this week in august my usual lunch mates are on vacation so I took my bike out to various places which may be of interest to anybody who is dreadfully bored or looking for things to do on the mall in washington dc. Bikes are very useful in washington. If you got bikes you can go almost anywhere; if you walk you'll get tired and hot and be much less interested in a bunch of dumb paintings or other artifacts.

There's a McDonalds on one side of the Air and Space Museum and a small outside version on the other side. The outside version is fast. Cheeseburger and fries, $6.75. That's sorta expensive, but cheaper than three vegetable sides and a glass of water at the National Gallery of Art, $10.45. I still can't figure that one out.

At the National Gallery of Art I sat in front on two paintings, one by Hopper, the other by Wyeth. The Hopper was a white house in the middle of a field of golden grass, bluish trees to the left, a woman leaning against the house, a man sitting on a stoop, a dog (collie) looking off stage left. The Wyeth was an open window looking out on a hill, lace curtains blowing inward, road curling up the field. Very restful.

At the Hirschhorn I saw Fragments in Time and Space which, according to the museum, encourages viewers to reconsider the way they perceive the world, from a single moment in time to an idea of the infinite. One video was of a family playing with a basketball, photographed from a seemingly endless number of perspectives, Close, far, above, besides, a face, hands, the group, individuals, etc etc. You really did see the infinite in a moment, which is a pretty cool revelation over lunchtime. Another room showed three or four huge screens of an elephant sleeping, waking, getting up, lying down, sleeping. Elephants are really big.

At the Ripley Garden I was sitting on a bench waiting for the garden tour to start when the earthquake happened. This is not a regular thing at the Ripley Garden. The Ripley Garden is between the Hirshhorn and the Arts and Industry Building.

At the Smithsonian Museum of American History I saw the flag that inspired the national anthem, the Selma lunch counter, and the "our country at war" exhibit, including vietnam on televisions of the 50's and 60's. Very cool, very sad.

That was my week in lunches. There are other cooler places to eat. Like The Hawk and Dove, the Tune Inn, Bullfeathers etc near the capital. There are other museums. The American Museum of Art and Portrait Gallery at 7th and I street, about, is particularly nice. Lots of restaurants near there. Jaleo for example.

Biking the capitol crescent trail is fun. Great Falls is beautiful. The washington monument is very tall, but cracked. Monuments at night are cool, but go by bike. Biking at night is fun by itself. The FDR memorial has better fountains than the MLK memorial.

You may want to supplement my notes with a real gudebook.