Monday Fun Day: Smithsonian Edition

The announcement was recently made that our furloughs would be ending, which is ultimately good news. However, I will miss my three-day weekends. For my final Monday Fun Day, I paid a visit to the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian. Being in such close proximity to these world-class (and free!) museums is one of my favorite things about living in DC. I love that I can leisurely wander through a museum for an hour or two, and not feel rushed to see everything in one day like a tourist.

I first stopped at the National Museum of Natural History. 

I usually don't spend a lot of time here, because I'm not much of a science person. However, the Natural History museum has two of my favorite things: prehistoric fossils and bling.

For some reason, I don't think I'd ever seen this exhibit before (I guess I'm always distracted by the dinosaurs nearby). I didn't realize they had woolly mammoths and other Ice Age fossils. I have to say, I'm still partial to the La Brea Tar Pits.

I'm never ceased to be amazed by the dinosaurs. So cool.

This is the T. Rex that was featured in Night at the Museum.

And then there's the bling. This is usually the most crowded exhibit in the museum, but so worth it.

Crowds jostle for a view of the Hope Diamond.

The Hope Diamond is cool and all, but I'd rather see some of the other stuff. Like this:

I have connections at the Smithsonian....I wonder if they would let me try these on.

I'm like a magpie. I love anything that sparkles.

Next, I crossed the Mall and headed to the Castle.

Look! Segway tourists!

Inside the Castle, they had a miniature Lego version of the building.

Lastly, I walked next door to the Freer Gallery of Art, which I had never visited before. The Freer specializes in Asian art, and frankly, that's not really my thing. But I had heard about a delightful exhibit called the Peacock Room. This is the actual 19th-century dining room of the museum's founder when he lived in London. It's just lovely.

Well, friends, these furlough field trips have been fun, but I'll be glad to have my regular paycheck back. This certainly isn't the end of my adventures though! Stay tuned for more....