Oh No! Where'd the Time Go?

Friday evening I went out to dinner with the other interns from my work to say good-bye to Jenn, who had just had her last day interning at IEDC. As we were out I realized just how quickly this summer has been going by and how little time I have left. Inevitably on any trip I make many bold plans and put them off to the end... so this Saturday I decided I needed to head to the Smithsonians and start checking things off my list!

First I headed to the American History Museum, where I was most excited about seeing the First Ladies' attire. As I expected this exhibit did not disappoint and I wished desperately that I had designers creating gorgeous gowns specially for me... but we can't have everything. I also really enjoyed learning about the different first ladies' lives and how they carried themselves and used the position of First Lady as a position of power, especially in the most recent presidencies. I still think I find Eleanor Roosevelt to be the most inspiring, though I am fascinated by the incredibly strong Michelle Obama and look forward to whatever studies will be done of her years from now.

Next I headed to see the "Star-Spangled Banner", the flag that Francis Scott Key saw that inspired him to write the poem that would later become our national anthem. I understand that the exhibit was kept darkened in order to best preserve the 200 year-old flag, but I also appreciated the ambience that the low lighting created. It really gave you a solemn feeling and I felt like I was a part of history being there. I felt great nostalgia as I saw exhibits of pop culture icons from my childhood, from the Muppets to Dumbo and Dorothy's slippers. Viewing Stephen Colbert's portrait brought me back to that feeling of being a part of history -- I'm still wondering what he plans to do with his Super PAC!

Later in the weekend I made my way to the National Archives. Given that I'm writing my term paper on agricultural subsidies in the U.S., and I've seen the documentaries King Corn and Food, Inc. I found the exhibit on how the government has controlled the American diet to be... slightly less than illuminating, but I would certainly recommend it to anyone who does not know this subject. It's fascinating (and scary!). I did like reading about the preferred foods of the different presidents, and I thoroughly enjoyed the barbecue state dinners that LBJ used to hold at the White House.

We only have two weekends left here in Washington, and I simply don't know where the time went! I have to really prioritize certain plans that I had made for this summer (mostly in the way of seeing certain important museums and monuments). Even if I don't get everything on my bucket list done, I know I've had a great time, learned a lot, and met a ton of great people here in our nation's capital!

~CRP