My Childhood Lunch Box is in the Smithsonian

This is it. Amazing memories. The game on the back was the closest I ever got to owning Mystery Date.

I haven't been to the Museum of American History since I was in high school and I have to say it was disappointing.

I remember it feeling like an attic full of treasures. Now its treasures are well lit, beautifully organized and displayed. But they seem so few. A much smaller percentage of its holdings are on display and I miss the jumble of it.

About half the museum's exhibits were related to machinery and inventions which I think of as belonging to a museum of science and industry and which I find boring.

Here is Julia Child's kitchen so you can pretend you are Amy Adams.

There is Charley McCarthy and Jim Henson's first TV puppets.

Over there is Archie Bunker's chair, Michael Jackson's hat and the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz and a Dumbo from the Disneyland ride.

But somehow the mystery and enchantment are gone.

I didn't stay long. As long as I was there, I went next door to Natural History.

I would rather see live animals in a zoo than taxidermied ones in a diorama. Bones are interesting, though. They make beautiful patterns.

I am not as enamored with dinosaur skeletons as most boys (even men) are but check out those teeth!

There was an interesting exhibit on race and a fascinating look at forensic anthropology called Written in the Bone that examines 17th-century bone "biographies" of colonists at Jamestown, Virginia, and in wealthy St. Mary’s City, Maryland. Amazing stories that made me feel just like Temperence Brennan.

 By this time I was tired. My feet hurt.

One of the best things about the DC museums is free lockers. I wore my winter coat, a sweater and a scarf but it was toasty inside. And the weather was gorgeous at lunchtime. 

Though by the time I ended up at the Sculpture Garden, it was cool and cloudy. Isn't this metal tree amazing?

I went to the National Gallery of Art, still free but not part of the Smithsonian. I was amazed at the collection: Rembrant, daVinci, Renoir, VerMeer. Every time I entered a new gallery, I'd be amazed. I was too tired to really appreciate it all though.

I took the Metro to Eastern Market (a terrifying challenge for me, even though it's so much like BART) and met Mike. We bought supplies at the market and then went to his apartment for dinner. His narrow stairs were daunting after about 10 hours on my feet.

My job was to peel the acorn squash. They have a deep grooves that the peeler couldn't reach. I finally sliced it and then peeled it. How I was supposed to do it? There must be a better way.

Mike made his own chicken broth for quinoa and roasted squash stuffing with turkey sausage, with a raw kale salad with lemon vinagerette. Delicious! I am so proud of his culinary abilities and feel inspired to try my hand again. We had a lovely time chatting with Mike's wonderful roommate Matt and and his girlfriend Liz. They walked me to Union Station and Deb picked me up in Bethesda. By then I was tired enough to crawl.