Peacocks and Angels

When my NYC weekend adventure plans were dashed, my plan B was a DC day. At my friend's urging (she actually said, "Your kids HAVE to see this room!"), I took my kids to the Peacock Room in the Freer Gallery. Since it was a Tuesday and a non-school holiday, we had the room basically to ourselves.

The gilded room holds an eclectic collection of vases from Asia and the Middle East with a beautiful Whistler painting as the centerpiece. After a quick look around, we sat on the bench in the middle of the room and thumbed through a book with information about the room. Using the pictures in the book, we played an impromptu game of "I spy" and tried to locate the items shown on each page. The result was a mini treasure hunt for turquoise vases, textured pottery, gold painted butterflies, and peacock feathers (which we found on the ceiling!). The hardest to find was a cat statue, no bigger than a salt shaker, that we finally found sitting at the feet of the woman in the painting.

Next, we selected our favorite item in the room and shared it with each other. Elise liked a purple vase with sapphire streaks trailing down the sides like a rain storm. I love when my children interact and connect with art.  

Madi chose our lunch spot: Sweet Green. According to our GPS, it was only .8 miles away which we decided was a doable distance. When we arrived at the .8 destination, the restaurant was no where to be found. So we continued to the next closest one...another .7 miles away. There were a couple moments when we all seriously doubted if the food would be worth long walk. Charlotte was the hero of the walk, keeping her complaining to a minimum as she held tightly to her McDonalds bag.

Sweet Green did not disappoint! Organic, locally grown vegetables make the most delicious salads. I had the Wild Child Grain Bowl: organic wild rice + organic baby spinach, cilantro, peppers, raw beets, shredded cabbage, carrots, raw seeds, avocado, miso sesame ginger dressing. Delicious!!

Our final stop was to visit an old friend of mine...in the American Art Gallery. I visited this sweet angel every week during my lunch break when I worked as an editor on Pennsylvania Ave. She is still as serene as ever, her feathers still so pristinely white. Although she hasn't aged a day, I certainly have! The last time I visited I was so young...probably about 24. I thought my life was so "crazy" and "busy" back then with my full time job and daily commute into the city. How wonderful and strange to bring my children to the museum to see her. My life is still "crazy" and "busy" just in a completely different way.  On a day like this--visiting art and eating good food--I'm grateful for all my crazy/busy, the chance to hold Charlotte's hand for 3 miles, and time spent with my favorite five angels.