US Botanic Garden

As you can see the weather in DC has been grey, foggy and drizzling.  I know that sounds like paradise to Utahans right about now after their "Snowmageddon," but this is the type of weather that makes me want to curl up in a blanket, turn off the lights and go to a dark place.  Hence!  Taylor and I hit the Metro yesterday to go someplace warm.    First we had to check out the continuing Inaugural preparations.  I couldn't believe they had all these folding chairs set up a week before the event but maybe they needed them for the rehearsal which was held on Sunday.

 Right next door is the US Botanic Garden (which was our chosen destination) so we ducked inside where it's warm, humid and can make you believe, at least for a little while, that you're somewhere near the tropics.  They have all these cool replicas of the DC monuments and buildings made out of woods, plants, natural elements, etc.

 There were desert sections, Hawaii, orchid rooms, and much more.  There were folks comfy on benches reading, knitting and sketching.  Next time I need a pick me up, I know where I'm heading.

 Taylor has developed a keen interest in gardening (living off the land) so he was happy to spend the time there with me.  Wish he could find a job there.....learn while he earns money.  HECK, wish I could find a job there!

The jungle section was three floors up so you could look at it from different levels.  We walked over to Union Station afterwards and did a little book shopping at Barnes & Noble (which we found out is closing due to renovations) then just wandered around the shops until Tom joined us for dinner.

When we got home we discovered the power was out in our apartment.  Not the whole building, just a few apartments so we sat around in the dark and just talked.  With the big windows in our place a lot of light comes in from outside so it wasn't bad.  Tom gave Taylor a personality test by flashlight while I kept track of his answers then we all started to fall asleep.  The management was already on the power issues and made several stops at our place while they worked on it.  Tom and Taylor went to bed and I slept in the recliner waiting for them to come back then finally about 11:00 they got it up and going (along with heat) and all was well.