Posts in: dmv

After ten… eventful years in DC, our family — which doubled in size since 2016 (and more than doubled if you include the cat, and why wouldn’t you) — is moving to Denver, Colorado! Next month. Less than three weeks from now. Gulp.

So anyway, here is a recent storm over Washington to set the mood.

A cityscape with tall buildings and the Washington monument is set against a dramatic sky with dark storm clouds and a golden sunset in the distance.

A new pop up just opened in DC on 7th Street NW, between G and H. You love to see it.

A reading room with a sign “The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room” is visible through a glass door.

The 109-year-old (National) Sylvan Theater sits directly across from the Washington Monument on the National Mall. Derelict and seemingly abandoned — the last event was in October 2025 — it may be an even better symbol of America’s semiquincentennial than that monstrosity behind the White House.

An empty, tattered outdoor stage with a covered backdrop stands under a cloudy sky surrounded by trees.

📚Still reading Inventing the Renaissance, and Lorenzo de Medici’s brother Giuliano of course had a mention. Still, I wasn’t prepared for his bust being quite so metal.

A terracotta bust depicts a person in ornate armor with a detailed, expressive face at the center.A detailed stone carving depicts a mythical or dramatic face with an open mouth, surrounded by ornate leaf designs.

This is at the (not Smithsonian!) National Art Gallery in DC, which has a rich collection of renaissance works.

📚 Some 18th century childhood doodles in a 17th century William Shakespeare first folio, as seen in the Folger collection. Kids will be kids!

An illuminated manuscript is displayed, open to two pages featuring textual and illustrative content.

Both the ghost and the mermaid museums we visited this weekend were in Berlin, MD, est. 1868. Was it per chance founded by German immigrants, I hear you ask, or a Teutonic-leaning group huddling after the Civil War? Why no: it is a contraction of Burley Inn, so the town is in fact “Burl’in”. TIL.

Yesterday’s ghosts are today’s mermaids. Here is a Fiji mermaid as advertised (above) and in reality (below). Not the PT Barnum specimen, but apparently made around the same time.

On a semi-related note, here is some good life advice from ol’ PTB.

A display features a framed illustration of The Remarkable Feejee Mermaid above a glass case containing various preserved aquatic specimens, including a preserved Fiji “mermaid”.

Where better to spend a rainy Saturday on the Eastern Shore than the Ghost Museum in Berlin, MD?

The creepy mask was used in Odd Fellow rituals in the 1950s and, having their building right next door to our place in DC, I am at the same time intrigued and repulsed by what may be going on in there.

A vintage fencing mask used in Odd Fellow rituals is displayed in a museum setting along with historical information about the connection between ghosts and secret societies.

A treasure hidden in the bushes near the Dumbarton Oaks garden. Glad to have had an actual camera on me, for once.

A nest with small mockingbird chicks camouflaged among dense twigs and leaves in a bush.

Seen this morning on a walk down Rock Creek and the Potomac. DC is closer to nature than most people imagine.

A large grey heron takes flight from the edge of a wide river on a sunny day. In the background, the urban skyline of Georgetown features a mix of brick and modern buildings under a clear blue sky.