Celebrate the 4th

A friend and I went into DC yesterday and spent an interesting day. We went to an art exhibit/sale called Artomatic. This organization finds an unoccupied warehouse or office building under construction and arranges to use the space for a few months. They allow any artist who wants to exhibit his/her art to do so for a minimal fee ($99). The exhibit this year occupied 8 floors of an unfinished office building. You can hardly imagine the different kinds of art on display there! There were comic book type drawings, photograhps, paintings, art made of fabric, glass, metal, clay, paper, wood and anything else you can think of. Many displays used 'found' material, such as tools, kitchen implements, furniture, old china and miscellaneous junk. There even was a coffin made of guns. It was a fabulous experience to try to take it all in - and an exhausting one. We spent about three hours and managed to visit every floor, but we didn't spend much time on most exhibits. We each found booths with art by people we knew - a surprise to me. What a great experience it was! Maybe next year Lynne and I will rent space and display our art.

After we left Artomatic, we went looking for a place to catch dinner before going up to the Capitol to watch the rehearsal for tonight's 4th of July concert. Neither Lynne nor I are brave or foolish enough to join the crowds on the 4th and go into DC for the concert and fireworks. However, there were fewer people for the rehearsal. I thought there were a few thousand, but Lynne estimated it as more like 40 thousand. (Neither of us is an expert at crowd estimates). Anyway, we got there about an hour before the start and sat on the steps of the Capitol. Those steps were hard! Next year, I will bring a pillow and binoculars. I would rather have been in the grass, but all the lawn spots directly in front of the stage were taken. (Maybe next year we will go early to get good spots.) Actually we could see quite well. They have huge screens, so one sees close ups of the entertainers. Lots of well-known names - Barry Manilow and Aretha Franklin were the big names. Oh yes, and the Muppets (my favorites). The National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performed as well as various military bands. They did "Rhapsody in Blue" with two pianos! It was a great show and we both really enjoyed it. I think we will do it again next year. Even getting home via Metro was easy. We didn't use the nearest station, but walked a few blocks and caught a train that took us directly back to our car. Not even very crowded on the train - we had seats all the way.

Of course, it was very late when I got home - around midnight - and I was so wired that I couldn't go to sleep right away. I will be very tired this evening, and will probably not go anywhere for fireworks tonight. I've seen many fireworks displays over the years, and although I enjoy them, I don't go out of my way to see them these days. Getting lazy in my retirement, I guess! LOL

I hope you all have a great July 4th with whatever celebration you fancy.