0600
Dear diary,
I'm excited today. I am going to pick up E & K in NYC and go to Fl. I'm waiting for Prime Time Shuttle to pick me up to go to Long Beach airport to fly to JFK to meet up with 2 of my favorite nieces & nephews. I can't wait!
2345
We made it to D.C. Jet Blue was delayed for an hour and we spent a couple of hours on the tarmac but we are here. It's cold. We are off to Uncle Jim's house and then we'll start the sightseeing tomorrow. I got a lot of knitting done on the Goddess top. The front part is done (for now) and I've cast on the back. I really like the tubular cast on it calls for. Very tired, diary....
Thursday, April 5, 2007
1130
Dear Diary,
We made it. The kids and I got into DC via metro (God I love the Metro in DC) and got off at the stop by the White House. How cool it was to see the kids as they encountered the White House for the first time. They couldn't believe that we were actually looking at the Oval Office in the West Wing. From the north side of the WH we traveled around to the south side (or the pretty side as Kighla calls it) and got to see it in all it's glory. As we crossed Pennsylvania Avenue Ean got his first glimpse of the Capitol building. It was a wonderful moment.
1230
We wandered over to the White House Visitor's Center and found a lot of great things. Each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia had decorated Easter Eggs and they were on display in the center....check out Louisiana's egg....it's Emeril!
1430
The Smithsonian and the mall....DC really is an amazing place. So much wide open space, lots of beautiful buildings and history. We were going to go to the Museum of American History but it's closed for renovations until 2008. That stunk but we did make it to the Castle, the gardens next to the castle and then to the Air and Space Museum. Very cool!
1700Back to Virgina and my brother's house. Ashley and Katherine were home from school....that's the last I saw of the kids for the night. All in all, a really wonderful day.
Frday, April 6, 2007
0900
Dear Diary,
We are standing in line to get tickets to the Capitol. It's FREEZING cold and the wind is really blowing. Ashley is with us today and she hates to have her picture taken....we'll see if that lasts for the whole day.
1700
We are back in Virginia again. Today was amazing. From the Capitol, we went to the Holocaust museum. It's very moving. I loved the Hall of Rememberance. From there we went to lunch at the Post Office Pavillion. Then it was on to Fords Theater (closed, no tours today), the International Spy Museum (tickets sold out for today and tomorrow but we scored some for Sunday) and then a metro ride to Foggy Bottom. We walked down to the Lincoln Memorial by the State Department and Navy Hill. The Lincoln Memorial is one of the most awe-inspiring places I have been. It's so incredibly beautiful that it is difficult to imagine it's spleandor without being there. Next up was the Vietnam Memorial....another powerful space. A walk back up the hill to the Foggy Bottom metro (with a stop at Jamba Juice for some lifesaving smoothies....how is it that Ashley doesn't know about Jamba Juice????) and then a great ride back to Virginia. I wonder what's in East Falls Church that everyone gets off the metro at that stop....
Saturday, April 7, 2007
2100
Dear Diary,
Snow!!!!! Did you check the date? Snow!!!!! Today's sightseeing takes us to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia and Antietem Battlefield in Maryland. Two amazing places. We left Kighla and Ashley behind to hang out in movie theaters and pools.....but we added Uncle Jim. Jim challenged us to find the person in the cemetary with the oldest birth date.....We found one person born in 1796. Very old. The confluence of the Potomac and the Shenendoah rivers, midpoint of the Appalachian trail, meeting place of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. It's breathtaking. One of the coolest things we did....Jim put pennies on the railroad tracks. We went around the town sightseeing and when we got back we went searching for them and found a couple of them flattened out......cool souveniers. Then it was on to Antietem. My camera ran out of disc space so no pictures of the events there. It's hard to believe that over 22,000 American's were killed, wounded or went misssing in one day on these grounds. Another awe-inspiring place. We had a wonderful time and were headed back to Virginia when all of a sudden, in the lovely hamlet of Boonsboro, MD, Jim's car just stopped. I mean....stopped. dead. Luckily, we were in Boonsboro. We were safe; we found someone to tow us back to Virginia.....what fun. A little scarey but we were safe.
Sunday, April 8, 20072200
Dear Diary,
We made it back to New York City tonight. It was another event filled day of sight seeing. Ean and I went into the International Spy Museum bright and early. No pictures allowed inside. It's a wonderful place to spend a few hours. I highly recommend it. From there, a quick hop on the metro to Arlington Cemetary. What a wonderful place. We saw Kennedy's grave (both John and Robert), and the Tomb of the Unknown's. We saw the Changing of the Guard. What dedication and precision. Another place I highly recommend. Take the time to go and see the changing of the guard. You will be touched forever by the solemnity and respect of the place. (Note to self, please turn your cell phone to stun during the changing of the guard!)
While Ean and I were being Spy's and Soldiers, Kighla and Ashley went to the Zoo with Jim and Carmen. They got to see the Panda's (both mother and baby), Gorilla's, Snakes and Elephants. They had a great time. From there it was off to the airport and back to NYC.
I am one tired but happy Aunt. This was a great trip and I enjoyed every moment of it. I know my father was watching from heaven and nodding in approval. I might not have known the answers to all the questions like he would have but I think I represented pretty well. I hope we get to go again next year. Now, it's off to Las Vegas!
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