DC Diary- Michelle Obama's Inauguration Gown

When we posted an entry with a quote from former president George H.W. Bush, aka Papa Smurf, we mentioned that there was an exhibit of first ladies gowns at his presidential library in College Station, Tex.

Thus, I was quite surprised when we stumbled a similar exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum during our family trip to Washington, DC, in the first phase of our excursion.

There were two gowns which stood out. One was surprisingly the purple inauguration gown worn by Laura Bush, Papa Smurf's daughter-in-law.

The other was the amazing white gown by our current First Lady Michelle Obama, which neither a Romanian gymnast nor a contestant on "The Biggest Loser" could possibly fit into. The dress illustrated just how tall Michelle Obama is as well as how tight her figure is. I am certainly no fashion expert, and as a heterosexual man my interest in such things is fairly limited. But, this gown, complete with the white Jimmy Choo high heel shoes, left quite an impression.

Later in the trip, we went to the Smithsonian National Science Museum where we saw an exhibit with ancient artifacts from the politically divided island nation of Cyprus, located between Greece, Turkey and Lebanon.

My sister and I were really intrigued by the digs especially since we had been to the Turkish/northern part of Cyprus back in 1993. We even saw a photo of a cathedral that had been converted into a mosque that we visited in the port city of Famagusta, where I almost got hit by a car since the Cypriots (Turks and Greeks alike) drive 'The British Way,' which is quite challenging for pedestrians!

A funny moment happened when I was looking at a female nude statue and a guard yelled. I thought it was Orwellian mind-reading at its best, but the culprit he was after turned out to be a Japanese tourist who was sneakingly taking a photograph of a bronze statue behind me.

This concludes my special series on our adventures and misadventures during our week in Washington, DC, which took place between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

There are more entries about the trip on my other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

Just for the record, my brother-in-law and my sister are not named Sven and Eva Thomasson, nor do they reside in Goteborg, Sweden. This was meant to be a bit of an in-joke between my sister and I, but when my mother heard about my little prank, she pretty much threatened to sell the family cat on Craig's List (that is a joke too!).

Things We Learned on Twitter This P.M.-Strange Crime Stories

"The Idaho Statesman" in Boise, Ida., is reporting (I saw this via Twitter) that a local man has admitted to the Boise Police Department that he stabbed himself and told a police officer that a passer-by had in fact stuck a knife in his chest. The police are considering filing chrages against the man who has not been identified to the press. The self-inflicted wound occured on Friday morning near a hotel in downtown Boise according to Lynn Hightower, spokeswoman for the Boise Police Department.

And, in our nation's capital, Ahmed Hassan, a man who is reportedly between the ages of 28 and 35, dropped his wallet after he robbed a bank on Connecticut Avenue. According to "The Washington Post," if anyone has any info about the crime, they are being asked to call local authorities.

SIDEBAR- If you see a Craig's List post for "Baby-Sitter Wanted in Istanbul," it might be the result of the fact that more mothers are working in Turkey, according to "Today's Zaman."