A cheesy day off

Since July Fourth falls on Saturday, I didn't have to work today! Instead, I braved the D.C. tourists to check out some sites.

Such a cheese
First, I checked out the "life-size" cheese carving of Abraham Lincoln. He wasn't quite life-size, but he was pretty big. According to the Washington Post, he was carved out of a 1,000-pound block of cheddar cheese. After being on display for three hours, the outer layer was going to be cut off and the rest of the cheese donated to charity. I should note the whole shindig was put on by Cheez-It, and I received two free snack-size bags of Cheez-It just for checking it out.


A new site discovered
I never even realized that Constitution Gardens and Constitution Gardens Lake existed on the National Mall. (It's near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.) Situated in the lake (as an island) is a Declaration of Independence Memorial. It includes stones commemorating the signatures of all the Declaration's signers. The lake and island are also crowded with geese and ducks.


Folklife Festival
I also checked out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival today. The three topics this year are: Las Americas, Wales, and Giving Voice (spoken word and African-Americans). So, I learned a little. The best part was probably the great music in the Las Americas section. Anyone who knows my dad will understand why I thought he might like the pants this mariachi band was wearing.


Hirshhorn rocks
Since I was on the Mall, I decided to check out a museum. I wanted to avoid the ones that I suspected were overcrowded on Fourth of July weekend (such as American History), so I went in the Hirshhorn Museum. The building itself is pretty cool (round like a doughnut), and I really liked that it isn't HUGE like some of the other museums. It was manageable, and I could spend as much time as I wanted in each area without feeling that I had to rush on to the next thing. And it had some pretty cool art. If I were rich, I'd look into throwing a party there.