recap

of my trip to Washington DC...

Highlight: If I had to pick just one (which is really hard), I'd have to pick seeing the capitol and Jefferson Memorial at night.


Lowlight: There was nothing that was disappointing so I'd have to say since we didn't have a car, carrying our luggage 3 blocks to the Metro and then on the Metro to get to another station where our friends picked us up.

Speaking of our friends, I just want to take this moment to thank them for putting us up for a couple of nights. The Nussels are good friends from here in Colorado. Part of the family had been living in the DC area for over a year and the rest of the family moved to join them a few months ago. They generously offered us their basement for all five nights and we took them up on it for 2 nights, saving us over $500. It was also a great time to see them and spend time with them. Their oldest son, Scott, is like my second son and I've missed our chats.

I also mentioned the Metro. It is the rapid transit system (bus and rail) for the DC area plus Maryland and Virginia. We took the Metro rail everywhere as it was fast and convenient. I had never taken any kind of subway or rail system - not even our light rail here in Denver, so this was an experience in itself. More than once we'd have to get off one line and get on another in order to get to our destination. You would think that I'd get it after a day or so, but I was still confused as I stood there on day 5, studying the map once again.


Funniest moment: At the National Archives as we were viewing the Constitution under close scrutiny of big burly armed guards. A woman walks up and briefly looks at the documents under thick glass and then asks one of the guards, "are these originals or just copies?" The guard answers, "originals" without cracking a smile. She looks down again at one of the most important documents in our history and walks off. I couldn't help myself. I had to ask the guard, "do you get that question a lot? Because it would seem pretty obvious to me." He then did let out a chuckle and said he gets that question all the time. We had a good laugh because, really, why would they be under thick glass under armed guard in a climate controlled room with no flash photography allowed if they were just copies?

Noteworthy:

What our hair looked like on Saturday after riding around on the top of a double-decker bus. The wind and humidity gave us an unrecognizable look.

Walking everywhere is great exercise but makes you exhausted by the time the sun goes down.


We ended up looking like typical tourists when we broke down and bought sweatshirts emblazoned with WASHINGTON DC. It was Sunday and it was very cold, windy, with a slight drizzle when we came out of the Holocaust museum. We weren't sure what we were going to do and we were starving. We ended up quickly eating a hot dog from a street vendor and buying the sweatshirts from a souvenir truck. I don't mind wearing mine around here, but felt kinda silly wearing it there in DC.

Eating at the Hardrock Cafe. We have now eaten at a Hardrock in Maui, Orlando, Las Vegas, Denver, and Washington DC.

Getting lost in an underground mall. We thought by going through it that it would be a short cut to our hotel. We thought we knew where we were going, but after walking for 15-20 minutes and finally finding a map, we ended up blocks away from our hotel.

Sleep comfort beds and room service, laughter and time spent with my daughter.

what's your comfort level?

...


This week's Aloha Friday question is...

Would you rather camp - whether that's in a tent, pop-up, or RV - or stay in a hotel? I guess what I'm really asking is; Are you a camper?

I love to camp. I love staying in a nice hotel, too, but in most cases, I would rather camp.

I only went camping once as a child. It was nothing too remarkable and I don't remember much about it. It wasn't until I was invited to go camping with Don's family when I was 15 that I had the true experience of camping. We spent a week camping in a large army tent near a stream with two other families. No showers, no TV, no microwaves, no comfy bed, and no plumbing (which meant porta-pottys).

But guess what? I fell in love with camping. I fell in love fresh air and blue sky. I fell in love with wide open spaces and aspen trees (among others) and campfires. I fell in love with being outside all day long; fishing, hiking, playing, relaxing - all with a sense of being carefree with none of the normal responsibilities. Yes, I fell in love with camping that week. I also fell in love with a 15 year old boy that week.

Since that week, I spent many more camping trips with Don's family. Then Don and I started camping on a regular basis; short weekends and full weeks - always in a tent. Camping in California was a little different than camping in Colorado. After a couple of trips in a tent with inadequate sleeping bags, we decided a pop-up would be a better choice for our young family. We've owned two in the last 19 years and have camped here in Colorado as well as Wyoming and South Dakota.

I ask this question today because we're in the process of making plans for some kind of summer vacation. Everyone's choice is camping so we're picking the week and looking for a good place to go. So to answer my own question... I would rather go camping.

the past and the present

On Day 4, we traveled up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Danielle really wanted to go. Me... not so much. But I figured it would be a nice break after spending 3 days in DC. Plus, Scott (friend living in Alexandria) offered to drive and John (his dad) already had an audio tour of the battleground that we could listen to.

It was a perfect day weather wise and I really enjoyed driving through the countryside of Virginia and Pennsylvania. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what you find when driving into Gettysburg. First off, I didn't know there was a town of Gettysburg. What a nice little place.

The battlefield is vast area of rolling green hills dotted with canons, memorials, and monuments, amidst forests, orchards, and farms. And the audio tour we listened to made the facts and figures of the battles during those historic three days come to life. I found it all very interesting, more than I could have imagined I would.


Day 5 was a short day since we had to be all packed up in the morning and to the airport by 4:00. We hopped back on the Metro and headed back up to the National Mall. The only thing we really wanted to do was see the Library of Congress. A few people had told us that we really should see it. And I'm glad we did. It was, indeed, a beautiful building. My pictures don't do it justice.

We then walked over to the Capitol building by way of a tunnel between the two buildings. If we had had more time, we would have taken a tour, but instead, we walked through the exhibit at the visitor's center. It was another interesting experience. They had a live feed of the state representatives casting their votes for something. We sat there and watched that for a long time.

We then walked out and back around to the other side of the building to take more pictures. We noticed snipers on the outside balconies and found out later that President Obama was in the building signing some bill into law. Danielle and I both thought it was neat to see and be so close to the workings of our government.

In fact, the whole trip gave us a better sense of the environment our politicians work in and the history that fills the area through the buildings and exhibits, the monuments, and the memorials. We had a great time and would recommend a trip to visit this area to all.

I've uploaded all my pictures to my flickr account. I only posted a few here from day 4 and 5 so I hope you'll click on over to see the whole group of photos. Once you have, you can click on "slideshow" in the upper right hand corner to view them as a slideshow.