White House, Old Post Office, and Museum of Natural History

Today I woke up and decided to go exploring the city, tourist style. So I took the Metro into Federal Triangle Station. From there I walked Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and back around the ellipse to the Old Post Office Building. I heard this building has a fantastic view of the city without all the lines of the Washington Monument. It was quite a view I must say until it started raining. The Old Post Office has some old bells that are only run for special occasions by a special bell ringing crew. They are rung for three hours at a time with no breaks for the ringers… considered moderate physical activity that is non-competitive and team building according to the posted info. Maybe I will start recommending bell ringing to my patients in the future. I wanted to keep walking the city, but the weather forced me indoors to the Museum of Natural Science. I am in awe of the way in which the Smithsonian Museums display artifacts. Each exhibit is so carefully thought out and well planned. I enjoyed the sea and oceans exhibit the most, but I wish they had more information on sharks. The did have a recreation of a megaladon jaw and comparison of megaladon teeth to great white teeth, which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the precious gems exhibit with the Hope diamond, Harry Winston treasures, and collections of stones/minerals/gems. Richard would have loved the dinosaur exhibit. I found myself spending the most time with the skeletons and bones sections of each of the exhibits. It’s so amazing to me to compare/contrast the skeletons of different animals to that of humans. It’s crazy how our skeletal structures are so similar, but have such key differences as well. After the museum I took the Metro back home, where I vegged out the rest of the evening watching Private Practice reruns. I started to feel super shitty and I think I may be allergic to the city… shocker.