Wow. Another two weeks and I'll head back to Seattle. I've been reflecting on my time here in DC, and have concluded that the theme of this summer has been "God will bless and provide for all things." I want to list out those blessings as I think about it some more.

Thoughts of the new academic year and all the activities and busyness that will inevitably come have started to push out the feeling of summer. It certainly hasn't been a lazy summer, with 9 hr workdays at the office and almost 2 hrs of commute each workday. And yet, there's been a freedom of the soul or spirit. I enjoy the work I do while I'm doing it, and then when I leave the office, I leave the work at the office too.

And when I do, I've been a fairly good tourist. Here are things I've experienced in the past 9 weeks:

*National Gallery of Art (just the modern section and Houdon sculpture exhibit - not to mention the excellent cafeteria downstairs!)
*Lincoln Memorial
*Screen on the Green - outdoor movie (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)
*Boating on the Potomac River
*Outdoor film festival - The Sound of Music
*National Cathedral
*Museum of Natural History (and IMAX show)
*Museum of American History
*Georgetown
*Dupont Circle
*Friendship Heights
*The Postal Museum
*National Building Museum
*The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (The Great Books, and on the way there I passed by the infamous Watergate Hotel)
*The White House (didn't tour inside, but walked near it)
*Thailand and India Embassies (IJM errands)
*Bookstores - Second Story Books (and another used bookstore), Kramer's Books, Barnes & Noble, Borders
*Baltimore airport :)
*Starbucks on weekends (oh wait, that's not a touristy thing to do)

Things I hope/plan to do in the next couple weeks:
*The National Espionage Museum (aka The Spy Museum)
*The Holocaust Museum
*FDR Memorial
*Jefferson Memorial
*The National Zoo (to see the pandas!)
*Georgtown University campus
*Franciscan Monastery
*National Gallery of Art (the classical permanent exhibits)