DC Adventure

There's nothing like a last minute, whirlwind trip to our nation's capitol!  I went to visit my friend El before she leaves the area.  We mostly just ate and hung out, but on Saturday I coerced her to go walking to some of the museums.  We didn't spend a whole lot of time in each one, just enough to see a few things and move on to the next museum.  We started at the Museum of American History, passed through the Castle (the oldest Smithsonian building), briefly walked through the Hirshhorn Museum, and ended with a run around the Air and Space Museum.  I saw some interesting exhibits that I hadn't seen the last time I was at these museums, but mostly we ran around taking silly pictures as evidenced below.

Yay friends!

My metro card had a cute seal on it

The Museum of American History

I live here!

El lives here!

"trying on" a hat

George Washington's chair - I'm trying to sit in it

I guess this is how I prepare to sit?

El has much better sitting skills

Puppet?

I haven't had an ice cream like this in years!

Tweety Bird!

Ninja Turtle!

The Washington Monument

Oh no! I'm pushing it over!

Pretty view

The Smithsonian Castle

Outside the Hirshhorn museum

Strange exhibit in the Hirshhorn

Artsy Selfie

The Air and Space Museum

El understands thrust

Allison understands drag

El and Allison understand lift

This was heavy

This was turny

This doesn't seem very smart

Serious pose with the Wright brothers

Contemplative posing

Posing with the Wright flyer

Pictures with Amelia

I'm blowing the balloon away

And so is El

Apparently this is the moon on my birthday
It says I'm very wise

Oreo cheesecake for dessert from the Cheesecake Factory

El got Superman socks!

I may have convinced her she needed them

And that was my whirlwind trip in pictures!

Zanna Don't

I had my first foray into the world of 54 Below when Kari and I went to see a reunion concert of an old Off Broadway show called Zanna Don't.  Zanna Don't is a ridiculously cute musical about a world where the majority of people are gay and the straight people are persecuted, the jocks are the nerds and the cool kids are in the chess club.  The main character's name is Zanna and he has magical powers and uses his powers to find everyone love.  I really liked all of the songs, they are peppy and fun, just the way I like my musicals!  54 Below is also a pretty fun place.  It's touted as Broadway's premiere supper club.  There's a food/drink minimum when you see a show there but the food was yummy and it's a fun atmosphere to people watch while you eat before the show starts.  I can't wait to go back and try a dessert this time!

There isn't really any video out there since it was an off-broadway show from about 10 years ago but here is a clip from a production that Kari saw in Chicago and really liked.  This was my second favorite song from the show, I think my favorite was the opening.

The Empire State Building Strikes Back

This has been quite the busy weekend!  One of the exciting things to happen is that Monica really wanted to go to the top of the Empire State Building and we ended up going with her.  I hadn't been up there since my first trip to New York in 2002 so it was exciting to go again.  It was lit up in rainbows for Pride as well!

It was just as pretty from the top as it was from the bottom!

Waiting in line!

This gives you an idea of what the elevator ride is like

The building's most famous resident

You can see the Chrysler building in the middle

I'm up high!

You can kind of see the lights reflected off the side of the building

Times Square is the super bright spot

Hard to tell from here, but my office is in this picture!

Macy's was all lit up in rainbows as well

The very top of the building

Selfie time!

Tick Tick Boom

Last night I went with the roommates to see a production of Tick Tick Boom.  Tick Tick Boom is a musical that was written by Jonathan Larson (the creator/writer of Rent).

The show was a limited run event put on by the New York City Center Encores and starred Lin Manual Miranda (star and creator of In the Heights) as well as two other actors who I didn't know as well but who were extremely talented.  It also was a lot of fun!  It's a fairly upbeat musical, which of course are my favorites.  It is about a guy about to turn 30 who wants to write musicals and is just dealing with life and what to do with his life when he turns 30.  I enjoyed it a lot!

Here's some video from their dress rehearsal: