some things i learned on the DC trip

J and I just got back from a great weekend trip in DC. We had a lot of fun with the Bowen family - thanks for organizing this get-together, Annette and Scott! On the return flight home, I started to make a mental list of some things that I learned and experienced on this trip; I thought I'd write some things down here. I have to admit, I started making this list when I was a little bit irritated during our return flight (see #1), but I want to stress that the overall vacation was fantastic.

#1 - Bring earplugs whenever flying a red-eye or late-night flight. With my luck, I will have Mr. Chatty McChats ("The World's Loudest Talker") sitting behind me, speaking at the top of his lungs while everyone else in the cabin is trying to sleep. Honestly, who even chats with their neighbor during a red-eye flight? Or, on the return flight, luck will place me behind a 380 pound, 6' 6" man with sleep apnea. This man snored so loudly and horrifically that an apologetic flight attendant was handing out earphones to muffle the noise. This huge man was convulsing so violently with each snore that Jeremy kept wondering if he should wake the man up...

#2 - Go and see "St. John's Passion" performed in the National Cathedral on Palm Sunday. With period instruments. And a counter-tenor.

#3 - It is not worth your time to the National Gallery expressly to see 17th century Italian paintings. You will be sorely disappointed and only spend about 10 minutes in that gallery. However, it is worth your time if you couple that activity with seeing the mid-20th century works in the East Building of the National Gallery. Barnett Newman's "Stations of the Cross" is amazing.

#4 - It is a good idea to learn about the Smoke Monster from LOST before watching episodes from this season. Thank you, Nathan, for filling us in as we dined over Peruvian food...

#5 - George Washington had only one tooth (of his own) when he was sworn into the presidency.

#6 - The Mount Vernon estate has a beautiful view of the Potomac River.

#7 - Our galaxy will one day collide with the Andromeda galaxy. The two galaxies will likely converge in a graceful, dancelike interplay (which will take place over billions of years). We watched a depiction of the whole event on "Cosmic Collisions," a film in the Air and Space Museum. So cool.

#8 - It is not worth my time to shop at H & M while pregnant, even if the store has a maternity section. No matter where I look, the "regular" clothes always look cuter than the maternity clothes (actually, I think maternity clothes often look frightening), and it is depressing to see that none of the cute "regular" clothes fit me right now. So, I should avoid H & M stores until August or so.

#9 - The Marriott Courtyard in DC has some nice pillows.

#10 - The American Indian Museum's cafeteria has a great lamb and rosemary sandwich.