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.

NATIONAL HARBOR IN MARYLAND

I am not 100 percent sure as I forgot to look for its information, but the closest ID I could find online was a 1931 Ford Model A De Luxe Roadster.  Also, there is a statue of Henry Ford nearby, which apparently I also didn’t take a photo of. There are more statues to see, a good excuse to go back! This is a beautiful car close up.

We were at National Harbor on 3-31-24 and our schedule was tight, so we didn't walk along the Potomac River, staying in the upper city area for the most part. We will leave a proper walk near the river until next time. It's not too far from home and now the weather is warming up, it will be a nice trip.

We were at the same hotel as the ice show in December 2022, not staying the night this time as this was a much shorter visit. You can revisit posts I made on the ice show here, here and here if you have seen them before, or hopefully enjoy if they are new. Also where we stayed was at this link. You can read National Harbor's actual website at this link, and the following is a short description I found.

"National Harbor is situated on the banks of the historic Potomac River, just minutes away from the nation's capital. Featuring 350 acres of waterfront resort space, National Harbor is a destination unlike any other. Developed by Peterson Companies over 15 years ago, this area is home to 160 stores, 40 restaurants, an iconic Capital Wheel and the best sunsets in the DC area."

They don't mention the MGM Casino (at this link). We have yet to visit it. Not much into gambling but there are other entertainments. They have a huge theater for instance, and several restaurants. 

I did a tiny bit of window shopping while walking at a fast pace. Photos on the run are always fun, you just never know how they are going to turn out.

We did stop to chat with a few people along the way. Rosie the Riveter for one. An iconic symbol here in the United States but she also appeared in the United Kingdom and Australia.

This is a very famous poster which you will probably recognize.

She even has her rivet by her foot, plus her sandwich box.

Here is Gregg saying hello to Winston Churchill. These figures are true to life. I was very surprised to learn that he was 5 ft. 6 inches. We would have been on an eye level with each other.

His statue is by Ivan Schwartz and is part of the collection along the American Way Park Esplanade, which we couldn't go by without taking a few photos.

The Kiss, from a very iconic photo taken on VE day in Time Square, New York. You can read its story at the Naval Institute website here. There is another much larger statue in San Diego in California (click on link if curious).  

I almost felt like I was intruding but Winnie raised his hat to them.

Gregg wanted a photo with Abraham Lincoln...

another larger than life statue. He was 6 ft. 4 in.

Next to Abraham was Frederick Douglass who was about 6 ft. tall.

You can read about him at this link.  There is a lot of history in these statues that I have been enjoying reading.

The last one for this post was George Washington. He was in the same area as the previous two. They would have been the first to see if we had started from the river area, but as we had parked our car halfway up the hill, they were the last. I am very glad we didn't miss them. Washington’s  height was 6 ft. 2 in.  I have one more post from our visit, which I will share as soon as I can put it together.

Thanks for looking and have a great day.

A CHRISTMAS STORY IN ICE - PART 2

Above is the official poster for the movie.  There is now a sequel being streamed on Netflix in the States and probably overseas maybe, of Ralphie (the child actor now a grown man) with his own family.  I am looking forward to that too and will be watching both movies before Christmas.  The exhibition at the resort was opened five days earlier than usual, to coincide with the new film's release.   

Ginny of Let Your Light Shine, asked if this exhibit was open all year round.  It isn't Ginny, it opened on November 25th and will close on December 31st. 

This exhibit was carved by a team of 40 world-class ice artisans from Harbin, China.  They used 2 million pounds of ice.  There are ten scenes from the movie shared.

The slide made totally of ice attracted both children and adults.

Christmas Morning…

and Mom asks Ralphie to try on this year's handmade gift. You can see a YouTube link here of Ralphie's gift from Aunt Clara.  I really felt for Ralphie in this scene.

There's a scene where a pack of dogs invade the house and steal the turkey.

Naughty dogs!

But all is not lost, the local Chinese restaurant comes to the rescue.  They order duck but back then people weren't used to the more exotic presentations.  The staff at the restaurant were endearing as they tried to make a wonderful Christmas experience for Ralphie and his family.  

The Children are in bed...

and Christmas is over in 1983.

I have one more post as we walked past the sign and came across my favorite ice sculptures of the exhibit.

You can click on this link to read all about the production of A Christmas Story.

A CHRISTMAS STORY IN ICE - PART 1

 This is the Parker House where Ralphie lives with his family.  Everything is made of ice, apart from a few props.  The porch was busy, and people were taking turns looking inside the windows.  A few people asked me if I could take their photo which I happily did. One funny man asked me if I worked there as he had seen at least three people hand their cameras to me.  He had that twinkle in his eye, made me laugh, and I kept moving.  It was very chilly inside.  We were given parkas as it was about -2 degrees F.

The Parker's 'car' was right there at the side of the house.

Truth be told I have never been to an ice sculpture exhibit before, and certainly not one like this.  I think I once saw a large piece at a hotel years ago as a buffet centerpiece at some kind of reception, but that's been so long ago the memory is foggy.  William comes to mind, who hosts Ottawa's Daily Photo.  He has shared the ice exhibit that occurs in his city ever since I have been a visitor and longer than that maybe. I have always been fascinated by his posts.  Those ice exhibits, the word elegant comes to mind.  These are excellent but in a kitschy way, and fun as you are taken back to funny or cringy moments in the movie.  There are also some very poignant scenes but the leg lamp, well I really felt for his wife, let's just leave it at that.

Ralphie's Dad won it in a competition.  I won't give the whole story away in case you haven't seen the movie before.  They actually sold these in the gift shop.  In fact, I saw one last December, in the window of a house in a neighborhood that goes all out for decorating.  The street is a show piece for the holidays and attracts long lines of cars. I'm wondering if it will be there again this year.  I must check it out.  Should I have bought one?  Nahhh!  Not this year anyhow.

This takes place every year at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in National City.  The themes change and this year there were scenes from the movie that I recognized immediately.  I have seen it many times.  It was made in 1983.  It makes me laugh and there are some 'awwww' moments, and it makes me cringe sometimes, but I will probably watch it again with Gregg before Christmas.  It gives you the feel of what it must have been like in 1940.  The acting is great and the Dad is Darren McGavin whom I have enjoyed in other movies/TV show from way back when.  Here's a description I borrowed from Wikipedia and more can be read if you click the link. It reads:

"Set in December 1940, the film is presented in a series of vignettes, with narration provided by the adult Ralphie Parker reminiscing on one particular Christmas when he was nine years old, in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana. Ralphie wanted only one thing that Christmas, a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle.  Ralphie's desire is rejected by his mother, his teacher Miss Shields, and even a Santa Claus at Higbee's department store..."

No more telling about the movie, I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.  Gregg checked out the window too and there he is waving at us.  A touch of nostalgia for him?  He remembers a Roy Rogers bicycle given one year.

 

All for now.  There will be another batch in my next blog post.