DC - Day 2

We went from a cab ride at the speed of light to a stand still Metro trip today. And lots of fun in between.

Thanks to the excellent staffers in Congressman Bright's office, we had a staff led tour of the Capitol (we didn't have to wait in the long line with all the other tourists) and House chamber, where we listened to some Representatives argue about healthcare. We got to see the newly opened Capitol Visitors Center -- very impressive!

On our visit to the United States Botanical Garden, Madalyn participated in the Junior Botanist Program. She had to go through the exhibits and answer questions and do mini experiments. She enjoyed this, even though we didn't get to finish the entire thing. We hope to make it back before we leave.

We also visited the National Air and Space Museum. It was neat to rub a rock from the moon and see the Wright Brothers display. There was also a treasure hunt to find the items featured in the movie Night at the Museum II.

Madalyn studied Leonardo Da Vinci in school last year and learned that there was only one of his paintings in the United States and it was housed at the National Gallery of Art. So, we trekked through the galleries to find it and also did a scavenger hunt designed for kids. Madalyn and I really had fun doing that and she got to learn alot about the artists and their works. We looked really studious sitting on the low sofas studying why all the painting by Dutch artists had clouds in them...hmmm. She was surprised to see all the nude sculptures sitting everywhere.

As for the the Gaylord (our hotel), while impressive in appearance, seriously lacks much other appeal. Our room was not completely clean at check-in, the turn down service attendant came to our room at 10PM the first night we were here, there is nothing around this new development, and housekeeping cleaned our room even though there was a do not disturb sign on our door (we had all our electronic stuff sitting out). I guess the one redeeming quality is the nightly water/light/music show in the atrium fountain.

DC - Day 1

For those of you interested, we will be updating the blog this week with the daily happenings of our vacation to Washington, DC. It's one of the places we wanted to experience as a family and we're off to a good start.

With the five page itinerary in hand, we set off. Travel day (yesterday) was pretty uneventful once we got on the road after coming back to the house twice (I couldn't remember if I cut the oven off and Madalyn forgot her purse). We stopped for a picnic breakfast for Father's Day. Side note: my plans were also to stop in the large cities to get their Sunday papers for the coupons. Before you ask, yes, different newspapers have different coupons. But, we were too early for Atlanta's paper. Forgot about Charlotte, got the one in Richmond, and forgot about the Washington Post). Oh well...

Our plans for today included Arlington National Cemetery and the following must-sees: Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, Washington Monument, Constitution Gardens and Union Station. Yes, we were busy, but it was a good day. We won't mention the fact that I almost drove onto the Pentagon compound when I really shouldn't have been there. Serious wrong turn! But, when you begin the day with your daughter crying because she is so excited to be her and end the day with her 'this was a great day, Mom' statement, it doesn't get much better.

On a sad note, we will always remember being here when the Metro trains crashed into one another as they did today, thankful that we weren't aboard at the time, but mournful for the families of those that lost loved ones today.

Equally as sad was the funeral of a young soldier that was going on while we were at Arlington. We were right along the route as the horse drawn carriage pulled the casket to the gravesite. We thought it would be interesting to see what happened at a military funeral in Arlington, but even nosy me recognized that it was a private moment for the family.

Enjoy this brief glimpse of our fun...

Anchor from the USS Maine

Home of Robert E Lee @ Arlington Cemetery

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Korean War Memorial

View from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Getting a grip on the Washington Monument

The Alabama pillar at the WWII Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Celebrating Dads

Certainly you knew that June was the month Linus debuted his blanket in the Peanuts comic strip in 1954. Or that National Doughnut Day is always the first Friday of June and June 11 is King Kamehameha Day in Hawaii. Perhaps need reminding that Flag Day is June 14 and National Ice Cream Soda Day is June 20. Who could forget to celebrate National Fruit and Vegetable Month and National Dairy Month in June? Did you know the first Sunday in June is National Cancer Survivors Day followed by National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day on June 2?

In your celebratory state of mind, wish your dad a Happy Father's Day today!

A Must Read

The Letter...amen, sister, amen!

Big Brother Is Watching

Listen, I'm no conspiracy theorist (although I'll go to my grave thinking Hilary Clinton had something to do with JFK Jr's death), but what's up with this incessant need to know everything about me? Target scans the barcode on the back of my driver's license when I write a check, collecting all my info, not just license number and date of birth. The new US passports have a computer chip embedded in the cover for 'quicker processing' they claim, but in reality it gives a full account of where to and when you travel. Now President Obama wants centralized, computerized health records. What's next, toilet seats with infrared technologies to recognize whose crap is left in the bowl so they can track you down if you require more than one flush, thereby raising the water usage level for the day and contributing to global warming? Geez, get a life, big bro.

David Letterman Should Be a Better Man

Don Imus was fired for calling a bunch of girls a name...boycotted, ridiculed, fired. But David Letterman gets to call Palin a slut and her daughter a loosey goosey and gets an 'atta boy.' Honestly, how much further can we spiral downward? I'm sure his mother is so proud of him...

Can I Help You, Sir?

We used to get the local paper delivered to our house everyday, all for $52 for the year (we got a good deal). The next year it went up to $78 per year, so we renewed even though they hadn't added twenty-four dallars worth of content. Last year, the bill came in and we were astonished to see the renewal rate of $228. No way! I cancelled the subscription the next day.

That means to get the coupons (one of the main reasons we got the paper to begin with) now, we have to go buy a paper every Sunday. Well, mostly it's Kevin who goes to Publix to buy the Montgomery Advertiser and the Birmingham News for me.

For the past couple of weeks, though, he's been attracting some unwanted attention as he thumbs through the papers to make sure there are coupons inside. Last week the assistant manager came over to bag groceries in the line where he was looking through papers, all the while eyeballing him suspiciously. Today, the assistant manager actually came up and asked him if she could help him find something. So he had to make some crack about the nagging he'd be subject to if he came home without coupons in the paper.

He's certain he's made it onto the store's most watched list. I can just see it now...the front end manager sitting in that cramped little office watching the monitor for the 'newspaper guy'. Or, the cashiers pushing the panic button under their registers when they see him approach the newspaper stand. Oooo, he's so criminal looking.

He said I'd have to get my own paper next week. I guess since it'll be Father's Day I can cut him some slack and save him having to put on a disguise just to buy my papers.