A Mowtown Summer Evening

If today was any indicator, this weekend is destined to be one of the best ones ever.  Here are some reasons:

1) The weather was absolutely perfect.  I wanted to stay outside alllll day.

2) My office let all of the interns leave two hours early. Four o’ Clock Freedom!

3) With this newfound free time I was able to wander the national mall and check out the awesome, and free, Folk Life Festival that the Smithsonian puts on every year.  I actually volunteered there for two days of it last year.

4) While at the Folklife Festival I got a text from one of the other Wyden interns saying she was at the sculpture garden for the awesome, and also free, Jazz in the Garden they have every friday.  I joined her.  We dangled our feet in a giant fountain while chatting and listening to sweet live jazz.

5) When I was able to finally pry myself away from the fountain so I could return home to my clean my room (because Annie came tonight!), I found a marvelous distraction that pulled me in – Miss Martha Reeves.  If you don’t recognize her name (I may not have… my bad), you’ll most definitely remember her songs, including Dancing in the Street and Heat Wave.  And I got to hear her sing both of them live! Plus lots of others.  She even taught us how to dance properly.  It was fun hearing such classic songs, and she was magnificent live – funny, charming and a powerful voice.  Hands down the best concert I’ve ever accidentally attended.

Here’s a cell phone snapshot of what it was like:

I spent four hours on the mall before I finally made it home.

And later this weekend there will be some more of this (!!):

I would love to have a repeat of last year’s 4th of July awesomeness, please.

*songs = both of the ones above!  Click the links and watch.  Do it.