Travel Tip: When everyone suggests watching fireworks across the river, watch them across the river.

We started our 4^th of July at the National Museumof the American Indian.  If you don’t know DC well, getting to the museum took us past the parade set up and things at the National Mall. There were all kinds of different dancers and bands and floats! You know, parade stuff.

The museum was excellent! The building is brilliantly designed to mimic the structure of nature, so guests are advised to start at the top floor and explore their way down. None of the walls were flat; all had an organic curve to them. As the Smithsonian puts it: 

Photo from Smithsonian Institute

The building needed to be a living museum. The building is aligned to the cardinal directions and the center point of the Capitol dome, and filled with details, colors, and textures that reflect the Native universe. Native people believe that the earth remembers the experiences of past generations. By recalling the natural environment that existed prior to European contact, the museum’s landscape design embodies a theme that runs central to the NMAI—that of returning to a Native place.

As an introduction, the museum has put together this great video. It is kind of multi-dimensional. Part of it shows on a textile screen, part of it on a large rock, and part of it is on the ceiling. It was definitely worth watching! Short enough to keep attention, but long enough to be worth your while. And it’s a good reason to sit, which is welcome after climbing 4 flights of stairs. The top floor (where we spent most of our time) was split into two sections, “Our Universes” and “Our Peoples”. “Our Universes” was my personal favorite. The exhibits were divided by tribe and each exhibit explained a bit about the belief systems of that tribe. It was absolutely one of the most successfully arranged museums I’ve been in. “Our Peoples” was primarily made up of artifacts from different tribes, which was cool, but held less meaningful information.

My favorite part may or may not have been the food. The cafeteria features food from different tribes! How cool is that? I had some lentil soup (the sign said it was South American) and then cheese fry bread (I don’t remember its region, but it seemed to be pretty common to all of the areas). It. Was. Delicious.

From the Hirshhorn Museum website

After we ate, we walked down to the Hirshhorn Gallery. They had an entire exhibition of mixed media works called "Over, Under, Next"! The works were predominately modern, which I enjoyed. My favorite installation was one of different pages stuck to the wall with straight pins. There was also a tank with snails and cabbage, representative of the brain and its decay. My other favorite exhibition was the Barbara Kruger display.

We ended our sightseeing at the Hirshhorn to get back to the hostel for a barbeque! Because free food. And because barbeque. There was potato salad, watermelon, coleslaw, hot dogs, burgers, and more. We hung out with the other residents (several of whom were from different countries).  After dinner, we headed back into the city to get our spot for the fireworks!

Everyone had recommended a different spot for the best viewing. Across the river here or there, in this neighborhood or that. We settled on a (pretty crowded) spot on the National Mall, in front of the Washington monument. They only lasted about 20 minutes, but it was such a neat experience to be able to see the 4^th of July fireworks in the center of our National monuments. I (again) forgot my good camera in the hostel, but I was able to get some decent photos with my phone. Made for a great picture of the Washington Monument, but if I was to be in DC on the 4^th again, I would probably go ahead and go across the river. Where it might be a bit less crowded.

Travel Tip: Look up a map before you head out

Feedsack dress on display

I got up early today and made it in to the city early! I spent time wandering around the gardens at the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Institute. Overpriced coffee in hand, I walked down to the American History Museum. I've wanted to go for years, so I had high expectations.

ERA charm bracelet

"When you ride alone, you ride with Hitler!"

AHM absolutely met those expectations. It was great. The exhibits were interesting and many of them were interactive. Each part was presented more as a story to be shared than a didactic lecture. My favorite parts were the pop culture artifacts, like Elphaba's original costume, the first Kermit puppet, and the First Lady's dresses.

Me, Colby, Alex, and Kristina

After hitting up the Smithsonian area, Kristina and I met some friends who are interning in D.C. for lunch at Union Station. They have a large food court, but we didn't really look around. Instead, we were hooked right off the escalator by a man giving free samples of sandwiches. They were really good! And free gelato came with every sandwich purchase. The portions were generous and the prices were fairly low.

We spent about 2 hours in Union Station, then Kristina decided to go back to the hostel. I wasn't really ready to go back to Takoma yet, so I looked around for something to do. Then I saw the Postal Museum. I almost didn't go--I was just going to hop on the Metro and find something else to do-but I decided to check it out.

Some parts were kind of dull. I'm not really a stamp enthusiast, so I just looked at the stamp gallery briefly before deciding to move on. Then I stumbled onto the cool half of the museum! Half of the museum has clearly been designed with younger visitors (think kids) in mind. There are interactive games and puzzles for kids of all age groups. Not only did I think these activities were cool, but the children seemed to be taking advantage of them as well! The best part? I bought Edgar Rice Burroughs stamps!

 We rejoined to close the night with the use of a Groupon at Addis Ababa, an Ethiopian restaurant. We used Google Maps, mobile, to locate the restaurant. Even though we should have been about half a mile away from the metro station, I still managed to get turned around. Definitely should have planned the route before we left the hotel!

Once we got to Addis Ababa, the food was delicious! The sauces were served on fresh injera, which was a whole new type of grain experience for me! The food was perfectly spiced, particularly the lentil sambusa. The downsides? It was pricey. Even with a Groupon, it was pricey. The service was really good sometimes but abominably slow at others. Again, we were served huge portions. We brought the leftovers back to the hostel for future munching!

The hostel is still classified under "interesting experience." We've met more people, which has been really cool. Never at a loss for something to do here, even when you're just trying to have a quiet night in your room. It's nice that it's so open here, though. It gives it a more homelike feel!