Grand Prix gums up the National Mall

Good morning, DMV! It’s Wednesday, August 19.

Yesterday, I got to play tour guide for a dear friend visiting from Thailand, and I knew the National Mall would be gummed up by the Grand Prix, but oh my.

We started our morning with a tour at the U.S. Capitol, which was a straight and easy stroll from Union Station. Then we headed to the National Gallery of Art, but what normally would have been a lovely downhill stroll with a great view of the Mall turned into a convoluted walk through a dystopian maze, fenced and walled off for the car race.

We eventually found a way to the National Gallery, where we soaked up some art. I finally got to see the mining exhibit, which was sad, as I had expected, but also an important reminder of the environmental impact of resource extraction. If you haven’t seen the show, I recommend it. But it closes Sunday and only Grand Prix ticket holders can visit the museum this weekend.

My friend and I continued along the Mall to the National Museum of Natural History. I spotted what appeared to be one of the welded-down manhole covers. (More than 200 manhole covers on the race circuit “had to be welded to ensure the race cars don’t suck them off the road,” the Associated Press reported.)

Walking past Grand Prix viewing stands and layers of fencing, I found myself repeatedly explaining to my guest, “It’s not normally like this.” I thought the state fair construction was a mess; the Grand Prix is worse.

I grumbled with museum staffers and offered my sympathy for their labyrinthine commutes. “And it’s gonna get worse,” one said.

Nonetheless, my friend and I had fun. We saw monuments. We looked at art. I showed him the mind-blowing minerals and gems collection at the Museum of Natural History (which brought us full circle from the mining photos at the National Gallery).

My friend told me he also wanted to see the Reflecting Pool, but I told him there was no water in it, so we passed on it.

Toward the end of our Mall visit, I decided I needed a moment in the Contemplative Court at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It was calming and cleansing.

On our way back up to the Metro station, I brought my guest to peek at one last stop — way over yonder beyond the fences, on the other side of Lafayette Square.

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D.C. resident Sam Nelson shared this summer pic with a note: “It's an eastern juniper tree + red chair on Howard University's campus, spotted on my sunrise bike commute to work.“

I met Sam last fall on a tree walk to look at ginkgo trees as their leaves turned bright yellow. He’s hosting walking tree tours this summer around the U.S. Capitol — on August 27, August 30 and Sept. 20.

Share your recent photos of life in the DMV here.

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