Three Beautiful Things 07/16/14: A Place to Walk, Stratford Comes to D.C., The President's Own on the Capitol Steps

1.  When I visited Molly's family two summers ago, I focused my visit on going into Washington D.C., taking pictures and taking in photography exhibits at different museums and galleries.  I also visited Tim for a day.  My point?  I didn't pay much attention to Groveton.  Today, I strolled no more than ten minutes from the Diaz townhouse to a sizable nature reserve/park, Huntley Meadows and I'm really happy that for as long as the Deke and I stay here, such a gorgeous place is nearby for walking and taking pictures.  Here are a few I took:

2.  Via Twitter, I discovered D.C.'s City Paper, a weekly focused on features and what's happening in the world of art and food, etc.  I discovered an art movie house, West End Cinema, and bought myself a ticket to see a production of Henry IV, part 2, filmed live at Stratford-Upon-Avon.  It will show at 11 a.m. on Saturday and features Antony Sher as Falstaff.  I'm stoked.

3.  As readers of my blog surely know, my son-in-law, Hiram plays euphonium in the President's Own United States Marine Band.  I heard the band for the first time tonight, an 8 p.m. concert on the Capitol Steps.  Molly and I set up lawn chairs about a quarter of a way up the steps and had a great view of the band, playing below us.  For tonight, for various non-musical reasons, Hiram was the only euphonium player and played several solos.  The temperature was remarkably mild and the music was a sensational mixture of marches, patriotic pieces, show tunes, and an overture.