One of my college friends is a senior photo editor for National Geographic, a publication where photography is king.  Since we were meeting for lunch in D.C., she invited me to meet her at her office.

  Did you know National Geographic has a small museum that’s open to the public?  And it’s free?  I didn’t but what a wonderful discovery.

On display were the most fantastic, dramatic photos of lions and leopards, taken by Beverly Joubert, with videos filmed by her husband Dereck.   I took photos of her photos so you’ll see the occasional reflection in the glass covering the pictures.  Look at these incredible scenes!

The Jouberts are an interesting couple.  They started off running a luxury safari camp but got fascinated by the lions they sent their guests off to view.  So they sold the camp and now spend months at a time living in tents near the subjects of their photos.  It’s part of their effort to bring attention to the importance of preserving the habitats of the wild creatures they record.

After lunch, I strolled down to the Corcoran gallery, passing the White House.

At the gallery I found a marvelous exhibit of bronzes.  I like sculpture a lot so this was a pleasure for me.

These cowboys by Frederick Remington have such energy and vitality you can practically hear them hootin’ and hollerin’.

I love the beautiful curves of this antelope.  In fact, the artist said he found beauty only in curves.

There was even a bronze of a knitter, proving the everlasting appeal of the fiber arts.

One evening, needing a breath of fresh air, I hiked over to the Washington Cathedral.  It looks like I somehow got transported to Europe, doesn’t it?

I sat in the Bishop’s Garden while the sprinklers swished, a cute little dog trotted around greeting all comers and a not-too-distant trumpet played the day’s farewell “Taps”.  It was enchanting.

On the way home (I got lost!), I ended up on Connecticut Avenue.  As you know, I have encountered  llamas in Ohio.  Never did I expect to encounter a llama in urban D.C., even a cement one!