Transporting A Barn!

We were driving to Thomas, and this was in front of our car! A barn was being transported. We, eventually, saw it pull up in a clearing on the side of a road where another truck had also pulled up. Wonder why?

Ohiopyle State Park

After Fallingwater, we made a couple of stops at the waterfalls in Ohiopyle State Park. 

The first was the Ohiopyle falls. They are pretty, wide, have rocky formations over which the water flows, and also visible from the main road. The visitor's center is near by and with the viewing platforms built to enjoy it, it seems a little detached from nature. 

Youghiogheny River Leading to Ohiopyle Falls

Ohiopyle Falls

Ohiopyle Falls

Youghiogheny River flowing away from Ohiopyle Falls 

The Cucumber falls, a short 2 minute drive away and slightly off the main road, was just lovely. These falls are small, but beautiful. Watching water fall into an emerald pool, listening to the sounds of the falls, enveloped in its mist, is all so mesmerizing, I just sat on a rock at the base of the falls, enthralled. I could have sat there for hours. 

Cucumber Falls from the top, before we climbed down the hill

Getting closer to Cucumber Falls

At the Falls! :D 

Water from Cucumber Falls heads this way

Fallingwater

We started the morning with breakfast (cappuccinos, smoked salmon on sesame bagel and a pea-leek-gruyere quiche) at our cafe (Open City) at the cathedral :)

After a filling morning meal, on our way to Thomas, we took a longer route to go see Fallingwater. We had purchased the house tour tickets before and were excited to see this famous Frank Lloyd Wright home. 

The house is gorgeous, inside and out. Unlike the Pope-Leighey house we saw last year, this is bigger, grander, and has more colours and felt more homely as it was still decorated as when the Kaufmanns' lived there. 

Bear Run

Built partly on top of the waterfall on Bear Run, a tributary of Youghiogheny river, the house stands impressively in its cascading design. Created to blend into its surroundings, this house is beautiful and unique. 

In the house (photos weren't allowed in the house, on this tour, unfortunately), the floor is made of stone and waxed to appear wet, like the rocks are outside. The hearth has a large rock from the mountain that wasn't cut away during construction, but included in the design.

I loved how the desks by the windows have a cut out, that looks like the symbol for a doorway on an architectural design. This cut out is so that the window isn't lost and can be opened, even though there is a desk in front of it.

The corner windows, one of top of the other, for 2 floors, there must have been about 20 of them, all can be opened, so it then seems like you are one with nature. It lets you be outside, while you are still inside. The sound of the waterfall flows in. 

After the tour, we walked over to the viewing site, and were able to enjoy the sight of the house and waterfall. The Kauffmann's initially expected their house to be built at this location, so that they could have a view of the waterfall. Frank Lloyd Wright had other plans.

Chips and Salsa at the Cathedral

Suddenly, I was craving cactus cantina's salsa. Instead of going there and being forced to eat other things, we bough a pint of their salsa, a bag of their chips, and headed to the tables in the Cathedral Close to enjoy the deliciousness. Mmmm

Vanny

Outside Gallery Place metro, Vanny (Twitter:@VannysMusic), a singer/songwriter and musician from Silver Spring, MD, was performing (bookvanny@gmail.com). Her voice is just fantastic. We stood and listened for as long as we could before we had to head to Regal Cinema for our Deadpool movie Showtime. 

Part of 'Can't Feel My Face' - by The Weeknd

Buredo

 

Buredo in DC makes sushi burritos. They are exactly as you would image. Sushi rolls, but burrito size. Since they are bigger, more veggies fit. Delicious delicious. I first went with Kristina after the Jeopardy taping. I went again with Saurabh for dinner and then we went to watch Deadpool at China Town Regal Cinema.

With Kristina I got the Pai Mei (salmon sashimi, asparagus, pea shoot leaves, pickled red onion, daikon, katsuo mirin crunch, toasted sesame mayo). This was delicious, but I wish it had more fish. So, when I went back with Saurabh, I got Beatrix (yellowfin tuna & salmon sashimi, cucumber, pickled cabbage, green onion, tempura crunch, unagi sauce), that's been recommended but I switches out the Unagi Sauce for Toasted Sesame Mayo. The Unagi was the reason I didn't get Beatrix the first time. I don't love sweet sauces.

Rice and Veggies

Sauce! Toasted Sesame Mayo

Adding the Salmon and Tuna

Rolling the Sushi Burrito

Rolling Déliciuex

Wrapping

Cutting

Beatrix with Toasted Sesame Mayo instead of Unagi Sauce

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

After our short hike at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, Smita, Saurabh and I went to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. They have a visitors' center, where you can go see some rockets and exhibits 

The first exhibit we went to see was the Solarium...the sun. It is a small dark room with a large screen showing images of the sun. The three of us, sat on the floor in silence for a while, watching and listening. We watched the movement of the gases in the sun, the eruptions, the shapes. None of us had seen anything like that. That kind of heat, that kind of energy...and as we sat in the dark looking at all those movements, the sound recorded from the center of the sun sounded like a heart beat. The gentle lub-dub-like sound was soothing and relaxing. 

 

"Every twelve seconds, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory images the sun in ten wavelengths of invisible ultraviolet list. Each wavelength is assigned a unique color and every image is eight times the resolution of an HD video. A team of media specialists works about ten hours to create one minute of this footage. The soundtrack comes from solar data tha measures the way waves travel through the center of the sun."

Next, we went to the Globe Theater which feature Science On A Sphere. There is a giant sphere in the center of the room, and short movies continually project on the rotating globe. 

We walked out to see some of the rockets, stopped by the infra red camera to look at our heat signature and then it was 4PM, and the visitor's center was shutting down so we had to leave. 

Smita, Saurabh and me through an Infra Red Camera

Patuxent Wildlife Refuge

We went with Smita, Akshu, and Anand to Patuxent Wildlife Refuge. I had seen it on the map a few times, and then when I heard the Radio Lab podcast about the whooping crane reintroduction program at Patuxent, I really wanted to go. 

However, to see the whooping cranes, we would have to come for a tour. We would return. 

But, the 5 of us and Miksha, Akshu and Anand's dog, explored the trails in Patuxent that are open to the public. It was an easy under two mile walk. We talked and ate and joked and tried to play with Miksha, who is so afraid of everyone, and had a really nice time. :)

Just as we started walking, we spotted this little-big guy

Goose Pond

Looking out at Cash Lake

Cash Lake

Cash Lake

Smita, Akshu, Miksha, & Anand

Cash Lake

Lily Pads

Miksha and Akshu playing