Smithsonian American Art Museum

If you are a lover of American art, don't forget to hit the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  It's often overlooked because of the location - in Chinatown, not the Mall.  It always opens and closes late.  On Saturday after being homebodies for much of the day, I ran a few errands and decided to take the boys to the museum while C stayed home to rest. 

Driving to Chinatown on a Saturday evening is not the easiest thing - everyone is down there looking for parking and visiting the shops and restaurants.  We got super lucky, found a perfect spot nearby and went off to see the Richard Estes contemporary realism exhibit.  If you haven't seen it, you should go. It's a huge collection of his paintings, the largest ever assembled according to the Smithsonian, so really worth a look.  No photos were allowed, which is too bad because it would have been really neat to see how the paintings photographed.

Afterwards, we grabbed a snack at the Kogod courtyard cafe and I watched while the boys roamed about.  We always like to grab a meal or snack and purchase from the gift shops at museums when we can. It's a great way to support museums, especially those that are free!  In the evening, they turn down the lights in the courtyard and the mood is fantastic. Before closing, we made our way to the Luce Foundation Center upstairs.  Did you know on certain days you can have a free cup of coffee/tea while sitting in their storage and study center? It's a lovely atmosphere.  We'll definitely be back for that.