particularly amazing but it displayed images that were new and exciting when no one had seen them before. Stereo Photos were really cool; they were like old school 3D, with two photos creating a separated image when you see them together.

The bus picked us up and took us home to Rowan. It was a good ride and we played some bingo when we got back while Joanna had something to eat. We didn't win anything. We never do.

There were plans to go out but we were all pretty tired so we ended up calling it a night early.

Oct 18, 2009

Katie came over in the morning and picked me up and we got on the road to D.C. with avocado, lettuce and tomato on bagels. It was a good breakfast.

We got to our train station and took some photos while we waited for our chariot to arrive.

I took photos, anyway. Katie mostly climbed on the escalator.

We went to the Hirshorn Museum first and checked out some of the new things they have there. A lot of interesting sculpture using human form.

There was also an interesting installation in the upper part of the museum that was mainly focused on the use of color. Some of it worked for me but overall I wasn't enthralled.

After walking around the Mall for a short time we decided to find a train to take us to food.

We found an Indian restaurant that sounded good so we made our way there. With lots of walking we arrived and were the only patrons. The food was amazing though and the walls matched my shirt. We spent quite a while there and then decided we should get going.

We stopped for some really good cinnamon spice tea that warmed us on our walk back to the train and we arrived at the Sixth and I Synagogue in time to find our seats before Andrew McMahon came out to his piano. The setting was beautiful.

Andrew played a lot of new Jack's Mannequin songs as well as a bunch of old Something Corporate songs, including a really old one, "Walking By," from which the title of this blog was taken. Just a fun fact.

Ben from Something Corporate played guitar with him on a few songs and did backing vocals. They played one of his songs also which was really good. Andrew was clearly enjoying himself as was everyone else there. It was a great show, he never disappoints.

The drive home wasn't too bad, just expensive. We stopped and got some potato wedges at one point. Probably not a great idea but they were good for a little while. It wasn't as late as I thought it would be when I got home but I was ready for bed anyway.

Apr 3, 2009

I had to get up early and meet my Art History class at Rowan on the bus to head to D.C.

Some slept on the bus, but I was very awake the whole time. It rained almost the whole drive down.

When we got to the city though, the sun came out and it stayed that way all day.

We started at the Hirshorn Museum looking at some very peculiar and interesting pieces of art.

It was Alex's first trip to D.C. ever so I was excited to be able to show her around. I haven't been in quite a while either.

We went as a class to the American Art Museum where we had lunch at the end of a crazy lighted hallway.

Alex and I ran around finding the paintings we needed to identify pretty quickly so we could get out. I found this painting by Seurat that I really like a lot though.

We headed out on the Mall where it had become a perfectly beautiful day.

We saw the usual sights from afar since we didn't have time to get up close to everything.

As an added bonus, the Cherry Blossom Festival was going on. I've never been when the trees were blooming.

We walked around the basin to the Jefferson Memorial where there are Cherry Blossoms lining the waterfront. We watched a group of Indian dancers performing for the Festival before we headed back toward the museums.

We made a quick stop at the Natural History Museum on the way to the National Portrait Gallery. We did the small amount of work we had to do there and then ran out to get food somewhere before we left. We went to a Spanish Tapas place and got a few things off the menu and a beer before we had to run back to meet the class.

We got a group shot of one of the few times we were all together before the bus rolled up to take us home. The drive home was a lot of fun. We talked the whole time. It was like a high school field trip. For some reason riding a bus in the dark with a bunch of people you go to class with is a good time.

It was a long exhausting day but it was great. It made me ready for taking trips this summer.