Chris is, as you are most probably aware, a big Nathanael Greene fan. Upon moving to Greensboro in 1996, his interest in the Revolutionary War took a dramatic upswing with the local battlefield and colonial history around here. He's already visited and taken photos of Nathanael Greene statues in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and also downtown Greensboro. Upon further "Googling", he discovered one in Washington, DC! Cool! Located at the corner of Maryland Ave NE and 4th Street NE, tiny Stanton Park in a residential neighborhood. Sitting proudly atop his mount in the middle of the park is Nathanael Greene.It's not really near a close Metro stop, so James indulged Chris and drove into town this day with the boys to sightsee and get to Stanton Park.
We loaded up the crew into the baby-wagon and headed into town with the rough idea of "between Union Station and the Capitol, but behind the Capitol" to find our general. We found it and good parking karma fell our way as we needed to just walk a few blocks over after finding a spot. We arrived on the scene and took in the statue. The boys had a ball running around the park while Chris-the-nerd absorbed every nuance of the statue. Another Nathanael Greene sighting for this groupie blogger.
Afterward, we made our way back through DC to one of the most beautiful monuments in the district in our opinion: the Jefferson Memorial. We drove around and parked at the memorial lot, which resulted in a leisurely stroll through some wooded areas to get to the tidal basin. We spent some time reading the excerpts of his writings on the walls, reflecting in quiet reverence as the memorial suggests, and basically enjoyed a fantastic view of the Washington Monument from across the water.
At the memorial, we made plans with Monica for the "kid exchange" as she got out of work. She'd take the Metro into town, we'd pick her up in the baby wagon, then she'd drive home with kids as we did adult things. After our galavanting, we'd then pick up her car that she took to the Metro stop in Alexandria and get back home. Genius.
As we made our way back to the memorial parking lot, we stumbled upon a slightly hidden gem (and in DC there are always hidden gems): the George Mason memorial. Located in a wildflower garden, a large statue of George Mason, contributor to the Bill of Rights, sits on a garden bench with his books from Cicero and Locke. He rests comfortably and leisurely among the flowers. It's rather peaceful and reflective. So many spots within the town offer quiet refuge from hustle and bustle.We make the transfer, then the "grown up" boys head back up over to Capitol City Brewing back near Union Station for latelunch/early dinner.
Seats at the bar next to shiny copper tanks are always a bonus. Pints of "Fuel", a stout infused with coffee, and their altbier and their porter were consumed. We needed to fuel up to prepare for our next night of beer geekishness: a Sierra Nevada tasting back at The Brickskeller with the owners of the California brewery themselves.
"Brewery ambassador" Steve Grossman talked us through the history of Sierra Nevada, their beers, and their rather cutting edge methods of conserving energy and becoming as self-susatinable as they can be. Solar panels on the parking garage, fuel cells, recycling, their own wastewater treatment, the whole nine yards. The beer sampling was much more subdued and educational than the romp that was the Lupulin Reunion the night before.
"Only" eight samples to be had tonight, with just a smattering in the high alcohol range that the previous night destroyed us with. In sampling order, all obviously Sierra Nevada beers:1. Ruthless Hefeweizen
2. Summerfest
3. Pale Ale
4. Brown Ale
5. Porter
6. Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale
7. Torpedo Extra IPA
8. Bigfoot Barleywine
Another nifty night to hobnob with brewery royalty, as the bearded owner Ken Grossman sat at the table next to us and chatted us up throughout the evening. Another beer-filled trip of geekery to The Brick. But a much more laid back and straight-lined walk to the Metro tonight...
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