After work on Friday I met up with Keith - one of the guys of Jon Wye designs I talked to at Adams Morgan Day last weekend. Our plans for milkshakes from Spike were foiled with Good Stuff being closed between lunch and dinner. As was the idea of coffee from Le Bon Cafe (closed) and sitting by the fountain outside the NGA (turned off at 5). The many hiccups along the way luckily brought us to stumble upon Jazz in the sculpture garden.
So we lounged at the fountain and enjoyed the music on a picturesque Friday dusk.
Friday night means Loda @ Gallery.
My Corcoran buddy, Brad, met up with Vara and I for a little pre-loda dance party in our living room.
Then we met up with Danny at Gallery and the music started. The night was a bit chilly, but there was a DJ set up in the alley that was fantastic. At one point he started mixing in some latin music and suddenly we were salsa-ing. It was fantastic. Exhausting.
Tourist Time.
Luckily the Hirshhorn museum never gets old, as I found myself there again Saturday morning with Keith. The 2nd floor was under construction between exhibitions, but the rest was great as usual. It was really great to walk around with someone who appreciates modern work and also scoffs at the "my 6 year old could make that" comments.
I've heard a few recommendations for the food at the National Museum of the American Indian, and for lunch I finally got to try it. It was just as fantastic as the raves claimed. I had some corn chips with pulled beef with citrus and sage flavors and bread vegetable salsa. Keith had some pumpkin olive salsa with some food underneath. But mostly pumpkin olive salsa as they gave him 2 big containers after covering his burrito with it. Awesome.
Next came lazy time. We walked along the mall for a bit, ending at the Washington Monument. Of course we had to stop for a tourist photo. Never gets old.
Somehow a few hours passed. We laid in the grass,
watched the tourists expel their excitement over seeing these landmarks, watched a girl almost eat it while trying to hop over a fence.
But mostly just chilled.
How could you not, look at the sky. No photoshopping necessary, this is how beautiful it was.
Eventually it was time to run out to Silver Spring to meet up with Kelsey and Sean. We came back in to U street and met up with Keith and his friend Nick to sample some of the cuisine at Ben's Chili Bowl, a Washington institution.
Chili cheeseburgers and fries (aka a heart attack in a basket) was the table favorite. Stomach aches aside, it was deeelicious!
We decided it was best to walk off some of those calories, so we walked down from U street to The Space (near BeBar). It was one of those strange spaces with no sign and nearly no trace that inside this seeming townhouse was actually a multi-level bar/lounge with a rooftop full of artists doing live paintings. We were there to support Danny, who hadn't actually slept since our loda adventures and was already on Red Bull #4.
The paintings were up for a raffle, and the proceeds from the tickets went to support a children's literacy charity. 
There were no guidelines for the paintings, but they were provided with the canvas. It was interesting to walk around to see what each artist was choosing to do with their identical canvas.
We hung out rooftop for a while, but eventually moved inside to capture a couch and watch the hot mess across from us (specifically, right across from Sean) forget why it was a good idea to close your legs and wear a dress that covers your ass completely (even when sitting). Train wreck.
The decor was pretty awesome. It was all white but rustic - a lot of distressed wood and worn linen. Illuminated by some sweet chandeliers.
The guy who got Danny's was pretty stoked.
By Sunday the sickness that had been hinting at me was starting to some into fruition. I made it out in the morning for some breakfast at Mark's Kitchen in Takoma Park (another "institution" I had yet to experience), a quick tour of the farmers market, and some more lounging in the grass at the park down the road.
Then the plague set in.
1 comment:
Funny that the guy who bought the painting from your friend Danny is one of my roommates.
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