Typical Saturday: art, books, drag queens

I’m not sure why my morning post was so wonky — it looked fine when I hit publish, then half of the post and pictures disappeared into the void. Maybe it was the WordPress gods telling me to get off the computer and get dressed. Despite being up two hours before I needed to leave the house, I was still scrambling at the last minute to put on clothes and makeup.

It was worth it though. Today was Free Museum Day in DC. Most of our museums are free year-round, which is an awesome perk (and one you don’t fully appreciate until you travel to a city where the museums aren’t free), but some charge an entrance fee. One of those is The Kreeger Museum, which I’d never heard of until my mom emailed this morning and said she had an extra ticket.

The museum was once a private home for two art collectors and features mainly Impressionist art, along with some African and modern pieces. No photography allowed inside but it was a really light and airy space with tons of huge windows. The garden was filled with modern sculptures. Not exactly my thing but to each his own…

It was neat discovering somewhere I’d never heard of in DC — definitely an off-the-beaten-path destination! Then it was time to head downtown for one of my favorite annual events, the National Book Festival.

Book lovers galore! The Mall was packed with people despite it being hot. You would never know it was fall! Ugh. Dozens of authors were present to read and sign books. I missed The Pioneer Woman but heard interesting talks by Ken Follett (major love for ‘The Pillars of the Earth’) and Jonathan Safran Foer (who talked about ‘Eating Animals,’ another favorite).

It was standing room only for both authors. Reading is still popular, guys! The thing I liked best about Foer’s talk was that he said the question we should ask shouldn’t be, ‘Should we eat meat?’ but instead, ‘Should we eat meat that’s raised the way meat in America is? Should we eat meat knowing it’s being mistreated? Should we eat abused animals? Should we eat food that makes us sick?’ Most people agree on those answers.

One tent was dedicated to literature from each state. I was especially excited to see an old favorite there.

Laura Ingalls Wilder made me into a book lover — there’s no question about it. I desperately wanted to be Laura (and still do). You’d better believe I grabbed one of these fliers that is packed with information on visiting her hometown and all the activities they offer. A possible summer trip?

It wouldn’t be DC without random protesters showing up. There were a few people carrying signs directed at ‘Barry Obama’ and these guys burning copies of the 9/11 report.

Yep, just a typical Saturday. I decided to hop on the Metro at Dupont Circle but heard Tina Turner blaring and followed the music to…

the 17th Street Festival! These drag queens were awesome and had some seriously skilled moves.

Love this neighborhood. Great to stop and enjoy the fun performances for a while.

I got home absolutely exhausted but was in the mood to do some cooking. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to see what I made. Right now, a cup of fro yo is calling my name… very loudly!

What was your first favorite book? Mine was definitely ‘Little House in the Big Woods’ — I still own all my Laura Ingalls Wilder books and am looking forward to introducing my kids to them, too.