Making history

I always say that the National Museum of American History is my favorite, yet I hardly ever visit. After working there as an intern many years ago, I had the place memorized. However, a lot has changed since then. So I used my day off this past MLK Day to check it out, and I was surprised and delighted to see some of their new acquisitions. The first thing that caught my attention was the jacket worn by my first celebrity crush, Fred Savage on The Wonder Years.

And then my eyes were drawn to a set of artifacts right next to the jacket - some props from one of my favorite TV shows, Mad Men. 

Don Draper's business cards, checkbook, sunglasses, and a pack of Lucky Strikes.

And another pop culture reference - this train was featured in an episode of Parks and Rec. (Andy thought it was the train from Back to the Future Part III [it's not].)

This ginormous statue is hard to miss. Back when I was an intern, we used to refer to it as "Sexy George."

I took a spin through the First Ladies exhibit, as I always do when I visit the museum (I like to look at the dresses). And I was a little surprised to see that Melania Trump already had a panel installed. This was 5 days before the inauguration, mind you.

Speaking of the inauguration, the preparations were well underway downtown and around the Mall.

This is the temporary structure on the Mall for all the broadcast networks. They film their segments against the backdrop of those glass windows...

....and this is the view they get.