Are you SURE it’s not July?

It feels more like Fourth of July than Memorial Day in Washington, DC today. What’s with this heat and humidity??

I went down to see Rolling Thunder before meeting my friend Del this afternoon to hit a couple of museums. I was pretty amazed by the number of motorcycles, and all the leather and American flags. I watched for about 45 minutes, went into the African Art Museum and then over to Natural History to get some lunch, and they were still running up Constitution. (I was hoping to see a bike like the ones on American Chopper. I love that show.)

One of my favorite spots down on the Mall is the Ripley Garden, on Independence Ave. between the Hirshhorn Museum and the Arts and Industries building. It is really gorgeous, lots of flowers and plants, and it’s shady and there are places to sit. It is like a little oasis.

I found another really cool place to hang out today, too, the Portico Café at the American Art Museum . It’s on the second floor, outdoors, overlooking G Street. There was a lovely breeze and great people watching. They have light food, like sandwiches, sodas, coffee, beer, wine, and even hard liquor. Next time I will bring a date – the museum is open until 7 pm.

Del and sat for more than an hour, cooling off, nursing my Sierra Nevada, talking about him having kids, my desire not to have kids, his next job, the obstacles people blame for their lot in life, the new girls he met this weekend. We cover all of the bases when we get together. So it was a great day all around.

And I have another day off tomorrow. Awesome.