A bunch of us took time out from our papers to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
The museum as a whole was sobering. The special exhibition "Give Me Your Children": Voices from the Lodz Ghetto was well thought-out and informative. I did not like the permanent exhibition, however; it was way too crowded and presented an overwhelming amount of words, media, and artifacts. Not a fun museum to see, but definitely necessary.
Sunday spending total: $1.60 (Holocaust Museum postcards)
Monday, July 23
Emily, Erica, and I got bored of writing and went on an adventure to Columbia Heights. We scooped up some dessert at Sticky Fingers right before close and proceeded to eat dinner at Logan @ The Heights:
We had a lovely time at this brand spanking new restaurant! My burger with bacon and fresh avocado was delicious...not to mention that it was followed by vegan raspberry cheesecake :)
Monday spending total: $33.13 (dessert at Sticky Fingers and dinner)
Tuesday, July 24
Following a presentation by two gentlemen from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the WISE gang went on a tour of the Capitol:
To be honest, I wasn't overwhelmed by the beauty of the Capitol rotunda. To be even more honest, I think that the rotunda in the Texas state capitol is significantly more beautiful.
The best part of the tour was getting to see the House vote!!! In all seriousness, this is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I couldn't tell you what was more exciting: the illuminated panels with each representative's name and his or her vote, the electric buzz in the air, or people-watching from the gallery. Speaking of, I spotted several Congressfolk including Dennis Kucinich, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, Betty Sutton, Steve LaTourette, Rush Holt, Susan Davis, Steny Hoyer, Vern Ehlers, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, David Wu, and Deborah Pryce.
On a random aside, the Capitol South Metro station has the best advertisements ever. Check out Edna, sponsored by Smart Skies:
I also LOVE Dell's new colored laptop ads:
(A REPUBLICAN CHOSE BLUE also exists.)
Later on, Chris, Dave, Jason, Ano, Annie, and I headed to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Here's Dave on the way to Baltimore:
We got to the park just as the Cal Ripken Hall of Fame Send-Off was ending:
Ano, Jason, and Dave were a little disappointed that we didn't get Cal Ripken bobbleheads:
Camden Yards was built in 1992 by HOK Sport, the same firm that brought you Jacobs Field in 1994. I could definitely tell that the two parks were siblings:
As per usual, I was slightly obsessed with photographing this MLB ballpark:
Check out this Camden Yards sunset:
I somehow had a 48-year-old Baltimorean gentleman give me his number at the game. Don't worry, though; he has a 46-year-old internet girlfriend from West Virginia!
Oh, and the Orioles won another pitchers' duel 3 to nothing.
Tuesday spending total: $49.60 (postage, my share of a ZipCar, Orioles ticket, and a hot dog)
Wednesday, July 25
The WISE guys and gals had breakfast with engineering society representatives and a snack with Spanish engineering students later in the afternoon. Outside of that, much more paper writing ensued.
On a high note, I got mango tea and vegan blueberry cheesecake from Java Green.
On a low note, my beloved HP R707 camera died. The zoom and other functions had acted up when I heard Steny Hoyer speak two weeks ago, but my little camera somehow made a valiant recovery for the Philly trips, Washington Monument, and other mayhem around town. Upon turning on my camera most recently, no zoom, no menu, no nothing.
(For those who are wondering, I contacted HP technical support along with several DC area camera shops two weeks ago. The strips in between the manual buttons and internal circuits wore out; these wear down from use and ultimately limit the lifetime of the camera. HP offered me the option of trading my camera in for a newer refurb model, but I instead got a steal of a deal on a new HP R927 from Beach Camera.)
Requiescat in Pacem, my little camera.
Wednesday spending total: $6.90 (tea and cheesecake)
