PART TWO OF VISIT TO DC

Welcome back for part two of our Saturday adventures.

After leaving the rugby match Jerry and I walked down to the Tidal Basin. This is only one of many places around DC that you will find cherry trees, but it is probably the best know and most popular area. The picture here is of the Jefferson Memorial which is at one end of the basin. It to is a popular tourist stop. This picture was actually taken further on in our walk around the basin but I wanted to show it to you here as a picture representative of the beauty of the area.

There were many of these paddle boats out on the water and they added to the picturesque scenery.

There was a concert going on at the foot of the monument. It looked as if in might have been a high school band. We did stop and listen to them for a moment. They were pretty good. Then we climbed the steps and went in to visit Tom.
He's quite an imposing gentleman standing watch. I always find it humbling to read his words that are etched into stone at various points around the interior of the memorial. They are words that make one stop and think for a moment about where we began as a country and where we are now.

In case anyone is wondering, even though the cherry blossoms are plentiful and very pretty, Jerry reported that they do not have any scent. This is probably a good thing. It could have been vary noisy and maybe even a tad dangerous if all those thousands of people had a massive allergy attack and all sneezed at once!

We continued our walk around the Tidal Basin. Just after leaving the area of the Memorial we came upon a Bride and Groom having their wedding pictures taken in a very small park area and in front of the hanging cherry blossoms. It was a very setting for wedding pictures.

Our next stop was at the FDR Memorial. This was the first time either of us had been at this memorial. It is quite impressive. Unlike many of the memorials in DC this one has absolutely no steps and is totally handicap accessible. (On thing DC is known for is its steps! Be prepared to climb if you visit here!) Once again there were many inspiring quotations carved into the stone. There also are beautiful cascading waterfalls and a number of brass statues. Several are of FDR including one of him in his wheelchair, one of Eleanor his wife, then several which show images of people during the depression years. I've been wanting to visit here and was glad we were able to finally do so.

Our next stop was by the Washington Monument. Here we were able to watch, for only a moment as we were running out of time the multitude of kites that individuals and families were flying at the annual Smithsonian Kite Festival. Boy kites have sure changed since I was a kid. I don't think I saw a single kite that looked like the type I ever flew. There were dragon kites, butterfly kites, bee kites, fish kites, stealth bomber shaped kites and I even saw a kite that looked like a bi-plane. There were also all sizes of kites from very small hand made paper kites to one that looked the size of a small airplane. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. Just the right amount of wind. Unfortunately I did notice a few kite eating trees!

We had one more stop we wanted to make before we headed to dinner. This was the National Gallery of Art. The East Building had an exhibit on the Photographs and Paintings of the Forest of Fontainebleau in France . We stayed there till the Gallery closed at 5pm and then headed to our dinner location.

Dinner was at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant in DC. It was a wonderful end to a fantastic day. The food was great, but the restaurant itself was a treat. I wasn't sure where Jerry was leading my to as we headed down New York Avenue. I could see nothing that looked at all like one of Washington's top restaurants. We went up to some fairly nondescript but large double doors and he knocked on one of them and this little door in the middle of one of the bigger ones opened and they invited us in. (It reminded me of the types of doors you might have seen in movies placed during the prohibition era with a speak easy as one of the locations.) Now we were in a nondescript room that had a coat room off of it. We told them we had a reservation and our name and then...........they parted a curtain for us to enter the restaurant. I was as if we had just stepped into Morocco. It was beautiful and lavish. We sat on low couches and had a very small low table. There is no choice of menu items. It is a 7 course meal and as I said the food was beyond good. You do eat with your fingers though! Also at 7:30 we ere all entertained by a very talented belly dancer. We were seated pretty much right in front of the portable stage they set up. I think this was probably because when making the reservation they asked if we were celebrating something and Jerry told them it was my birthday. I also received a special drink (no idea what it was, but it was good) a piece of baklava with a sparkler stuck in it, and a birthday certificate which is in Arabic so at this point I have no idea what it says but it looks impressive!

So that was our day. After dinner was over we headed back to the Metro and took a train home with many others who were returning from their days adventures as well. Fortunately, I found a seat as about 20 minutes into the trip home I fell asleep.

There was one depressing thing about the day. This is for my SCS FLYBaby Buddies.....after walking all over downtown DC all day long (we did take a two bus trips to navigate the full length of the mall each direction) my pedometer showed I still had only walked 9876 steps!!!!!! No wonder in a normal day I have a hard time getting over 5000! How on earth unless you use a tread mill and walk for hours do you reach 10000 steps. I really would need the 48 hour day I have been yearning for!

TRIP TO DC

Yesterday Jerry and I took a trip into the District. It was one of those trips where we had many planned sites to see and discovered other unexpected ones along the way.

Since this year long photo project has morphed from the 365 project of daily photos into a photo journal for 2008 I would like to share some pictures from our days travels. I tried to pick out a few of the highlights and will share them in two posts. One made today and the other hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday.

Our first stop of the day after we arrived downtown via a very crowded Metro system was the Botanical Gardens which are at the Capitol end of the Mall.

This was my birthday trip so I got to choose the activities and the first was a stop to see a small quilt exhibit at the Botanical Gardens. The show was around quilts which had depictions of flowers and/or vegetation. I know several of the women who had quilts in the exhibit and so wanted to see them. This is one of the wonderful quilts that was there . It is a marvelous example of hand appliqué work done over the top of a beautifully pieced background. I love the way the quilt maker chose the fabrics she used and the effect of shading in the background.
I found my first surprise of the day here at the gardens. Not only was there the quilt exhibit, but they had a special exhibit of orchids. They had ones of every color and size imaginable. Some were very delicate while others looked very strong and sturdy. This was one of my favorite that I managed to get a good photograph of.

We spent additional time going through a few other of the many exhibits and then decided if we were going to see all we had come down to see we had better move on. So we headed back outside. (The Botanical gardens are primarily indoors in controlled environments.) It was now lunch time and so we found a seat on some steps by the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol building and ate a rather chilly lunch. This was the view from where we ate.

I think that all towns across the country must have emptied out and headed for Washington DC yesterday. I have never seen so many people in town. We thought it was crowded up by the Capitol, but it was empty up there compared to our next stop which was to see the Cherry Blossoms around the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial.

We took a bus to as close as we could get and then walked the remainder of the way. The Mall and Monument areas of Washington are known for their game fields. Almost any hour of any day you will come a crossed some sport being played and yesterday was no exception. Normally you expect to find football in the fall, baseball in the spring and soccer all year long. Yesterday we found along out walk what at first I thought was soccer, but discovered when I saw the ball was rugby. I've never seen rugby played before and so we stopped and watched for a while. What they say is true: it makes American football look like a game for wimps. Rugby is one rough game and the players wear no protective clothing. Here is a picture of the beginning of a pile up which the ball is under. They just keep pulling and clawing at each other until the referee determines no one will be able to get the ball out. It was also interesting that when they toss the ball out from the sidelines team members pick up one of the guys and lift him up over their shoulders so he can try and catch the ball. It was very interesting to see and another unexpected treat.

After this short stop we reinserted ourselves into the flow of humanity heading to the tidal basin and moved on closer to the cherry blossoms. But that is where I will pick up later as this post is already long enough. I hope you are enjoying this trip through Washington on a chilly spring day.

LOOKY!

God is so good! I didn't pray that he return my camera to me, but I did ask that he not let me stress out and fuss and fume all night over having lost it. That if I was to have my pictures of the trip that in the light of morning and not being so tired it would turn up and look!!!!! When I thoroughly unpacked the tote bag with fabric pieces and new sewing machine pedal I had purchased look what I found wrapped in the folds of nice soft padding fabric at the bottom of the bag next to the pedal. I am one happy photographer right now and ready to take off to snap pics of and enjoy cherry blossoms! (I had better get dressed first though!)


While I am gone here are a few photos of Lancaster County, PA for you to enjoy. These are pictures of things you see all over the county. Amish buggies mixed in with trucks and automobiles, beautiful farms and of course the ever present porches lined with wonderful quilts made by the Amish . Many Amish homes have signs out front indicated that they have quilts for sale and please stop in. This was one home in town that we stopped by to visit. The quilts are wonderful, but way out of my price range. At one time Amish quilts were very identifiable by there use of solid fabrics and use of grays, navy blues or blacks as a base color. You could even identify the part of the country the quilt came from based on the color palette used. Those are now highly valued quilts by collectors. In the 1990's the American buying public (ie tourists to Amish communities) began asking for quilts made with print fabrics and being astute business people the Amish women gave them what they wanted. Now very few new Amish quilts are made in the traditional fabrics which I find very sad as they were absolutely stunning and a wonderful showcase for the amazing quilting designs the Amish women use. These fine stitches tend to get lost in the patterned fabrics they now use. Don't get me wrong their quilts are still wonderful, they just aren't as differentiated from quilts of other amazing quilters like they used to be.

It is now time for me to get moving we have lots to see and do today!

SO TERRIBLY SAD!

I am back from my wonderful two day adventure in Lancaster, PA where I visited the Quilters Heritage Show. I saw many wonderful quilts and took many wonderful pictures that I had hope to share here. Unfortunately my camera has disappeared. So for now and until who knows when I am out of the picture taking business. This makes me very very unhappy, but there is nothing much I can do about it. I have no clue when I will be able to get another one so this will be a really time of learning how to be content with not having one. It will be specially hard tomorrow since we are planning on going down town to see the Cherry Blossoms and other sights and I so was looking forward to photographing them. Plus I am very sad I lost all my pictures of the quilt show.....

Easter

I love Easter flowers. We don't have a lot of them at our church on Easter morning. Not so many that people with allergies are miserable and sneeze through the service, but enough to make things look like it is Easter and also spring.

Here are two pictures of the flowers around our altar on Easter morning. We weren't sure there would be many blooms. Easter was so early this year that the florists had a hard time pushing the tulips and daffodils into flower. When we picked the plants up on Friday non of them had bloomed. The mums and Easter lilies were fine. We were surprised and pleased that on Sunday morning all the daffodils had opened and s few of the tulips had.

We used to have hyacinths also, but they were banned several years ago when half the congregation sniffed, sneezed and scratched their eyes all morning long. Not being allergic to flowers this banning made me very sad as I loved the wonderful smell the had. But I do understand the problem they caused others, especially my DH who is allergic!

I took this picture a while ago and today it spoke to me and said on the eve of Easter it was time to post it here. I think this little plaque has all my hopes and wishes for the world. With LOVE and FAITH we can have the HOPE that PEACE with take over the world!

Enjoy and a blessed Easter to all!

MARCH 20: IT'S SPRING!

Ah, the first day of Spring. Another winter survived! I shouldn't complain as it was a very mild winter, but sometimes I think I would be happier with REAL WINTER....but that isn't in line with my word for the year "contentment" is it. I should be happy and content that we didn't have a disruptive winter and it sure sis seem to go by FAST!!!!!!!!

It seems like we were just celebrating Christmas and now all of a sudden this Sunday is Easter!

The weather is not particularly warm today for the first day of spring, but I think that is more because it is so windy! As my picture for today shows though the flowers are saying it is spring. These are some hyacinths that I planted last year after Easter that are coming up! The tulips and daffodils are also coming up, but no sign of flowers in them yet. So there are definite signs of spring and I want to say WELCOME!

SMALL TOWN AMERICA BY TRAIN

I just though I would share a few of the photos that I took from the train window on the trip down to NC. I love watching the small towns go by. You get a much better feel for where you are going and how you are getting there when traveling by train. It is such a different view than when traveling by airplane or even by car.

All too often when traveling by car these days we travel only on the highways. You don't se much that way. Definitely you miss the small towns or at least what is at their heart.

I do enjoy traveling by plane for long distances. Some of my favorite images are of flying over the plains states and seeing the patchwork quilt made from the roads and farm lands. There are so many wonderful patterns and the ground is so flat that it really does look like a patchwork quilt.

Lets face it I just love to travel. I dream of what it would be like being able to afford to travel and record my travels both in film and word.

I hope you enjoyed some of the small towns I traveled through. Can you hear the sound of the train on the track and the whistle as you go though the towns.....listen carefully, and imagine!

ONE MORE TEST!

So I took one more test and to add somemore insult to my personality it seems I am pretty close to a nerd. Only 23% of the population is more "nerdy than me!



Oh well. I am just a goofy nerd I guess!!!!!!

AM I CONTENT WITH ME?

Back for a moment looking at contentment (in a somewhat humorous light). Tonight while visiting and catching up on friends BLOGS I've gotten sucked into online quizes and such. These were reported to let you know a bit more about your self. After carefully viewing my results I've determined that I can not become content with myself as I am. Saying I am not happy with my results would be an understatement......

First while visiting on Ladydoc's BLOG, Tilting at Windmills, I discovered that I could find out what celebrities I most share physical facial traits with. Now Ladydoc was paired up with the likes of Ann Bancroft and Angelina Jolie. Not bad.....so who am I paired up with...........William Moseley, Chester Bennington, Steven Soderbergh, and finally a female....Veronica Ferres. In all fairness the fifth match was one I am content with Meryl Streep! I guess know I understand better why so often cashiers and sales clerks hail me as "May I help you sir?". Well if you are courageous you too can find out who you look like most on the celebrity front. Just go here.

Well I, being a curious type wasn't content to stop when I was ahead. When at Lori's BLOG I noticed in her side bar a picture of Sleeping Beauty. Her Disney Alter Ego. Now how cool is that? So like I said being a curious glutton for punishment I decided to check this out. I could be content with Cinderella, or Snow White..........................................................................and who is my Disney Alter Ego?????????????????????? GOOFY !!!!! Some of us never learn to leave well enough alone! Are you brave? Head here and see if you have better luck than me......As for me I am going to go move my clocks forward and hour and head to bed. Pulling the covers up over my head sounds like the best bet.

FEBRUARY 28: ON TO NORTH CAROLINA

This was just the beginning of a fun train adventure. Heading down to North Carolina to spend a week with my mom. I have discovered I love taking the train. It's so relaxing and much more enjoyable than the quick plane ride. It does take a full day, but I enjoy watching the little towns go by and I had a lot of time to read, work on my computer and watch some DVD's. By the time I arrived at the Durham train station I was already in vacation mode. I will share some more pictures of the train trip as I get them processed.

FEBRUARY 26: BIRTHDAY LUNCH

Okay, Okay....I know it is no where near February 26 at this point. In fact it is March 8.
obviously this picture a day is not going to continue for 365 days. I found it was becoming more of a chore on some days then fun. After a couple of months lets face it some days are just like others. So rather than stressing out over this I am going to use this as a type of photo journal of events and activities I want to remember. Some days something fun and unusual might strike me, but I don't want this to become a chore rather than a delight.

So what happened on Feb 26th that was of note looking back? A good friend and co-worker turned 50 and a group of us from work took her out to one of our favorite restaurants in town. It's Greek and the food is wonderful. I am a bit biased I guess. One of the owners is a friend who also is the father of an ex-boyfriend of my daughter. Mythos....used to be Vasilis, but there was some name confusion with another restaurant on the other side of town.