Jayne's Visit

So my friend Jayne contacted me a couple of months ago about coming to visit.  She doesn't travel much as she has several beloved pets who need her attention and she's the busiest professional actress in Utah but it worked out that she could come for a week.

Fortunately she's a hiker so when we put in miles and miles in the city she's just fine with that!  The first day we hit the botanical gardens, Library of Congress, The Supreme Court then decided to do a tour of the Capitol.  We ended up with a great guide and Jayne was fascinated with everything, but just as we were wrapping up we ran into my friend Jen who is a staffer to a senator from Alabama.  She had been giving a private tour to someone and offered to take us to a couple of places regular tours don't go.

Supreme Court 

 She took us out on the balcony that overlooks the mall and I thought Ms. Jayne was going to flip!  She was so moved by it all.  It really is a breathtaking view!  Jen showed us a few other places and took us on the train that runs under the capitol to the other office buildings.  She went back to work and Jayne and I grabbed a soda and snack before heading back towards home.

One of the reasons Jayne came to town was to see a talented friend's marionette company.  He's a world famous puppeteer out of Canada but he (Ronnie Burkett) and Jayne were friends at BYU and in NYC.  She got us tickets to see his show at The Kennedy Center and we had a great time.

These were puppets from another company that was performing

 We generally had leisurely mornings over yogurt but Jayne had left her phone at the Kennedy Center the night before so we Metro'd back over in the am to get her phone then decided to walk over to the Lincoln Memorial.  In fact we did all the memorials on that end of the National Mall.  We took the long lovely walk around the tidal basin then found a park bench looking out over the water and stopped to have sandwiches I had made us at home.  Unfortunately no cherry blossoms blooming yet because of the cold but it was still a nice day.

 This statue of George Mason is tucked away over by the Jefferson Memorial and I had seen it from afar but as we walked up to it I realized how awesome it was!  Like he was just finding a nice place to sit and read.  I will definitely come back here to read alongside him!

 I had to run to Andrews AFB for a few things when we got home and Jayne came along.  Fortunately Air Force One was in a location on the runway where she could see it.  She LOVES that President of ours.

 Our evenings were mostly spent having a leisurely dinner with Tom then watching tv while she worked on her crochet and I on my cross-stitch.  Tom and I go to bed by 10 pm or earlier but she would sleep for a couple of hours then get up for a few hours and watch Friday Night Lights on Netflix and crochet some more before going back to bed for a couple of more hours.  Crazy!  It wasn't just the jet lag; she actually keeps that schedule at home as well!

The next morning Jayne and I drove to the National Cathedral.  Her mom loved it so she wanted to be able to see it.  We spent a couple of hours there walking through ourselves then hooked onto a group with a guide and heard some really interesting things.  Like the fact that Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan are both buried there!  This special exhibit was also there called a Meditation on Mourning.

 After we walked the gardens we headed over to Georgetown where we were meeting the American Friends group for an activity at The National Zoo.  Jayne got to meet some of the students I've talked about and chat with them as we drove back to the zoo.  Tom met us there and Jayne decided to go sightseeing on her own while we participated in the scavenger hunt.  Our teams were supposed to snap an Instagram of all the things on a list which were different types of animals in the zoo.  But it was also supposed to have the entire group in it (so you wouldn't divide up) along with our stuffed animal and print out hashtag.  We had a little over an hour to get them all then we headed back to campus for snacks and looking at all the photos.  We took third and got an awesome National Zoo bookmark as a prize!

Alexis and Michele

Sunday Tom and I got up to go to church and Jayne went to get in line to be able to get into the National Archives first thing.  Apparently others had the same idea as there was a long line when she got there.  She had just barely gotten inside the building when Tom and I got out of church so we walked to the museum of American History and waited in the cafe for her.  It turned out to be a couple of hours but it was really nice to just sit at the bar facing the window and enjoy the sunny (but cold) day and people watch.  And just talk!

Finally Jayne arrived but I was so glad she got to see everything she wanted.  We spent another hour or so in the museum before walking to Ford's Theatre.  We got there just in time for the last tour!  We got our tickets then walked to the corner to grab a quick bite to hold us over while we waited for our timed tour. 

Jayne and Tom in Ford's Theatre

 After you see the theatre you walk across the street to see the house where they took Lincoln after he had been shot.  There was quite a line there so I kept our place while Tom went in with Jayne to get her photo with Obama.  The Peterson house and the museum after were fascinating and we spent quite a bit of time there.  As you leave, this tower of books about Lincoln fills the staircase.

 Arts Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill happened to coincide with Jayne's visit and once the head of the Utah delegation found out she was going to be here he asked her to join them.  She has worked professionally as an actor, choreographer, producer and director for 40 years.  So she had a couple of meetings to go to on Monday then I met her at Dupont Circle in the late afternoon.  She LOVES the tv series The West Wing and apparently there are many references to Dupont on that show so it seemed like a good place to meet on the metro.  We took a leisurely walk around the area and down to the Kennedy Center.  We had plenty of time so walked along the water watching the runners and the people rowing in the river.  Finally we headed up and had a sandwich in the cafe in the Center and walked through a costume exhibit before heading to the theater.  We were there for the keynote speaker for the Arts Advocacy day.  The speaker was New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and Alec Baldwin introduced her.  Frankly, we were a little disappointed in her lecture but it was maybe supposed to be more about entertainment rather than a pep talk about their visits with congress the following day.  Anyway, our favorite thing was the Celtic band and dancers that opened the program. We also ran into Shannon on our way out then hopped the Metro for home and relaxation.

Yesterday she spent the day on Capitol Hill with two other Utahans speaking with mostly staffers but one representative about the arts.  She didn't really feel like it was very effective but was happy for the opportunity.  She told us all about it over dinner last night.  This morning I dropped her at BWI for her 7 am flight home.  Overall, I think she had a great time and enjoyed being in the nation's capital.