Amy came over for the weekend, and the days were perfect for a visit, bright and dry and cool and pulsing with potential and energy. (Or maybe that last bit was from the coffee.) We went to the zoo to see what we could see of the latest baby boom: sloth bear (not on display), kiwi (couldn’t see it), tiger cubs (not on display), and Butterstick (sleeping in a tree). On Sunday, I was reader for the Old and New Testament lessons at church, and the choir sang “‘Twas in the Year That King Uzziah Died.” Afterward, we dropped by the National Geographic Explorers Hall to view the Gospel of Judas papyrus fragments and see Crusader Castles in Miniature. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the National Gallery to see Venetian Drawings and Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. We also visited various gardens along the Mall, including the US Botanic Gardens, the Ripley Garden, the Haupt Garden, and the Butterfly Garden (which had no butterflies in it, though we did see a monarch flitting about the Mall itself). Finally, a restroom stop at Natural History led us to an exhibit of Antarctic photos.

Many pictures were taken, some of which I will show you here, and others of which will make for fun photolog entries in the next few days. Go to the DC Weekend June 2006 photoset to see them all.