Yesterday was a gorgeous, warm November day that felt like it was somehow leftover from the first week of September. I went hiking out at Great Falls (on the Virginia side) along with my friends Riles and Alison, as well as Bowser and Alison’s dog Winston. There was lots of tromping through the woods, into leaves and puddles, as well as plenty of homemade trail mix and Riles’ backpack (very important for carrying the trail mix). Bowser and his little legs did surprisingly well, walk-running the entire hike and still not being tired at then end of it.
It always amazes me that, even while living in the city, it only takes a 30 minute drive and a quick walk to be in the middle of nature, and what feels like the middle of nowhere.
On Saturday we checked out the Solar Decathlon houses on the National Mall. Impressive! The lines were long, so we only waited long enough to tour through the interior of the Virginia Tech house (pictured), and yes, it’s as innovative as it looks. There were custom kitchen drawers that folded out to create more counter-space, iPhone controlled home settings, and fold-out privacy panels for the bedroom — they revealed the flat screen TV behind them. Design was in the details! But more importantly, the goal of all the houses was to be energy neutral, meaning no electricity bills! They are being judged on numerous other points, too, like architecture and marketability. The total cost of each house was to come in under $160,000. With more time, I would have liked to see the inside of Cornell’s silo-inspired house. Check them out if you have a chance, today and tomorrow, or the 15th-18th. They are closed for judging on the 14th.
I took this photo of Virginia Tech’s solar decathlon house, LumenHaus, this past weekend as it was being constructed on the 5th St lawn outside the National Building Museum. It will be there until Sept 27th, when it will then move to the National Mall for October 9-13 and 15-18. The house features the sliding glass doors (seen in the picture) on the north and south facades, which are all about allowing in the *light*. But more importantly, there’s an app for that — the heating, cooling, lighting, insulation, and sunshades can be controlled by using a computer or iPhone. Now we’re talking! Good luck to the team as they participate in Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid next summer! US represent.
My mom had been planning a “something-I-can’t-tell-you-yet” Christmas present surprise for a few weeks now, and yesterday we finally found out what it was. We were picked up by car and, after following the directions of the Garmin, we arrived at Arena Stage to see a performance of Next to Normal. The picture above shows the main stage set, which was, besides the songs, truly one of the coolest parts of the show.
I don’t go to see theater shows very much, but every time I do, I say to myself, “You should go see more shows.” Then I also walk around for the next three days pretending and wishing I was good at singing…
This morning I woke up and thought, I can’t believe that the Sept 11th attacks happened seven years ago today. It seems like an eternity when I think of all the things that have changed in my life, and in the world… but I can remember that morning like it happened just yesterday. Today at the Pentagon, a memorial to Flight 77is opening near the west wall to commemorate the victims at that site. There are 184 light benches for each one of the victims.
Great picnic spot = a grassy patch near the Potomac, just down past the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge. Good for: sunsets (see above) and boat watching. Pairs well with PB&J sandwiches, wine, a blanket. Bad for: gnats, seeing loch-ness monster things jump out of the Potomac.
OK, so I’m pretty excited about the Olympics starting tomorrow and I’m feelin’ the USA pride. I think I’ll be paying extra special attention this year to the Olympic triathletes, and by that I mean my mouth hanging open wide at how fast and buff they are. I heard on the radio today that there will be a special multimedia presentation at the opening ceremony, which I am equally excited about seeing. I wish I could have worked on something like that.
This photo is from Arlington National Cemetery…. and hmm why is the moon out?
