We visited the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. It’s architecture was breathtaking, with every corner of the building decorated with amazing details.
This is a part of the ceiling!
The Library of Congress is open to the public, and it is free (everything is DC was free, it seemed).
We visited the National Air and Space museum, one of the Smithsonian museums. Entrance is free to all of the museums! This particular museum is the most visited museum in the world.
Replica of the first functional airplane built by Wilbur and Orville Wright.
This is what Edwin Aldrin wore on Apollo 11.
Four of us drove to Washington DC. It’s a 8-9 hour drive (well, about 11 hours if you count the resting times). We stayed in a hotel in Virginia, about 30 minutes drive from downtown DC. The first day was pretty uneventful, we just settled in and went to sleep.
The next morning, we woke up early, got ready and drove to downtown. We parked the car in the Union Station, and walked towards the capitol building. We read online that they give free tickets for a tour of the building, starting from 9.00 am. Tours are conducted every 10 minutes.
When we got to the place where they give away tickets, we realized that we should have come much earlier than 9.00 am. The queue to the kiosk was very, very long. We stayed in line for about 20 minutes and got our tickets for a tour that was two hours away.
Here are two photos from the interior of the building.
View of the Washington monument from the Capitol building.
Us in front of the building.
It’s summer now and can be very warm during the day. I love it. When people around me looking for A/C and fans, I don’t feel uncomfortably hot. I wish Ann Arbor had this weather all year around.
Yesterday I was driving near my house and there was a car stopped in the middle of the other lane. I didn’t know why it was stopped. There weren’t very many vehicles on the road at that time. While I was passing him on the lane to his right side, I noticed two ducks (one male, one female) taking off few feet in front from that car.
Last weekend I saw a deer on my apartment complex.
A week ago, I saw a brown bunny hopping around near my apartment. Few weeks ago I saw a bunny and a squirrel playing near the neighborhood.
I was waiting for a friend at the Diag last week and noticed a very tiny, yet intricate multi-color bug crawling. I wish I had my camera with me.
Summer is great. So many things to explore.
I turned 29 last friday. I did a lot of fun things by myself as well as with my roommate that day.
On Saturday, I organized a lunch at my place for my friends. Thanks for all the chefs for a wonderful meal and for attending and contributing pleasurable conversations. Thanks for Felipe (the cat) for entertainment.
So, I went to Gallup Park this weekend. It’s summer and I will be going there more frequently. This is the time when the bird eggs hatch and tiny babies come out. I can already see gooslings wobbling around with their parents.
Since I have taken many photos of ducks and geese in the past, I wanted to try photographing other birds. Unlike bigger birds, the smaller ones are more difficult to capture. Their size is small, they hide on the trees, and they move quickly. This needs more patience than before, as well as gaining the trust from the birds.
As I was walking along the river looking through trees and bushes for birds, I saw this baby bird sitting on a tree. It was not tiny, but was clearly a baby. It had a fuzzyness to it. It was also apparent to me that the baby couldn’t fly. It probably tried flying or hopping for the first time to this branch.
So, I moved closer to the bushes. I clicked away a few photos when the baby started starring at me. I didn’t want to scare it away, so I didn’t make any noises, although I had to break a few dead twigs to get inside.
After a few minutes, the touble started. Well, trouble for me. The baby started to cry a bit. All of a sudden, two or three adult birds came near and started to yell at me. It wasn’t a very scray cry, but they probably wanted me to go away. Well, I didn’t. I sat down on the ground and pretended I am doing my own business. I took more photos and then left.
I walked around a bit and decided to go back home. On my way back, I noticed that the bird was still there. I took the opportunity to take more photos. The adult birds were getting uneasy, so I left.
I hope I didn’t traumatize the family.
Karthik, Visha and I went on a day long road trip to West Michigan. It was one of the first warm and sunny days this year.
Here is the route.
First we went to Holland, a place we visited last year for the Tulip Festival. We went to the beach and took some photos.
Our main destination was Saugatuck. It’s a little tourist town. We went before the season started, so many shops were closed. But that didn’t stop us from having fun. We ate lunch at Pumpernickel eatery and the food was tasty. We bought fudge, went shopping and then stopped by an antique shop.
Then we went to South Haven. We walked along the beach, stalked sea gulls, ate fudge and relaxed.
