NATIONAL HARBOR CONTINUED...LAST POST FROM THIS TRIP

 

A restaurant I wouldn't mind trying next time we are in town.

Buddha and the Soldier/Warrior/Guard were near the entrance, a very nice welcome for customers. 

As it grew dark we came across the statue of Marilyn Monroe. In my previous post I mentioned all the heights of the statues that we saw, as they were kept true to life. She was 5 ft. 5 in. in height. This scene is from a very famous photo taken by photographer Sam Shaw. I read that it made him better known to a larger audience and plaid a roll in making Marilyn even more famous. It has been reprinted millions of times, making it one of the best known in the world. Shaw had been friends with Marilyn for quite a while before this picture was taken. Before she had her own breakthrough as an actress, she was actually Shaw's driver, since he did not have a driver's license. You can read the whole story at this website. Her sculpture is called Forever Marilyn.

After we crossed the street on our way back to our car before driving home, I looked back and saw this scene. Marilyn's real name was Norma Jean Baker and she was born in Los Angeles on June 1st, 1926. We all probably know that rather sad ending to her life and I won't go into it.  However, if you're curious you can read her biography telling about the rest of her story here. There were other much larger replicas of this statue that stood 26 feet high, and as reported, they were in Chicago-Illinois, Hamilton Township-New Jersey, Stamford-Connecticut, Palm Springs-California and Bendigo, Australia.  I am not sure whether they are still there.  The dates seemed to be long ago. Placement in Palm Springs apparently caused quite an uproar. If it is a permanent placement or a temporary one at National Harbor, I don't know.

The lady across the street certainly didn't seem to approve. You can barely see her underneath the shop light towards the right. She is to the left of the red traffic light, a few feet down on the sidewalk, standing next to the building. 

I certainly didn't notice her and she was so life-like, until you got up really close.

I remember seeing exhibits of sculptures on a trip to Florida several years ago. I'll have to share the posts as they were fantastic, life-like statues by the same man, J. Seward Johnson Jr. This lady with the groceries is called Holding Out. And of course I had a nosy inside her shopping bag.

The Capital Ferris Wheel can be seen in this photo.

More window shopping. 

We are almost back at the car having had a wonderful time walking around.

Last one driving across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge as we cross back into Virginia from Maryland. A bit blurry but it's the first half-way decent shot I have managed to get in years. 

This is the second and last part of our trip to National Harbor. We will be back again in a few months.

Thanks for looking and I hope the beginning of your week is going great.