Annapolis, MD

Last Saturday was incredibly warm. 75 and sunny. First weekend this year where it hasn't been snowing or raining. So, we joined the rest of the crowds in an activity more suited for nice weather outdoors. Annapolis is only about an hour drive, and we had not yet visited. Along with the usual visitor draws like shopping, restaurants and the Naval Academy, it was Maryland days. So everyone was highlighting the history and uniqueness of Maryland.
Here's the view of the downtown waterfront shopping area.

One of the historical actors from a near-by museum.

The waterfront. There were several ice cream shops nearby with steady business as everyone got ice cream and wandered in the sunshine.

Daffodils are finally blooming! Spring came late, but now that it is here, everything is blooming at once.

The waterfront within the Naval Academy. It's a huge campus, so we only saw part of it. Probably the most important part was the gift shop :)

The sign may be a little hard to read, but it was the story of the goat mascot.

Mascot at the entrance to the Naval Academy.

Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey Frank Lloyd Wright house

Many things around DC were closed or very reduced hours during the winter, and then with the even worse than usual weather, most historical locations were closed more often. Woodlawn had their spring reopening this month, so last weekend we went. There were several things that attracted me, and Ryan just went along as my driver. Woodlawn is near Mount Vernon that we have visited several times, they were having their annual Needlework exhibition which is a show that anyone can enter and the Frank Lloyd Wright Pope-Leighey house is on the Woodlawn grounds.
From: http://woodlawn1805.org/ Woodlawn is a gracious 126-acre estate that was originally part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The main Federal-style house was designed by the architect of the U.S. Capitol, Dr. William Thornton, and constructed between 1800 and 1805 for Washington’s nephew Major Lawrence Lewis and his bride, Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis. During the Lewis’ years in residence, Woodlawn comprised over 2,000 acres and was worked by over 100 workers, at least 90 of whom were enslaved people of African descent.
The most interesting part of the plantation's owners: In 1901, the playwright Paul Kester moved in — with his mother, brother and 60 cats — and began “restoring” the house to livable conditions.
Fortunately, there were other owners who were able to finish the restoration.
Another rainy weekend day, but we ventured out anyways. Woodlawn is very similar inside to Mount Vernon, but appears to be more planned with fewer additions. A beautiful view as we walked up. Spring has been so late here that the daffodils were not even close to blooming, and I saw one crocus bloom. There were no guided tours, so we were able to wander the house and enjoy the views (and the Needlework exhibits). I hadn't really considered the typical audience - large groups of old ladies, so Ryan didn't blend too well. They took advantage of this when one of the ladies got her car stuck in the mud in the parking lot. He helped push it out.

The Frank Lloyd Wright house was originally in Falls Church (where we live), but had to be moved for the expansion of route 66. You can see the scale from the people who were out front waiting for the tour.

The house of moderate cost is not only America’s major architectural problem but the problem most difficult for her major architects. -Frank Lloyd Wright, 1936

From: http://popeleighey1940.org/

Commissioned in 1939 by journalist Loren Pope, the Usonian home was a manifesto of Wright’s belief in American design for the people, unburdened by past architectural traditions. Wright’s innovative use of four natural materials (wood, brick, glass and concrete) created a sense of a large, more spacious abode – in only 1,200 square feet.

Looks a little dark in these pictures, but we heard it was beautiful in the sun. And once we were inside, we were able to appreciate the design. It felt very spacious, much larger than 1200 sq feet. The window designs were very innovative, since this house was built pre-air conditioning days, there was a large focus on air circulation. The floors had radiant heating.

We learned that the little windows have a unique in each of his houses. The house was actually moved twice, the last time because it was falling apart and sliding down a hill. At that time, the brick was replaced and the cyprus wood all sanded down, which is why there are color gradiations as it returns to a weathered silver.

A picture of the two of us is rare, so I decided to share.

After the tour, Ryan said he would like to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. But after a discussion of restoring old houses, cost of an actual Frank Lloyd Wright house and the inconvenience of where they are located, he amended this to a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house. I agreed!

Baltimore Aquarium

Last Saturday, we drove to Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium. Ryan and I had been here once before, but for a short time on a Friday evening because we were in town for work. Both of us remembered the amazing pool of sting rays, sharks and turtles with the escalator that went back and forth to the levels above the pool.
Still as fun as we remembered, too bad the entire DC metro area decided to come see it as well. At least the Aquarium bans strollers, so instead of getting bashed in the ankles by people not paying attention, we laughed at the escaping toddlers running free. You could tell the parents who were prepared - backpacks for the infants and leashes for the toddlers.

The tropical rainforest was bright, probably still reflecting off the piles of snow outside. Here a sloth sleeps in a tree.

These parrots were alert as they followed a worker around who was holding a food dish.

There was an interesting new exhibit on jellyfish and how the changing currents and ocean temperature has brought them to new habitats with no predators.

More jellyfish.

These jellyfish were kind of strange. They just sit on the bottom and pretend to be anemones.

Too bad I forgot to write down the names of the different kinds.

We decided to go to the dolphin show. The pools in the back held the dolphins not in the show who were getting fed fish. The dolphins who were in the show started doing their tricks on their own in hopes of getting fed as well, but they had to wait.

Posing for the crowd.

The grand finale - a gigantic leap in the air.

As we walked back to the car, we had a visual reminder of how cold and how much snow Baltimore has received - since they had up to twice what parts of DC had received. These ducks are walking on ice in the Baltimore Harbor.

After we made it back close to home, we decided to go out to dinner. Wasn't until we had ordered, that I realized we had stuck with the theme. First we saw fish, and then we got to eat them!

Corcoran Art Gallery

We finally ventured out on Saturday and made it to the new exhibit at the Corcoran Art Gallery. There is still lots of snow piled everywhere.

The entrance to the Corcoran.

The building is very beautiful as well as the contents. The new exhibit was a collection from two sisters from Wales that collected for a few years around 1910. Turner, Monet, Manet and several other well known Impressionist painters was the bulk of the collection. There were a few from later like Degas and Van Gogh. There was another collection displayed from a senator from Montana that was interesting because he collected at the same time as the Davies sisters and had many of the same artists, but the paintings were very different because of the style preferences of the collectors.

We were near the Smithsonian Craft Museum, so stopped in.

The Bureau of Bureaucracy. One of the interesting pieces at the museum. Definitely a small collection, but there are some fun things.

Hopefully the last of the snow

The sun is shining and wind had died down, so we headed out to clear off our car. Ryan waited to start swiping snow until I had snapped the picture. The maintenance crew was out removing snow, so we were able to move the car once cleared to the sun and they then plowed out the spot we had been in. This is only the snow from yesterday, the car was snow-free before that.

The trails keep getting deeper!

The icicles hanging off the roof are getting enormous. Check out the one on the left that goes the full length of the building. We're glad we're on the middle floor so we don't have to follow all the advice in the letter from the leasing office - top floor have to keep a close eye on leaks and bottom floors have to shovel out their patios so their apartments don't flood.

I don't know how the guys clearing snow can tell the difference between some of the cars and the piles of snow.

This car hadn't been cleared from the previous storm!

Snow Day!

You can barely see the walkway that the maintenance crew had previously cleared because of the new snow. The wind is also blowing, creating blizzard like conditions, that has gigantic drifts of snow everywhere. We're not planning on leaving the apartment anytime soon!

Groceries and impending epic snowstorm

We had a list of a few things we needed so headed out an hour before the storm was supposed to start. Problem 1: you had to wait in line for a cart to return. Problem 2: they still have food but not a lot of choices. Problem 3: navigating the store. That's why I brought Ryan. He mostly stayed in one spot and I brought the food to him.
We're so ready for the snow to be gone!


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