Statue near White House; confusion

North of the White House, there is this statue that caught our attention. We thought it was a statue of George Washington. It was intriguing that one of the figures on the statue would be handing up a sword.

After a little research, we found out that this is a Statue of Lafayette. He is pleading to the French Assembly America's case in the Revolution. The figure with the sword is America, offering his desired role as a military leader. The two cherubs on the other side is the thank you from the US Congress after the war.

Smithsonian Link

Waugh's Holy Grail Knight Painting in the Renwick

In the Grand Salon at the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, one of the major paintings is "The Knight of the Holy Grail" by Frederick J. Waugh in about 1912. It shows a knight in a boat praying to three angels, one of which has the grail.



















The University of British Columbia (link) has a good discussion of this painting which was inspired by the poem "Sir Galahad," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1834). A longer excerpt is below.

When down the stormy crescent goes, A light before me swims,
Between dark stems the forest glows,
I hear a noise of hymns:
Then by some secret shrine I ride;
I hear a voice but none are there;
The stalls are void, the doors are wide,
The tapers burning fair.
Fair gleams the snowy altar-cloth,
The silver vessels sparkle clean,
The shrill bell rings, the censer swings,
And solemn chaunts resound between.


I find a magic bark;
I leap on board: no helmsman steers:
I float till all is dark.
A gentle sound, an awful light!
Three angels bear the holy Grail:
With folded feet, in stoles of white,
On sleeping wings they sail.
Ah, blessed vision! blood of God!
My spirit beats her mortal bars,
As down dark tides the glory slides,
And star-like mingles with the stars.


When on my goodly charger borne
Thro' dreaming towns I go,
The cock crows ere the Christmas morn,
The streets are dumb with snow.
The tempest crackles on the leads,
And, ringing, springs from brand and mail;
But o'er the dark a glory spreads,
And gilds the driving hail.
I leave the plain, I climb the height;
No branchy thicket shelter yields;
But blessed forms in whistling storms
Fly o'er waste fens and windy fields.

Visit with Family

Erica and Casper enjoyed our visit with family members during this Thanksgiving season. Sorry that we did not have more time. Here are a few quick photos. Thank you for introducing us to Wii gaming, Jose Tejas, and good cherry pie from the Hollywood Diner.

Joyce Robbins' Pet Squirrel

Guarding the back yard.

Smithsonian Castle Visit; Photo Exhibit

Erica was really excited to see the Smithsonian "Castle". Two great things about this facility among the various Smithsonian Institutions. 1.) They open at 8:30 am, compared to 10:00 am for most of the other buildings. 2.) In the West Hall, they have a sampling of exhibits from the other Museums; this is great for someone who does not know where to start with the Smithsonian Museums.

Another reason why we wanted to start there was they were exhibiting the results of Smithsonian Magazine's annual photo contest. (Link to website.) All the photos were amazing,
but three caught our attention.

The first was a news vendor in a small booth selling newspapers. The man's face is surrounded by newspapers. Erica noticed that the papers were in Hungarian.

The second was a degraded trailer home. Erica thought it looked like a structure she knew in Bombay Beach in Imperial County CA. When we read the caption, we found out it was the exact location that Erica remembered. (Decaying trailer, Garret Suhrie (Los Angeles, CA), Photographed March 2008, Bombay Beach, CA)

The third was a close up picture of multicolor plant leaves. As you look closer, a small frog was hiding in the leaves.

Trip To Washington DC

November 2010 Trip to East Coast
Washington DC

We spent a day as tourists Washington DC. It was a full day, but a quick one.

We left our hotel near the US Capitol. Here is a brief itinerary.
--US Capital Walk By
--Capitol Reflecting Pool Walk By
--National Mall Walk
--Hirshorn Sculpture Museum Walk By
--Visit and Breakfast in the Smithsonian Castle
--Visit the Freer Gallery
--American History Museum
--Old Post Office Walk By
--Metro a few stops North
--Visit the Renwick Gallery
--White House Walk By
--Metro to Reagan National Airport
--Pick up Rental Car, Return to Hotel
--Metro from Union Station to Dupont Circle
--Shopping in Kramer's Books
--Dinner at Maddy's Pub
--Metro Back to Union Station and Hotel



View Larger Map