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Ahhhhhh!  A Day Off!

My day off started on July 4th, getting done with my stage for the day by 2:00 P.M. and included fireworks that evening.  It was really great to catch up with my friends Dave and Katie, as well as see Christine and Karl.  We walked a perfect amount to see fireworks:  not far enough that I was exhausted there or back, but far enough to get some exercise and walk off a rich dinner and two pieces of Katie's excellent blueberry pie, each with ice cream.

I have to admit that being on this bike ride affords me a really great privilege of eating any and all kinds of food in any quantity (as long as it's large).  I haven't seemed to have gained or lost any weight as of yet, but then again, I haven't weighed myself much.

July 5th was spent in D.C. proper with my friend from our time at the UMass Juggling Club together, Jay.  She and her great boyfriend met me at the National Mall, and we started our sightseeing by attending the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an annual occurance.  This year they focused on three geographical areas:  the Mekong River Valley, Northern Ireland, and Western Virgina.  I enjoyed learning some about all three areas, and seeing folks from all three areas.  I heard some nice music, including some from Senegal (I think) that seems to be the predesssor to the blues.

Next, Jay, Sanpah (sorry!  I'm probably misspelling it! Please fix it!), and I went to the top of the Old Post Office.  I'm surprised I haven't done that before, especially when I performed there with my highschool band and chorus.  (That was the concert that I got booed because of the lyrics to the solo that i was singning.)  Seeing the bells in the tower was cool, but the view from the top (for FREE) was excellent.  There was a park ranger at the top, and he answered questions and gave us plenty of information.  The Old Post Office tower is one of the tallest buildings in D.C. and it affords a decent view in all directions.

We had a lunch of burritos, and then headed to the National Portrait Gallery.  This is a museum that none of us had seen, and it was really pretty fun.  I stayed mainly on the top couple of floors in the hours we were there, just because that's where we started and I kept getting stuck reading about all the famous folks depicted in the portraits.  The medium of the portraits varied from sculpture (an adorable Casey Stengel at about 1/4 life size!) to photographs, from paintings to Warhol prints.  We didn't get to look at many of the exhibits both temporary and permanent, so I'd love to go again.

After that, we were very tired, so we headed back to Jay's place and took naps.  Waking up felt so refreshing after a little nap, and we cooked some yummy dinner  (actually, Jay and Sanpah did most all of the preparations), and then ate.  After dinner, Jay's flatmate Mike engaged us in an interesting discussion of what to do with illegal aliens in this country.  I think we all benefitted from hearing different thoughts on the matter.

I found my way back to Katie and Dave's place for the night, and visited with Katie a bit more.  Then I slept in preparation for another long day of biking south!

** From Katie **

Dave and I were so happy to see Brett, and we took advantage of his wisdom by  having him give us a few lessons on bike maintenance.  My bike is riding so much better now that the tires are properly inflated ;-)  Thanks Brett! Happy travels.

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