Lost Again, Alone

An Historic Location

Whenever we travel and we’re lost, I usually have Corinne to share the confusion. Today she’s at a two year meditation teacher certification course so I was able to be lost by myself.

Washington DC has a wonderful subway system. It allows you to get to the heart of the city then you’re on your own. My destination: The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The city’s architecture really is spectacular so I was a little distracted as I stumbled through the maze of plazas and passageways but I eventually made it to the museum. 

Woodrow Wilson Plaza

The museum is a free attraction. It greets you with a giant iconic elephant in the rotunda. They have a lot of stuff in this place. Too much stuff for one day. They have an insect zoo, dinosaurs and Neanderthals, butterflies, nature photography, freaky deep-sea fish as well as woolly mammoth hair and flesh. In fact, every type of animal on earth is either stuffed, pickled or skinned and on display. (including several humans)

I watched a “live” insect demonstration. A small crowd had gather round an entomologist with an enormous locust in his open hand. As the bug twitched he said, “you’ll notice it has no wings so it cannot fly. It is, however, a prodigious jumper!” His audience took a collective step backwards.

And if you like rocks, they got rocks. Big rocks falling from the sky (meteorites), Moon rocks and expensive rocks - the accursed Hope Diamond and the equally unlucky Marie Antoinette earrings. Until I saw this exhibit I never fully appreciated the diversity and beauty of the gems and minerals on Earth. It made the Moon rocks seem boring.

Big Rocks Falling from the Sky

Five hours later I was looking for my way home. Being completely lost, I was happy to find a cozy Starbucks where they were playing old timey dixieland and funk - a weird mix but it worked. Thank goodness for free WiFi. I texted Corinne of my predicament and started downloading maps.