Back in Oxford after the Beach and another Sojourn in Washington

Except for Matthew, who is trapped in England, and my brother-in-law Rich, who is trapped by his work as an oral surgeon, everyone in the Rodgers family was at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland: my dad and his 5 children and 4 spouses; 9 out of 10 grandchildren plus 3 spouses and 1 boyfriend in that generation; and all 8 of Dad's great-grandchildren. Joining us, as usual, was my good friend Lori and her 2 children plus 3 of their friends, and, for a couple days, Lori's boyfriend and 2 of his children. We were very fortunate to have consistently great weather all week, and we enjoyed lots of time on the beach, kayaking on the bay, dinner out one night, an evening of putt-putt golf, a pirate ship ride for the little kids and their parents and grandparents one morning, and lots of good food. On Thursday of beach week, Terry and Karen came with us to Oxford and we spent a few hours sailing on Mantra. 

The whole gang

The putt-putt golfers

My brother Terry and his wife Karen on Mantra

Terry at the helm

Zofi becoming a mermaid

Katya, Peter and I returned to the boat on Saturday, July 24, and took advantage of having three people to take down the mainsail and the sail cover and put up the enormous shade tarp that extends from the bow to the pilot house. It keeps the boat cooler and stops the rain from leaking in through the failing deck hatches, but it's like a tomb down below. Katya declared that her definition of a boat is: a lot of work! 

Peter and I were unable to take down the headsail on Sunday (July 25) morning because of gusty wind, so Katya and I were able to get an early start to Washington, D.C. Our first destination was the National Arboretum. Katya was interested in seeing the National Bonsai and Penjing exhibit. The museum is currently closed due to COVID-19, but there was plenty to admire in the gardens. We also visited the Herb Garden and the meadow with the Capitol Columns. These 22 sandstone Corinthian columns once graced the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, from 1828 to 1958. The columns were removed when an addition to the east side of the building was added in the mid-20th century.

Penjing garden with figurine

Katya admiring bonsai

Bonsai forest

Bonsai with stripped bark

The Capitol Columns

Katya in the Herb Garden of the National Arboretum

We planned to spend most of the day at the Museum of Natural History, perhaps our favorite Smithsonian. However, when we approached it after having had lunch in Penn Quarter, we found a line from 14th Street to the central entrance on the Mall side (about two blocks) and an equally long line on Constitution Avenue. We estimated that we would spend at least an hour waiting to get in, so we sadly walked away and decided to visit the National Gallery of Art instead. Katya roamed around in no orderly fashion while I took up where I had left off a couple weeks ago and visited the galleries of the eastern side of the main building in proper order. By 4 p.m., our legs and feet were tired and our minds really did not want to absorb anything else, so we drove to Lori's house in the Glover Park neighborhood. 

Katya by the fountain in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

Lori fixed a great dinner for her daughter Elizabeth, her friend Zofi, Katya, me and herself. Elizabeth had discovered a venue where art and technology are merged, and the five of us had tickets for the 9:00 entrance to Artechouse, a place that features a themed, interactive experience. Inspired by the cherry blossom festival, the visuals evoke scenes of Tokyo now and 100 years from now, and imagines the impacts of climate change and pollution and the roles of AI. Through movement within the various galleries, the audience could produce change, including blossoming trees and flocks of butterflies, bringing hope to what were otherwise colorful, magnetic yet disturbing scenes. We stayed for an hour immersing ourselves in the experience.

Butterflies in response to Sherri's movement

Trashed Tokyo with emerging cherry trees

Katya creating movement in a pan with her hand

A place to create chime-like music with hand movements

Cherry trees and butterflies in the main exhibit

Unfortunately, the Smithsonian is just in the process of re-opening. Many of the museums, such as Air and Space and the Hirshhorn, are still closed, and those that are open are on a reduced schedule. None of them is open seven days a week as usual. Unfortunately, the Natural History is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays, so Katya and I had to make another choice. The building of the National Botanic Gardens is closed due to the pandemic, but the outside areas are open, so we went there first before it became too hot. As we made our way to the Freer Gallery, we also explored various small but colorful and delightful Smithsonian gardens including the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, the Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden, the Moongate Garden and the Enid A. Haupt Garden outside the Castle. 

Katya and Sherri at the National Botanic Gardens

Mother of thousands plant

Coneflowers

Crimson pitcher plants

At the Freer, we discovered many interesting things about Asian and Middle Eastern art through the pieces on display; learned about the life, styles and techniques of the Japanese artist Horusai; admired atmospheric landscape and portrait paintings by Whistler and Dewing and other turn of the previous century American artists; and delighted in the bold interior design and display of Freer's Asian vases and other ceramics in the Peacock Room designed by Whistler. 

Katya and I had lunch downtown and then took the bus back to Lori's. Katya had received a text notification that her flight at 5:25 p.m. was delayed an hour, which only gave her 10 minutes to make a connection in Charlotte. Luckily, I was able to change her routing and get her home via Dallas/Ft. Worth on a flight leaving at 5 p.m. and I still had enough time to drive her to Washington National airport by 4 p.m. 

That evening, Lori and I were joined by Mary (whom I had never met), who is visiting with her daughter Zofi (whom I have know for several years) from Vietnam. With champagne, cheese and crackers and a salad using delicious ingredients from Lori's garden, we passed several hours in lively conversation. They are both single and dating, so there was plenty of "girl" talk.

The next morning, I drove to Annapolis so that the body shop that will be repairing the damage to Peter's car could take photos and make and estimate for the insurance company. We will leave the car at this shop when we depart the east coast next Tuesday by plane, and Peter will pick it up when he returns in late September or early October to spend a month working on the boat. 

Peter has been sick for the last couple of days with a sinus infection, so he probably was not as productive as usual during the two days I was gallivanting around Washington. Several family members have post-vacation colds and illnesses and he is among the afflicted. Although it is unlikely COVID, he is getting a test tomorrow. 

He continues to work on the autopilot and other projects. Yesterday, I sewed the gaping seams in the cushions for the navigation table seat, a task that should have been done long ago. This morning, wind conditions allowed us to remove the genoa (headsail) and that and the main are now stored in the boatyard's sail loft. I have washed the cushion covers for the pilot house seats and will be doing some minor sewing repairs later today. 

Our short summer of sailing has winded down. On Friday, Mantra will be hauled to spend another fall and winter on the hard. Next year we have plans to cover hundreds of miles of water and explore new places, including Maine, Nova Scotia and possibly Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, England, the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain and Portugal and finally the Med.