2013, Christie V. Vernon Visits DC and VA, Summer

July 16, 2013, To Mount Vernon by boat

We caught the boat at National Harbor, a trendy new development in Prince George's County, Maryland, on the Potomac River just east of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. It was a HOT day, so Christie had to use her shawl at times to keep the sun off. All the sunscreen in the world wouldn't have been enough that day. The good news was that it wasn't crowded on a Tuesday, and we enjoyed to lack of lines and the full attention of the guides. Mount Vernon is another MUST for those of us interested in American History.

Arrival by boat was delightful.

Lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn

18th Century ice cream maker

July 17, 2013, Library of Congress Jefferson Building and Young Readers' Center

The Jefferson Building is probably the most beautiful building in Washington, DC. I love to bring visitors here. Opened on Nov. 1, 1897, its Beaux-Arts architecture, elaborate paintings, and sculpture never fail to inspire and impress.

It was a special afternoon for Christie and me, made more so by the coincidence of meeting Lynda Johnson Robb, a well-known reading advocate and long-time acquaintance of CDV when they worked together in the Virginia Democratic Party. Mrs. Robb is the daughter of President Lyndon Johnson and wife of former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator, Charles Robb. The Robbs are long-time residents of Northern Virginia, and I've met her several times at library-related events in the DC area, but never in such a quiet, relaxed environment.

Lynda Johnson Robb and CVV in the Young Readers' Center

July 17, 2013, Tour of the U.S. Capitol

This was my first visit to the U.S. Capitol since the opening of the new underground Visitors' Center. Though crowded with summer tourists, we found the system well organized and managed. After a fine tour, Christie and I ate lunch in the Capitol visitors' cafeteria, then took the tunnel to the Library of Congress across the street (shown in the next blog post).

Us with Frederick Douglass

CVV with one of her favorite biography subjects, Helen Keller

July 18, 2013, The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery with the shutters open to natural light

After a delicious lunch with my friend, Veronika Jenke, at the Museum of the American Indian cafe, Mitsitam, the three of us walked down the Mall to the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery to see the famous Peacock Room.

In 2012, the Freer Gallery began offering guests a chance to see the room, elaborately decorated by James McNeil Whistler in the 1870s, with the wooden shutters open. For preservation reasons, the museum can only allow this sun exposure once a month (on the third Thursdays). Also, a curator recently studied early images of the room and restored the pottery thought to have lived on these shelves a century ago.

I find the experience so much more compelling with sunlight and the original pots than when I've seen the room with only the low light offered by the overhead bulbs and the more generic blue and white Chinese export pieces.

CVV and I also enjoyed the Whistler paintings in the adjacent room, where it's easy to follow the development of his distinctive style.

Peacock Room web site

The symbolic dueling peacocks. Note overhead light fixtures.

The painting that inspired the room's decorations

July 19-21, 2013, Williamsburg and Yorktown

Given Christie's Virginia roots on her father Chuck's side, a weekend in Williamsburg and Yorktown was a MUST.

Chuck grew up in York County, was a drummer in the Fife and Drum Corps in Williamsburg, and graduated from high school there before attending St. Andrews University in Scotland and Emory Law School. Her grandmother, Christie D. Vernon (CDV), was my close friend for 20 years before her death in 2002. We spent much time together in Tidewater VA, and we developed a network of librarian colleagues who also became close friends. Several of them made the journey to Tidewater to meet CVV this weekend.

Box lunches enjoyed in a Church Hill park in Richmond on our way to Tidewater. The lunches came from Sally Bell's Kitchen on Grace Street. CVV's first jello ever.