It is a good thing when it snows sometimes. In fact, sometimes when it snows it means that one gets to spend more time with loved ones. This is what happened twice on this trip already. Thursday of last week, an impending blizzard closed the offices to which I was headed and provided me with some spare time [which I used properly – by spending them with my wife!]. Then again, on Monday, a larger snow storm caused consternation among the local commuters leading to yet another meeting cancellation and district shut down. We spent the extra time in this case “Metro-ing” around town and looking at areas we would not normally get to go – outlying neighborhoods and such. It was actually more entertaining than going to some of the museums.
One museum in particular was quite a disappointment. The National Aquarium housed several rare and endangered species of fish, but the conditions in which they are forced to live are deplorable. There was excessive mold on almost every tank and diseased or injured fish in most tanks. Being a former and future fish-owner, it makes me angry when others do not properly care fore their captive animals – it’s not like they can chose to go elsewhere.
Most museums in the DC area are free, except a few special, private ones. One such is the Spy Museum – a really cool place if you favor or are fascinated by intrigue. We liked it and it was very inclusive of both fact and fictitious spies, but it’s disturbing to view an entire establishment based on glorifying a bunch of unscrupulous liars. It’s even more disturbing when you reach the end where they talk about the treasonous Americans who thought nothing of betraying the trust of their government.
::: jeffphillips.org ::: 