Weekend Report: The Hirshhorn and Other Musuems and Laziness

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday but hooray because it’s actually Tuesday!

Most of my friends left DC this weekend, headed towards warmer (and some colder) 3-day vacation locations. I, per usual, stay-cated like the seasoned professional stay-cationer I am.

Friday I saw some live music at Hill Country, a totally out of place Texas Barbecue and live music venue in Penn Quarter. Twangy creole country, complete with accordion and rubboard, isn’t usually my jam, but this place was definitely an experience. I really really want to go back for live band karaoke – I’m pretty sure that would be AMAZING.

Both Saturday and Sunday I got my culture on and hit up some museums. On Saturday afternoon my friend and I started at the Freer Sackler Gallery and made our way through underground tunnels through to the African Art Museum. In Freer and Sackler we saw some ancient Iranian and Islamic art, which, when you take the time to really look at it, is shockingly awesome. And then the super-interesting Lalla Essaydi Moroccan art exhibit was still in the African Art Museum (I first saw it in July), so that was a cool second look.

This a "wine horn." I'm pretty sure you can't put it down...
pretty sure that makes it some sort of ancient drinking game. 

We also had time to check out the bottom floor of the Hirshhorn before I had to head back to yoga. It was actually pretty cool! Is this a human-sized stick of butter or modern art? Hard to say...

Yoga was at Yoga District on H Street – my first non-Bikram yoga experience. It was not terrible! And we did downward dog and I didn’t HATE it (that much). And we dedicated our practice to love…so that was nice? Haha a little touchy-feely for my usual workout taste, but meh why not?

Sunday morning I biked (!!!) through an intense headwind to get to the CAR long run meeting at the FDR Memorial. (That right there shows intense team dedication…or strong unwillingness to run alone.)

We ran 5K loops around Hains Point, doing 4x2 miles at marathon-ish pace with one mile in between and totaling 16 miles. So. Freaking. Windy. We timed it so that most of the 2 miles harder was with a tailwind, but then ooooh man that 1 mile recovery into brick wall of icy air...oof.

But you know what’s easier than getting lost and running 23 miles? A 16 mile workout. So unlike last weekend, I was actually able to function afterwards, rally, and head back to the Mall to meet another friend for another museum! It was the second to last weekend of Ai Weiwei at the Hirshhorn, so we meandered around and saw the sights. I want this box in my house:

Also some GIANT bowls of pearls.

But less-so some building-the-Bird's Nest wallpaper.

I left the Hirshhorn to walk home, planning on lying on my couch and reading my book, when I realized that there I was, next to the National Gallery – i.e. I should read my book there! So I visited my favorite painting and eventually settled down in the Italian Renaissance wing, A Game of Thrones in hand, flipped my brain off and disappeared from the real world for a bit.  It was excellent.

Monday was a free day and I took it sloooow. After a morning/afternoon of lounging and reading, I got myself moving to head to the rock gym, which was fantastically empty! Then a post-climbing dinner at Chinatown Express ended my weekend perfectly with dumplings and greens and noodles and happiness.

Despite how much I run, I am notoriously horrific at sleeping, so this weekend I did my best to make up for it. Over three nights I slept 30 hours, which is more sleep than I sometimes get in 4-5 days. It was AMAZING and I feel awesome.

Hope you had a good long weekend too!