d.c., day 5 aka a birthday with the presidents (and Drew!)

On day 5 in D.C., I turned 29. I started the day off by sleeping in. I met Drew for lunch and we went to Nirvana, a vegetarian Indian restaurant. Then I went to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Now, women have been marginalized in many walks of life, so art was no different. Since women were not allowed to study art or figure drawing, it is no surprise that art is a male dominated field. Many women artists got their start through their connections to male artists in their family. When I studied art history, there was barely any mentions of women artists. And, when I was at the School of Visual Arts, we had to attend these lectures given by successful photographers in the field. They were mostly men. I complained to the chair of the photography department that this was unrepresentative. He didn't care. I was uninspired. Anyway, I was excited to go to this museum and learn the other half of the story.

There were a lot of cool artists in the museum: Judy Chicago, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, Lee Krasner, Frida Kahlo, and below, Jane Hammond. I really like this piece because the artist has superimposed her face on the bodies of popular icons that are usually male. It really made me think.

I love this quote. So, so true, and we could substitute any profession for "artist." (it says "The chief obstacle to a woman's success is that she can never have a wife. Just reflect what a wife does for an artist.")

I took my time in the museum, and it was a great way to spend a birthday. But the fun wasn't over yet. I met Drew after he was finished working, and we journeyed to the National Mall, to pick up where we previously left off. We started with the Vietnam Women's Memorial and made our way to the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

We followed a path around a pond (where ducks were diving underwater!) and got a great view of the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool:
We headed up to the Lincoln Memorial, which I loved. It had quite a presence, definitely larger than life.
We left the Lincoln Memorial and headed to the Korean War Memorial. I don't really know what the Korean War was about, and neither did Drew, though maybe he should have because he did do a report on the Korean War when he was in sixth grade. Oh well. Anyway, the soldiers look confused and as if they don't know what's going on, so I'm not sure if that's what is meant to be conveyed. All right, I'm looking it up in wikipedia right now. Hang on.
Okay, well that detour didn't really tell me anything, except that each statue is around 7.5 feet and weighs about 1000 pounds. Moving on. Drew and I headed around the tidal basin to the FDR memorial. Here's yet another view of the Washington Monument:

I got lots of cool shots at the FDR memorial, but here's one of FDR's fireside chats.
The FDR memorial is quite possibly the coolest of all the presidential memorials on the National Mall. (there are only four presidents who get memorials, so I guess FDR is already ahead of the curve) I guess that when you deal with a depression and a world war during your tenure, you sure as hell better get a kick ass memorial. Anyway, the memorial was expansive and had lots of waterfalls. Besides the fireside chat sculpture, there was the infamous breadline, a tribute to Eleanor, and a sculpture depicting FDR in his wheelchair. I wonder if he would have been elected president had people known that he had polio and was unable to walk unassisted. Actually, I wonder if he could have gotten elected in the modern era. Anyway, moving on...
We continued on and passed by the Jefferson Memorial. And here's your last shot of the Washington Monument:
So, it was, in a sense, a birthday with the presidents. Drew and I hit up Lincoln, FDR, Jefferson, and Washington. We had intended to eat pizza in the park across from the White House, just to round out the evening with the presidents. However, it was getting dark so we saved this for lunch on day 6. (of course, pictures to come later)

Instead, we went to Ben's Chili Bowl for a late dinner. Ben's Chili Bowl opened in 1958 and seems to have become a DC institution. This landmark restaurant contains a lot of history, and it's survived a lot of change and turmoil, namely the riots following King's assassination. While the rest of the community was burning and shutting down, Ben's stayed open. Since then, it's recovered, but not without a lot of help and media publicity. Also, it turns out that the owner's son decided to forgo a law career after graduating law school and instead helped turn the family business around. (again, I must have a secret obsession with lawyer-turned-entrepreneurs; see my affinity for Cakelove and PB Loco)
They really like Obama here!
And Bill Cosby, who helped Ben's Chili Bowl celebrate its 45th anniversary. (in case you can't read it, the sign says "Who Eats Free at Bens: Bill Cosby and the Obama Family, but he paid)
I ate the chili cheeseburger, which was quite tasty and had the just the right amount of chili. Not too much, but just enough so that it oozed out the sides.
And there you have it. It was a birthday with the presidents, and of course, Drew. Naturally, the former could never top the latter.