Monday, July 4. 2005
3 day Summer, Part two: Mallrats
Viewing a close up of the painting might help you decide whether the man is praying to be saved, or to learn the secret of those lions fabulous hair. We also saw a painting hundreds, even billions, of years old that could have come straight from DC Chases after a big exam. Read More
Sunday, July 3. 2005
"Done!" aka "My Long Summer Vacation" (part 1 in a 3 part miniseries)
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China, in widescreen
I hear exciting things are brewing, both from Kevin and from Mark. Can't wait. Meanwhile, a quickie. Kodak says I should try panoramic shots. I figure, why not just use some of the stuff I already have? Here are a few shots from my trip to China, back in March.
The first one... the great wall of China. I had to climb to the top of the tourist section to snap this, and it taught me one thing... I'm out of shape.
More photos (you guessed it) below the fold.
Read MoreSaturday, July 2. 2005
And this one time, at band camp...
After the day at the Smithsonian, I headed off for the Maryland coast. Dan and Margot had invited me to Margot's family home, and I must say I was nervous at first. Maybe it was Dan being all tense before I left for Richmond. Or maybe it was the crazy directions. Turn left where the signs says turn right? Find the dirt road where the speed limit is 16mph? Turn left at the tree in the middle of a field? What crazy talk is this?! Dan ain't no mapquest, that's for sure.
After a panicked phone call to Dan literally 5 seconds before I found the house, I arrived. I could understand why they called this place "camp." It was huge. It must have been awesome growing up here.
So after introducing me to everyone (which did involve charades, the official pastime of camp), Dan took me down to the dock so we could catch some crabs for dinner. The docks:
I learned to pick a crab, a skill I doubt I will ever master. It's a lot like dissection, except it's harder and people will tell you you're doing it wrong. But at least it doesn't smell like formaldehyde, and you get to eat what you manage to salvage. Both qualities that would improve dissection, in my opinion.
Life was pretty much like this for the next two days. Hanging out with Dan, Margot, their baby Claire, Margot's sister Alena and cousin Luke, and Ashton when he came up the next day. Hunting crabs, eating crabs, swimming, killing jellyfish, drinking golden rocks and bud light, and of course, drunk golf cart rides. "Checking the mail" may very well have been the best part of the whole weekend. (Strange how I can't stop calling my time at camp a weekend, even though it was clearly wed-fri)
So that was my summer vacation. Shortest ever, perhaps, but action-packed! July 5th I become a fourth year and an acting intern, and I get to pretend that I've already graduated from medical school. We'll see how that goes...
More pictures past the fold.
Read MoreThursday, June 30. 2005
Capital City
Grr, browser crashes. Second try. So you like vacation photos? Neither do I. Sorry if I bore you.
Leaving Richmond and the capital of the csa behind, it was time to journey to the capital of the grand ol' usa. We made our way to Fairfax county, where Kevin and his father Tom welcomed me into their home. We went to Old Town Alexandria to see Kevin's dad's painting on display at the Torpedo Gallery (see here), and all the other work displayed there. The gallery itself is quite a work of art, with a distinctly modern feel, which was surprising to me considering its heritage as a torpedo factory during WWII.
We then toured Old Town Alexandria (which, btw, is nothing like Old Town Pasadena. Roughly 200 years difference, I think). Today it consists of small galleries, sidewalk cafes and quiant shops. And of course, really old buildings; most dating back to the revolutionary war. We got a quick glimpse of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, one of the churches from which George Washington spoke, and the church which gave his services when he died. I'm told the bells rung out at his funeral, continued as he made his way to Mount Vernon (his home) and did not stop until he was finally buried there. How they knew when he was finally put to rest, I don't know. Cell phones, maybe.
We had dinner at Pad Thai, a tiny little restaurant that Kevin had built up over the last several months to gargantuan proportions. Needless to say, it didn't quite live up, but it was tasty nonetheless. As you can see, Amit and Umakant joined us for dinner.
Afterwards, we went to out to Georgetown, in the heart of DC (now this place is like Old Town Pasadena). A tiny lounge called the Blue Gin. Deep inside a shady alley. Loud music. Would you like to open the top of the bar? Don't bother trying to understand. I couldn't hear anything. Amit, right before he started trouble with the regulars over the honor of a lady (of course):
The next day, Kevin and Heidi took me to the National Gallery of Art, where we spent a record-breaking 6 hours. Heidi did her best to teach me a little art appreciation (especially for modern art, her passion and specialty). I did my best, but Kevin and I kept things somewhat irreverent anyways. We were reprimanded by a security guard for getting too close to the art. "You have big eyes, use them!" We mocked him when we thought he couldn't hear us, whereas reality mandated instead that he would be standing right behind us. Oops. He took things with good graces, however, and even gave us an introduction to Jasper Johns. I was quite thankful for that, as there is really no way I could have interpreted Johns' work without help.
Between the two wings of the gallery, there was a big waterfall; I braved near-certain death and the destruction of my definitely-not-waterproof camera to take this photo:
So my laundry list of places to see in Virginia shortens! Now I can take Richmond and DC/Fairfax co. off the list. I still have to check out Charlottesville, Fredricksburg, the Shanendoah Valley and of course Tangier Island (before graduation, not on this trip). But first, off to Maryland!
More to come before this vacation is over. More photos past the fold. And I'm sure Kevin will post some more Richmond/DC pics.
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