Washington DC Trip Part III: Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian

On August 15, 2012 Julia Child would have been 100 years old.

I have spent all week long recapping for you our trip to Washington DC. I started at the peak, which was our visit to the White House for the 2012 Kids’ State Dinner, and have worked my way backwards to the beginning. That leaves me at our first day, which was Sunday, which was our travel day, but still packed with fun activities. For me, the highlight of that day was visiting the Smithsonian Museum of American History where we were able to tour the Julia Child’s Kitchen exhibit along with the Star Spangled Banner exhibit and the exhibit of the First Ladies’ Gowns. Our primary reason for being there though, was the Julia Child’s Kitchen exhibit.

I don’t know how many of you saw the movie Julie and Julia, which came out in 2009, but I saw it a year or so ago, before I started “The Whole Bag of Chips,” and I absolutely loved it. I loved all of the cooking and recipes, all of the history of Julia and her husband, and I loved the blog that Julie started. I found the whole thing to be very inspiring.

Therefore, when I got our trip itinerary and found out that we’d be visiting the exhibit at the Smithsonian, I was so excited. Other than the White House event, this was what I was looking forward to the most. I loved the scene in the movie where Julie got to go see the exhibit herself, and I was so thrilled to know that I’d be seeing the exhibit too.

I had goosebumps as I looked at the first display in the exhibit.

I also wonder how many of you have seen the movie “A League of Their Own,” about the WWII women’s baseball teams, but it’s one of my all-time favorite movies and there is a scene at the end of it that I just love, where the former players are visiting a museum display about their teams, for the first time. In the scene, the character played by Geena Davis, along with some of her former teammates, comes around the corner and sees the exhibit for the first time. I get goosebumps every time I watch the movie and get to this scene, I don’t know why.

Our arrival at the Julia Child’s Kitchen exhibit gave me that exact same feeling. As the group of us contest winners came around the corner and saw the exhibit for the first time, I was covered in goosebumps. I am covered in them now as I type this.

Look Mom, I’m almost as tall as she is!

It was not only because it was something I’d looked forward to seeing for so long and something I had a passion for, but it was our first official act as the group of us, our first official doing anything together and I felt so honored, so special and so part of something huge, even though this wasn’t even the biggest part of our two days. As we moved around the corner into the exhibit I felt a rush of emotion.

The exhibit was fabulous, as were all the ones we saw that day. We were at the museum at about 3pm and we’d been up since 3:30 am when we’d gotten up for our 6am flight that day. We were exhausted. Everyone was, and I felt like I could fall over, I was so tired. We both did. However, I would not have traded the chance to visit the exhibit for a nap. (At least now I can say that. If you’d asked me right then, I might’ve traded it for a nap.) I know that my photos do not do it justice, but I hope that it at least gives you a glimpse into what was a wonderful opportunity.