The Fourth of July Weekend in Review

Lucky me I had five days off to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday!

During this Fourth of July holiday weekend, I attended both the 40th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the grand reopening of the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. A shuttle operated between the two events, and I ate at Cafe New Orleans on the Mall, watched passerbyers and enjoyed the sunshine. Personally, the American President paintings were the hallmark of the institution because it was comprehensive. Every president from George Washington to George Bush was featured. Having viewed the First Ladies exhibit at the American History Museum, the art museum's offering was perfectly complementary. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed Americans Now, photographs about living Americans and the McEvoy Auditorium performances. They ranged from the Harmony Singers, a barbershop singing collective to Los Quetzales, a Mexican Dance Troupe to a brother and sister storytelling duo. Also at the Luce Foundation Center, I saw William Johnson's paintings and saw staff preserve portraits and photographs. In addition, I participated in the treasure hunt where I had to locate six artworks, get my pamphlet stamped then proceed to the Target tent to receive my free gift, a Target dog complete with a tiny Velcro backpack. How cute!

Yesterday I attended the Independence Day Parade on Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The entire event was magnificent especially the floats. However, I was a little disappointed because though I brought two disposable cameras, I quickly ran out of films. However, I took full advantage of my five-day weekend, immersing myself culturally, resting, reflecting and just plain having fun!

These five days offered a welcome respite from apartment hunting which zapped me of my energy and made me sweat profusely (My apartment flooded last week.) However, I was happy to at least obtain some market quotes and meet some people in the industry. Right now relocation will be deferred until August when my lease expires because the combination of application fee, deposit and first month’s rent was too burdensome to overcome on one paycheck; however, this window offers an array of opportunities to obtain a downtown apartment for less money.