Garden and Cosmos, Seascapes

Yesterday Scott and I went to see the IMAX movie Deep Sea 3D, which was a bit disappointing because i thought it would focus on the Deep Sea (like this amazing video) but instead focused on more familiar aquatic habitats. In any case, the visuals were stunning. Before the movie we got lunch at Java Green, an eco-friendly cafe which gets great reviews in the DC Area (voted best Vegetarian restaurant in the "Best of DC 2008" from the City Paper). All of the food and smoothies/juice bar looked delicious yet it was very crowded, and the curry noodles I ordered are surely not one of their specialties, but still its good that there is a cafe that is organic, sustainable, and vegetarian in DC.

We also went to the Freer and Sackler galleries, which I really enjoyed. I had been wanting to go to these galleries for a while now. A lot of the art was influenced by Buddhism, and I enjoyed reading about the different depictions of the Buddha and other gods and goddesses. Also the Chinese Landscapes were my favorite, I loved the black and white forests, mountains, rivers, and trees. We saw two exhibits, Seascapes, and the Garden and the Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. I tried to let the concepts of the universe represented in the paintings radiate into my soul. I especially liked the last series of 7 paintings at the end of the exhibit. Each of the 7 paintings had a similar, yet different, cosmic ocean in the background. The exhibit also described the importance of hatha yoga and its teachings in many of the paintings. To learn more, click on the "Interactive Feature" on the exhibit's website. I find the "Chakras of the Subtle Body" explanation very informative.

Seascapes was a beautiful exhibit. Sugimoto's photographs, gelatin silver prints, captured so much detail of the sea. My favorite of his photographs was the darkest one, where the sea is virtually black and the sky is a dark gray.

I picked up a brochure on this campground, Abram's Creek Lodge, an eco-friendly retreat which seems peaceful and holistic. Hopefully I will get a chance to visit here one day.