Lee & Sara in Virginia 11.15.11

A trip to Virginia wouldn't be complete without checking in on Michael's sister-in-law and niece, Lee & Sara. Jeez, just like my Aunt & Uncle, it has been way too long. We met at Cracker Barrel for a nice breakfast & chat and followed up with hanging out at the house until it was time for us to leave. We're so glad they had time to spend with us!

Aunt Sue & Uncle David 11.15.11

We’ve spent the past few days visiting with my Aunt Sue & Uncle David in Virginia. We left Maryland and cruised down the coast, arriving Saturday afternoon to a wonderful reception. It’s been ages since I’ve seen them – we figured out we saw my Aunt about 5 years ago but it’s been 16 years since I’ve seen my Uncle. Wow! How time flies!!

We were treated with a stay in a hotel and they had placed some flowers and a lovely card inside, as well as stocking the fridge with water & soda to last our entire trip!
They were so lovely…



The visit was wonderful. We visited and ate – a lot! :-) haha… We were treated to their favorite restaurants – some of the best in Virginia. We got a tour of the Naval Base and got to see where Aunt Sue worked and many of the naval ships in port at the time. No photos…  We went to Virginia Beach and walked the boardwalk on a wonderful sunshiny (but windy!) day…





We hung out & watched football, ate pizza, & had a wonderful time visiting. They have two dogs, Buster & Bailee and poor Buster was frightened like crazy of us which is weird because I call Michael the ‘dog whisperer’ since he can usually get any animal to like him. But Buster just didn’t want to have anything to do with us. I mistakenly came in the front door when Buster was expecting David and think I traumatized him that evening! Haha…poor thing…



It was a wonderful visit and I miss them both like crazy. We all agreed that we wouldn’t wait another 16 years to see each other next time. We left Wednesday morning, headed for our next stop in Miami. It is in the 70’s!! Though there is severe weather heading this way…wish us luck!

More to follow!
Rene

D.C. Day 4 11.11.11

Itinerary: Wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, WWII monument, & Vietnam Veterans Memorial and visiting the other monuments & memorials on the Mall.

Wow – today is 11-11-11. The weather turned for the worse today. Not only is it bone-chilling cold, but it is incredibly windy which made today terrible. It’s that wind that no matter how many layers you have on (I had on 4 tops!) it went right through you. Brrrr!!!!!

I had read all about the Wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and everything I read said to be there 30 minutes prior to the ceremony. We arrived at Arlington in plenty of time and saw lines of people standing by busses that were not moving. No one seemed to know what was going on, but everyone was in the lines. It was a big cluster. We waited…..and waited…. We asked to walk up to the Tomb but were told no. As the time drew nearer and nearer to 11:00, we realized we would not be able to reach it by the ceremony. Then we saw the Presidential motorcade come in through the gates and quickly after the busses started loading up people to go to the Tomb.



Sure enough, when we arrived up top, the Guards announced that the Tomb was shut down and no one was allowed to go up there because the President was inside. Damn, damn, double damn!!! I was downright pissed. And cold. We asked how much time it would be shut down but no one had an answer for us, 1 to 3 hours we were told. Ugh…



I have been to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before and it was one of my favorite things to see, I really wanted Michael to experience it too but with the uncertainty of knowing how long we had to wait, we left. I was and am totally bummed we missed it. Next time, I will be there 2 hours before!!!



All of the roads were closed down outside of Arlington and as we were walking across the Potomac River, the presidential motorcade drove right by us! We stood and waved and Michael swears that some of them waved back. The President is in the inside limo.



We walked over to the Lincoln Monument, climbed the stairs & took in the view. Wow! The entire reflection pool has been ripped out & they are working on rebuilding it.





We raced over to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial as there was no way I was going to miss this one. There was an area that was cordoned off that was full of folding chairs and a podium at the front. And hundreds, thousands maybe, of veterans & their families. It was an awesome sight – seeing veterans hugging & greeting each other. We stood outside of the cordoned off area and just watched as the chairs filled. There was a band and group of singers who were singing songs relating to the Vietnam conflict – those that were guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye. But the best part was when they played in turn each Military branch’s song and asked the crowd to stand when theirs was played. They started out with the Coast Guard and a handful stood, then went on to the Air Force and again, a handful stood. Next was the Navy and they played ‘Anchors Aweigh’ and a larger handful stood. Then the Marines and more stood to a chorus of ‘hooah’s’. And finally the Army, which was a majority. It still brings a tear to my eyes just thinking of it. The pride was evident without a word being said.





The ceremony was fascinating but I was freezing cold and we stayed for about 90% of it before heading out. It was an emotional experience and I’m glad I went. I thank all veterans for their service.

Because it was so cold & windy we pretty much zoomed by the remaining memorials, stopping for enough time to snap a couple photos and zoom to the next one. We saw the Korean War Memorial, one I particularly liked with 19 soldiers walking through a jungle setting and a reflection wall which symbolize the 38th parallel.



The WWII Memorial, that my Grandpa just got to see a couple weeks ago. It was really gorgeous and the backdrop couldn’t have been any prettier.



Wreaths were at all the memorials. This photo is of the wreaths and the gold stars, each one representing 1,000 soldiers that were killed in WWII – over 405,399 service personnel. Wow.



After visiting all of the memorials, we were finished – exhausted, cold, & ready to be done for the day. We jumped back on the Metro & went back to our campground to relax.





D.C. has been amazing and there is so much we still haven’t seen. But it’ll have to wait until the next trip. We’re headed to Virginia tomorrow and are going to spend some time with my Aunt & Uncle and visit Michael’s step-sister near Virginia Beach, yeah! :-)

More to follow…
Rene

A Tiger at the Zoo 11.10.11

While we were at the National Zoo, we were watching this tiger pace back & forth in front of the doors and occasionally pop up to take a peek through the window - it was so cute! I caught it on video - enjoy!



http://youtu.be/XF2rvtt9Kr8

D.C. Day 3 11.10.11

Itinerary: National Zoo, visit Georgetown, & a tour of the Kennedy Center at 4:30

We had another lazy morning getting up & around, driving to the Metro center & finding the route to the Zoo. It was a drizzly morning and by the time we made it off the Metro it was almost lunchtime….so we stopped for a quick bite before heading in.

The Zoo was very nice – I was most interested in seeing the Pandas…and was not disappointed! They were inside and there were several volunteers talking about their habits & answering questions. They’re soooo cute!!



We saw Tigers…



Monkeys…



Another favorite of mine – the Lemur – I couldn’t help singing the song “I like to move it, move it” all day long…



The rain was coming down pretty good when we left and the zoo exit was opposite the entrance so we decided to walk back to the Metro station….another long walk uphill. Oh my aching feet!!

We bailed on the Georgetown visit and went straight to the Kennedy Center, arriving just in time for the tour. Wow, what a gorgeous place!! The tour was amazing, taking us to all 3 of the performance halls & through the halls of flags.

Here is the Hall of Nations:



And the large bronze bust:



The sun was just setting when we completed the tour and was gorgeous, even if it was overcast.



Sigh…another day getting back in the dark. Oh well. We were exhausted, again, from our hoofing it around D.C. so we gratefully took the free shuttle from the Kennedy Center to the Metro and hit the same restaurant for dinner. The servers are starting to look at us funny… :-)

More to follow…
Rene

D.C. Day 2 11.9.11

Itinerary: Bureau of Engraving & Printing & as many Smithsonian Museums as we can handle. Haha…

Day 2 started out much better than day 1! First of all, there was no appointments – so we slept in and got around much later than the first day. The Metro passes we purchased charged you extra if you traveled before 9:30 or between 3:00-7:00 so we tried to make sure we left the campground after 9:30, which was NO problem with me! Haha…

In fact, today we almost missed the 11:30 tour at the Bureau of Engraving & Printing. I had been to a mint before in Colorado but Michael hadn’t so I thought this would be right up his alley. And he loved it. Again, no pictures… But this is one of 2 places that they print paper money. It was amazing to see the process, the innovation, and accountability! Wow. Here’s Michael in front of a million dollars in 10 dollar bills.



After that we were off to the Smithsonian Museums. Our walk there took us right by the Washington Monument but unfortunately, because of the earthquake in August, it was closed to visitors, bummer.







Our first stop only because it was the first one we arrived at was the American History museum. I was most interested in seeing the original Flag of the United States (no pictures!) but found something almost as precious…

Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers!!



We checked out all of the exhibits, or as many as we could without being overrun by the hundreds of kids there on a field trip. Michael even pretended to give a presidential speech…



Then we were off to the Air & Space Museum, one of my favorites! The displays were incredible and it was just as I remembered from my visit many years ago.



Two museums and we were toast. We jumped back on the Metro and headed back to MD, still not making it by dark. We were so exhausted (again!) that we ate at the same place as last night and went back to the campground and crashed…again! The campground is perfect – not too many campers and quiet. We have a musician somewhere in the park and they switch instruments nightly – last night they were playing the violin, tonight they’re playing the flute. Ahhhh…..nighty nite!

More to follow…
Rene

D.C. – Day 1 11.8.11

Today’s itinerary: White House, Library of Congress, Capitol, & National Archives.

This morning started EARLY!! Our first tour was at the White House at 8:30. I had contacted my Senator’s office 3 months earlier requesting a tour of several buildings in the area and the White House tour was one that was approved. The bad thing about the White House tour is that there is absolutely no cameras allowed. Zip, zero, zilch. You can’t bring in a backpack, any personal items, nothing. And because of 9-11, all of the lockers around town have been removed except for at the Amtrack Station at Union Station. So first thing this morning we were up & showered, drove to the Metro station & hopped on the Metro to Union Station. Once there, we located the Amtrack luggage counter and paid for 2 hours to store our backpack with a book, maps, & my camera inside. The total? $8!! Michael calls it highway robbery but it is what it is and that’s the only place to store items. It’s much less hassle than leaving everything at the campground and then going back to retrieve it.

We mistakenly stopped at the White House Information Building where we went through a screening and I had to be wanded because of something I was wearing kept beeping. We wandered around and checked out the place before going back outside to find where we were supposed to be in the first place.

The White House tour was a self-guided tour and knowledgeable Secret Service men & women were stationed in every room to both answer questions and protect the items in the room. The best part of the tour was all of the photos lining the wall. The rooms were opened but you were only allowed to look through the doorway, not go inside the rooms. We saw the Vermeil Room & the China Room, then headed upstairs to see the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room, and the entrance/exit. It was cool, not quite what we expected, but cool. The gardens were incredible! To get up to the White House we passed through no less than 4 checkpoints, each time requiring us to show ID and one metal detector where I had to be wanded, again. The tour itself took about 45 minutes or so and we left and jumped back on the Metro back to Union Station to retrieve our bag & camera. Fun!

It was a gorgeous day – cool but clear. Our next stop after the White House was at the National Archives where we saw the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, & the Bill of Rights. Again, no pictures allowed (a common theme, we learned) and we were required to go through yet another metal detector which I had to be wanded – again. It was fascinating. Not only to see the original documents, but the building itself. And the exibits. The exibit they were showing was about how the government’s view on how we should eat has changed through the years. It was pretty fascinating how the food pyramid has changed, and how they influence what kind of foods we eat.



We looked at the clock and realized that there was a tour starting at the Library of Congress in 30 minutes so we decided to hoof it over there. The one cool thing about D.C. is there is amazing architecture and memorials everywhere you look! We made a quick stop at the Navy Memorial, just around the corner from the National Archives to see the Lone Sailor….



And checked out the world map and pointed out where we would rather be…



And then the Capitol came into view….



And then we hoofed it up to the Library of Congress. If you haven’t been, it’s located on Capitol Hill and we found out why it’s called that! The hill just keeps on climbing….and climbing….and climbing! We made it to the information center just on time and had to run to catch up with the group beginning the tour. That’s gonna hurt! Haha…

The Library of Congress is absolutely stunning. Made entirely out of marble and with no space left blank, it is difficult to see it all! And the pictures just don’t do it justice. Our tour guide took us all throughout the Library and pointed out as much as possible in our 45 minute tour would allow. We saw Jefferson’s Library, the one he donated to the Library in 1815 after a fire destroyed the Library the year before, gorgeous carvings, & murals, stone work, stained glass, it was simply amazing.





By the time we finished the tour we were both ready for lunch and had another tour scheduled for 2:00 so we headed outside & found a great eatery where we sat for the first time since early this morning (ahhhh….) and ate with a great view of the Library of Congress building.



Our next tour was the Capitol and we had sort of scoped out as we were booking by and had an idea where we were going. I checked the instructions I was given and realized that we could not bring a backpack and we needed to take it to the Senator’s office to begin our tour. I walked up to one of the guards and asked him where this was located and he said, “Oh, that’s just up the street three blocks!” Doh!! Haha…

So we hoofed it, again, up the street to the Hart Senate building and went through yet another security checkpoint where I had to be wanded again. I was getting pretty used to this, unfortunately. We finally found Senator Murkowski’s office and met our tour guide as well as two other couples who were also going to do the tour.

My contact at the Senator’s office was phenomenal in setting up the tours and I can’t thank him enough for all his hard work! Our tour guide was Jason who was originally from Homer, AK, who worked in the Senator’s office. He was great, very knowledgeable and personal and one of the other couples was from Homer too so they were chatting all about people and places there.

The Capitol building was another amazing place. Since we were on a ‘special’ tour we got to take the cute little tram from the Hart Senate building underground to the Capital building. We arrived in the Capitol Building and Jason pointed out all of the hotspots to us & toured us through both the Senate Chamber and the House of Representatives Chambers where the President gives the State of the Union speech (no pictures & separate security screenings where I was wanded….again!) Both were very impressive.

In addition, he toured us through the rotunda, showed us the famous ‘Whisper Spot’ and explained all of the paintings & statues throughout the Capitol.







Fun! :-)

Finally, our 1st day was done, we gingerly walked back to the Metro as our feet were already starting to hurt and we gratefully sat for our trip back to Maryland. We had ‘planned’ to make it back to the campground by dark but because of Daylight Savings Time, it was pitch black by the time we found the van and we were exhausted so we found the closest restaurant possible and crashed.

More to follow…
Rene

Zoom Zoom to DC 11.7.11

Well, we made it. We’re in DC, actually we’re in Maryland, but close enough! We found a wonderful little campground just 12 miles outside of DC, and 2 miles to the Metro station that is perfect – quiet, very few campers, & has a hot shower (yeah!). It’s called Greenbelt State Park

Our trip East was fine, but quick. We made a quick stop in Springfield, MO to visit with a long, lost cousin of Michael’s – Paula. It’s amazing, all the time I spent in Springfield while I was working, I never knew! We had a wonderful visit – stopping for a bite at the Bass Pro Shops restaurant (this was actually just a convenient stop as we were trying to find something here as well) and enjoyed catching up and learning all about her!



One fun thing about our road trip has been how many people wave at us on the freeway or talk to us at furl stops. It’s EVERY time! We can’t stop for fuel without either being talked to about Alaska or the Westfalia itself. It boggles my mind when people come up alongside of us & toot their horn or give us a thumbs up on the highway! It’s kinda fun but I guess we’re not blending in very well! Haha…

We’re off on our long list of things to do in DC this week! I can’t wait…
Rene

Family time in Kansas 11/5/11

It’s great to be home. I miss my folks so much and love being able to spend time with them. We arrived late, and I mean late, Halloween night, driving straight through from Colorado. It was a long drive and we were exhausted when we arrived. We cruised through the towns of western Kansas, stopping only occasionally for gas and to stretch our legs. During the trip, we had a suicide bird hit the side of the van, luckily it wasn’t a deer, but put scratches down my side of the van. It was weird – we saw a flash of white, heard a very loud THUMP and a scream (me). Crazy… But a gorgeous sunset behind us…



Ahhhh…..it’s good to be home. We spent the week catching up and relaxing. They had worked hard prior to our visit to renovate a room in the house and it looked fantastic! Complete with a new bed, we felt like royalty. The first day we did the important task….of laundry. Haha… We really chilled and caught our breath from the trip and ate a wonderful home-cooked lasagna dinner (YUM!). The next couple days we were on the go. We met Mom & Dad’s American Red Cross friends at a dinner out…



We met up with Brian, an old Army buddy of ours and dear friend….



And couldn’t wait to see Michael’s son & grandbabies! We had a nice visit with Brandon & Alex and met Nolan & Mia for the first time. Soooo cute!!! 







There was not nearly enough time to visit everyone and we hopped all over town trying! We did make time for a little geocaching (of course!) and even a round of golf, a real treat since we can’t even remember the last time we both played.



Oh, and the best part? Getting time to spend with my Grandpa. It’s been a few years since we have seen him last and it was nice chatting with him. He recently participated in the ‘Honor Flight’ where he & my dad were flown out to Washington D.C. and taken to the WWII Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and other places in DC. My brother even swung by to visit.



The 5 days came and went so fast it was mind-boggling. But we bailed on Saturday morning, headed for D.C. About 3 months ago, I had written my Senator and asked them to line up a White House tour and the approval just came through….for 8:30 Tuesday morning. Yikes!  We’ve got to scoot to get out there. It took us a month to get from Alaska to Kansas, now it will take us just a short 3 days to get out to the East Coast! Haha… We’ve got to get, get, get & go!

We’ll have to visit longer next time… Isn’t that how it always is!
More to follow…
Rene