It’s been a busy few days in Washington, D.C. for me. I arrived Wednesday afternoon, went for a run around the Mall, and had Ethiopian with my friend Sloan from high school, whom I haven’t seen in about ten years.

On Thursday morning, I made my way to the White House for a tour, which was a great experience. Thanks to the staff in Rep. Harman’s office for arranging the tour. Besides the presidential trivia delivered by a friendly Secret Service agent (a grandson of John Tyler is still alive?), my favorite bit was the photo of Obama and Bono I spotted in someone’s office as we waited to enter.

I had a nice walk from the White House past the World War II Memorial (glad there is such a thing, but the design was underwhelming) and over to the Washington Monument. I stopped back by the hotel to get my camera, which I couldn’t bring to the White House, and then headed back to the Mall. I have fairly vivid, if slightly narrow, memories of visiting the various Smithsonian museums almost thirty (?!) years ago; needless to say, they’ve changed quite a bit since then.

I started at the American History Museum, where I took in only one part of one floor, which was interesting enough, but the place was a little overrun with kids on their phones (sounds cranky, I know, but seriously, it’s an epidemic). I had some lunch and then headed across the Mall to the Freer/Sackler Archives, where I had an appointment to look at some photobooth-related stuff I’d come across in a blog post on the Smithsonian website. Long story short, there was a lot of great stuff in there, an unexpected trove of historical info that will lead to a Photobooth.net blog post, if not more. After an hour or so in the archive, I headed next door to the Smithsonian Castle, where I’d never been before, in all of my trips to D.C.

I sampled the samples from each museum, and then moved onto the National Museum of Natural History. I remembered the elephant and the whale, but I hadn’t been in in years, and was really impressed by the exhibits.

I spent a few hours there, taking in the mammals, insects, gems, fish, and evolution exhibits, among others, as well as a massive crocheted coral reef, which was a sight to see. And along side the impressive new exhibits, I was happy to see a few of the old style cabinets still around, as well.

By mid-afternoon, it was time for my scheduled trip up the Washington Monument, another landmark I’d never visited in numerous trips to D.C.

The last time I spent any time on the Mall was sometime in 1999, when the monument was covered in scaffolding. The results of the renovation looked great, and I enjoyed the views from the top.

When I got back from the monument, it was time to get ready for my film screening, the reason I had come to D.C. in the first place. The screening, at the National Archives, was of Upstream, one of the silents discovered in the New Zealand project I got running last year. The show was fun, fairly well-attended and enjoyable.

The most interesting part of the evening was yet to come, though, because as we were leaving, I ran back down to the theater to grab a souvenir program, and ran back upstairs only to find that I had been locked in. I tried both sets of doors; both were locked. I yelled a few “hello”s and heard nothing. I called 311, and after being directed to dispatch, was told the only thing they could do was to send the fire department. I assured them it was not an emergency, and waited. I wandered around a bit near the exit, and eventually headed upstairs, assuming someone else had to be in the building. I had gone directly into the theater when I’d arrived, so I didn’t realize that right upstairs was the main visitor area of the archives. I found myself standing in a massive room a few yards from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and a copy of the Magna Carta. I didn’t wander around and look at anything, as I knew I was probably on camera, but I was flabbergasted that there wasn’t another soul in the room. As I headed back downstairs, I heard an elevator open, and out walked a security guard and three firemen.

I explained what had happened, and walked out the same door I’d come in, now unlocked by the security guard, who apparently had never heard my shouting and banging on the doors. I felt like a bit of an idiot, but it was a pretty hilarious (and memorable) experience.

After leaving the archives, I headed right to a bar near my hotel to have a drink and watch the end of the baseball game. I had an interesting conversation with a State Department employee, whom I cajoled into telling me some good political news among the mostly depressing fare we hear on a daily basis.

Friday morning, I made my way to the Rayburn House Office Building in the morning to stop by my Congresswoman’s office. I thanked the staff for helping with the White House tour, and got escorted through the tunnels, via a coffee shop for yet another blueberry muffin, to the new White House Visitors’ Center, which was very impressive. I think I’d been to the White House during a visit in high school, but the new visitors’ center was a stunning addition. The tour was interesting, and I used my floor passes to each of the chambers to visit the House and Senate as well.

I was checking out of my work-provided hotel and moving another today, so I headed back from the Capitol, got my bags, moved them uptown, and made my way back to the Supreme Court just in time for another tour arranged by my Representative. It wasn’t so much a tour as a lecture, but I thought it was great. We sat in the courtroom and listened to a docent talk about the story of the court and the story of the building. All of this talking about the workings of our government was making a sort of aggregate impression of optimism and pride on me; I guess that’s the point. It was tempered at every turn with depressing thoughts, but it’s still good to think about the aspirations, not just the realities.

From the Supreme Court, I moved next door to the Library of Congress, yet another landmark I’ve somehow never visited. I muddled around in the tunnels to find a snack (no cafe in the Library, of course), and then went on a great tour, led by the mustachioed Rob, who explained to use all about the crazy melange of styles and subjects utilized in the interior design of the Jefferson Building.

I left the Library just as it was closing, and headed back to the hotel to await Scott’s arrival. He showed up right on time, and we enjoyed our complimentary drinks in the hotel bar (thanks, PriorityClub!) and called it a night. Busy day tomorrow!