Exploring

This is a sign on a pizza shop near the hostel. It seems that the photographer did not provide good value - it's the nastiest looking gyro I've ever seen. It makes me less hungry.






A similarly disgusting-looking pizza.







I think that this is the prettiest restaurant on the way to the Metro stop.






Hee, skinker. That's a great name. Like skink. I bet that guy never got teased.






So I was just walking around the other day and all of a sudden, wow! Giant building! It's some sort of housing ground for an endowment for the arts, and the doors were locked so I couldn't go in.



Ben Franklin. Washington DC is stealthily adopting the one really famous colonial guy from Philly.









This thing scared the crap out of me, for some odd reason. I don't like it even in photo form.






After a bit more wandering (my calves are getting sculpted) I made my way to the National Archives, which I figured would be a bit boring, and it was, but also kind of neat.



Hancock and that other guy are snickering right now because they just led Mr. Dickinson straight into the women's bathroom.





I wandered some more and eventually found myself in this solemn marble rotunda, which was THE rotunda. There was a big line snaking around the outside of it to see all of the Very Important Documents. Such as...

The Constitution!








The Declaration of Independence!











I left The Rotunda and went up to the history part of the archives, which was kind of neat.

This is not how it happens! VHS tapes should not be excited. They're next to go! They should be planning a mass exodus.





Hee. Home videos.








Oh, god! I'm sorry! I'll buy war bonds! Please, don't stab me or light me on fire!










I ended up eventually in this basement area and I thought it was only for coats and restrooms but it turns out there was this whole theater for a movie on democracy and the vital importance of keeping good records.






A real live Oscar(TM).











No museum is worth going to without a stop by the gift shoppe. Look at my mad skillz. Some salesperson thought I was crazy. Like a fox!





The Metro was looking pretty.








I am awed by these escalators.








Some weird neighbor in Adams Morgan has an extremely pointy elephant in his or her front yard.

Is it ... art?




Now, I contemplate each time I pass by this restaurant on whether or not the shaky 'e' and 'r' here are intentional. It's called the Thunder Grill, so it could be a cute way of indicating 'thunder' and 'chaos'. Or maybe that the buffalo ran into the sign and left that imprint.


But right next to it you have this other, similar sign without shaky letters. I just don't know.







I like Union Station a great deal. If I were homeless, this would be my sleeping area of choice. A lot of homeless people agree with me.