A large, violent rain storm was tapering down as Rudi and I left the movie theater this evening. I needed to get across town and biking seemed the best option to do that, since Georgetown is not on a metro line, but does abut the river trail. I’d get a little wet (Honestly, it was more than a little, since I was dripping from the humidity as well by the time I arrived to meet my friends for dinner on Barracks Row.), but it was efficient.

Soon after setting forth, I watched the sun break through the clouds to the west and the dark clouds moving to the northeast, thinking that this was a prime period to catch a rainbow emerging. And, sure enough, one did.

It was never especially bright and it was very low in the sky, but it was quite wide, as you can see here looking up at the back of the Lincoln Memorial.

By the time the bike trail left the Mall by the Jefferson Memorial, the rainbow was receding. But it had been there, and I got a chance to see it because I was looking for it.

Life lessons. A rainbow is a rainbow is a rainbow, after all.

I was on the wrong side of Nationals Park to truly capture the beauty of tonight’s sunset, so this was the best I could do.

I’ve got to catch a train in a few hours and would like a little sleep before then, so instead of knitting and the books I’m reading, I’m sharing this banner the Latvian Embassy is currently displaying. They’ve also added a Little Free Library to their property.

Every summer, the National Building Museum turns the main hall of its massive Renaissance Revival-era into an interactive seasonal installation. Rudi and I have never managed to get to it, but this morning the museum waived the admission charge for residents in our ward (D.C. is divided into eight of them of roughly equal population) and we decided to check it out.

It was hard work.

While previous installations have included ball pit beaches and musical tube beehives, among others, this year the theme is Lawn.

Built onto scaffolding located between the first and third floors, the Astro-turf lawn slopes from the top, home to bean bag tosses and a “swimming pool” of sorts, to a mid-level plateau with Adirondack chairs, and down a steep hill full of children rolling and running and shouting. Dangling over the top two levels are dozens of hammocks into which the soothing stories of celebrities’ summers past are piped. Because the main hall soars four stories in the air, you manage to pick up the hint of a breeze as you lie there with your feet up and your eyes closed. Adding to the illusion of being outdoors are the ambient noises emitting around the floor — lawn mowers, crickets chirping, children shrieking from afar.

It was very well done, and I’d say that if you have a few hours to spend, it’s worth the expense, particularly if, like us, you lack your own personal lawn.

Our visit also included the cost of visiting the other exhibitions, so we took in collections about how homes have changed over the U.S.’s history, animals in architectural details, and building blocks (the National Building Museum is a family-friendly destination). My two favorites were the photo exhibition about basketball hoops around the world and how they tell a universal, yet highly local, story (note to my parents, I was not the only person to take out a garage window with a basketball) and Flickering Treasures, a story about Baltimore’s movie and neighborhood theaters through time. While 240 theaters called Maryland’s most famous city home, they are down to five currently in operation (up from three a couple years ago). It was a fascinating story about segregation, modernization, and localization (they had fewer studio-run theaters than most cities of comparable size).

Most of you probably know today was the 50th anniversary of the first human to walk on the moon. Some of you may have seen that to celebrate the Smithsonian Institution opted to do a projection of the Apollo 11 on the Washington Monument.

I went down tonight for the last showing of the film at 11:30 p.m. and hung out with thousands of other people (late night owls unite!) to watch in the heat (the heat index was still well over 90 at that hour). Here are some of the images from the event (mouse over the image to get the controls or click on the picture to go see them larger on Flickr):

Kudos to everyone involved in the production and execution!

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Fort Reno concerts started back up last week, which seems fitting because it’s impossible not to equate heat waves and the free local series, now in its 51st year, held at the highest point in the District, where even on the most miserable evening, it feels like a slight breeze gives you some relief. We introduced our new friends to the concerts and they are excited to share the experience with their teenaged nephews when they come for a prolonged visit in a few weeks.

2. Every year, the Fort Reno organizers designate one of its evenings as the Night of a Thousand Cakes in memory of the late local musician John Stabb’s birthday. Attendees bring cakes and other goodies to share, and I’ve been lucky enough to make the evening fit into my schedule several times over the years. This year, I left the baking a little late in the day and then discovered partway into the coffee cake recipe that I had no eggs and no sour cream. I did have farm yogurt, which is pretty tangy, so I made that substitution without even blinking. And did you know that you can substitute both a quarter cup of yogurt and a mixture of baking soda and vinegar for an egg? Since I needed two, I used both, which worked perfectly. We didn’t get a thousand cakes, but we did exceed Amanda’s hopes for at least ten, and a smaller crowd than usual means Rudi and I got to take home our leftovers!

3. Yesterday and today’s Tour de France stages have been filled with beautiful fields of sunflowers. Some people might watch for mountains or cathedrals or even the bike racing, but I watch for flowers — sunflowers and lavender — and coastlines.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?