12-9 to 12 Amanda & Sal visit

Amanda and Sal arrived on the evening of the 8th. Actually Sal was already out here for work, I came back from an Abq visit and Amanda flew in. Amanda left Abq the same time I did, went to BWI and got to DCA at about the same time I came into the waiting area. So there's a good data point. Sal had to work both Thurs and Friday and work late too boot. Amanda and Sue went to the Portrait Gallery on Thursday to see the great Norman Rockwell exhibit and to National Harbor on Friday. Saturday, we all drove downtown and went our separate ways. Sue and I finished up parts of the American History Museum we had not seen. Here is a picture of Sue by the exhibit at Am History of the Princess Jeanne neighborhood in Albuquerque - an example of new construction ideas after WWII and the use of synthetic materials to build homes.

Amanda and Sal went to Archives and the National Art Gallery. They took us out to dinner that night at the Fish Market in Alexandria. Really good food. They were off by 10am on Sunday.

12-4 Scottish Walk, Handels Messiah

Sue and I had missed the Scottish Walk in Alexandria last year. This year we were at the Parade route bright and early. It was pretty cold though. This parade is a walk through Alexandria of the Scottish families, Pipe and Drum bands and, in place of horses, lots of dog groups. Great fun and great hearing all the pipe bands. the massed band performance at the end was particularly good for a bagpipe lover.

After that great event, we went to hear Handel's Messiah at the National Cathedral. It was performed by a smallish orchestra with instruments of the period. The choir was not huge but the setting was great for the sound. Also, they had large screens scattered on the floor so we had a clear view of the soloists. After that, Sue and I went to the Morgan Adams neighborhood for an Ethiopian dinner. Most unique, finger food is a big shared bowl.

11-25 Thanksgiving in California

Sue and I flew out to Sacramento on the evening of Nov. 23rd, a Tuesday. Tim and Ann picked us up at 10pm at the airport - it was a very long flight from DC - we'd been on the road for 17 hours. We stayed with Ann and Tim from the 24th to the 27th. On Wednesday, they took us up to Napa to visit the tasting room of the fellow who makes the wines they like a lot. I bought some bottles for Thanksgiving dinner - really good wine. On our morning walks in the Davis Greenbelt, Tim showed us the wild turkey flock that lives there.











On Thursday we went to Thanksgiving dinner at the Burns home - Tim and Ann cooked the turkey and other items, Sue did some pies, Kate and Erik added all the extra goodies. It was a good dinner. The pictures here are of Uncle Tim with his nephews, forming a "Burns sandwich"; Ann with Sean's fox; the dinner photo that unfortunately did not have Ann in it; and boys, boys, boys.

On Friday we went to "Brew it Up" with Tim and a group of OddFellows that Tim organizes to brew two batches of beer. Great fun to see my boy embrace brewing after all the noise about my brewing when he was small.

On Saturday we visited the Davis Farmers Market and did some Christmas and other shopping in Davis







On Sunday we went to Church in Davis and borrowed Tim's car to drive over to Kate and Erik's. We stayed there until we left on Wednesday, went to the boy's Karate class, saw the school they go to part time, and generally just hung out with the Burns family. I tired to finish reading James and the Giant Peach to the boys, but didn't quite make it.













When we flew home, it was late when we got in and we took a taxi home - that worked out pretty well and was a whole lot cheaper than parking the car. Great trip, great visit.

11-20 Burke Lake, Clifton

Sue wanted to spend the day outside since she had been cooped up all week. I have been in Albuquerque all week. I looked around and found Burke Lake Park in Fairfax not too far away. The drive there was pretty, even though many trees have all their leaves gone. We walked the trail around the lake, 4.7 mi. A very nice day, sunny weather but cool. After the walk we looked around and found the little village of Clifton close by. This is a small town on the railroad tracks that was a destination in the early 1900s and still has a following. Had a nice lunch there at the Heart in Hand, an old general store. Many of the houses in town have plaques in front explaining their history.

11-14 Philadelphia 2

We went back to downtown Philly, after a so-so breakfast at the hotel. We got there pretty early, about 8:30. Parked under the visitor Center and got tickets for a 9:20 Independence Hall visit. Lots of activity again around the Park - VP Biden was talking in connection with the Jewish Museum opening. Another gorgeous Fall tree was on display in the early morning light. Saw Independence Hall - the pictures are of the room where the Declaration and the Constitution were worked out. Also of the room where the first peaceful transfer of power took place, from Washington to Adams - amazing when viewed in the light of what passes for leadership today. We then wandered some through Old Town.






Saw Franklin’s courtyard and then headed for the old houses the Park service keeps up. Had an hour tour there of 2 houses. The first house was one in which the lady who would become Dolly Madison lived with her first husband. The second house was much richer, owned by Bishop White. We left after that, stopping to see the only real lighthouse in the vicinity – attached to an old house on the shore of a river. The other “lights” I saw on the way up and back down were those range lights I had seen on my Lighthouse 2 trip – just metal stands with a light on top. Saw two of those by Wilmington – actually got a picture of one. Back home, after some traffic, at 5:30. Sue drove all the way up and back, bless her.

11-13 Philadelphia 1

We left Alexandria at about 9 on Saturday morning and got into Philly at about 11:30. We parked close to the Visitor Center and went there first. We went to get tickets to Independence Hall and found they were gone for the day. So, we headed out for the Liberty bell and found a huge line. Decided to save that for later. We next went to the Old City Hall, saw it, and proceeded to visit the other places around Independence Park. We wandered all the way out to the freeway where we found the memorial to the Irish immigrants and the people who died in the 1847 famine, known as Black 47. The information on the signs was interesting (though may have been partisan), about how Ireland had plenty of food besides potatoes – the English just took it all.



Lots of beautiful Fall trees and the late light was perfect for showing them off. The weather was great. Went back and saw the Liberty Bell – lots of buzz around there – the American Jewish History Museum was holding a grand opening gala $5000/plate dinner. We wandered to some old Churches and found one with a 4:30 Mass. It was done quickly since there was a wedding at 6. Tired, but satisfied with our day of wandering, we left for the Marriott R.I. we had booked at the airport (using points). It left something to be desired – close to the runway, queen bed, but we were comfortable.

11-12 Postal Museum

In the afternoon, Sue came downtown and we went to the Postal Museum. Stopped at Archives on the way and saw the original Emancipation Proclamation, part of the 2nd set of Civil War exhibits there. A great day to be out walking in downtown DC. We then Metroed it to the Postal Museum, which is just across the street from Union Station. while it was a nice day, Metro is faster. The Postal Museum would have been a good sight for Kate and the boys to see - lots of exhibits about mail delivery, trucks, hands-on exhibits.

11-11 Two More buckets checked off

Veteran's Day holiday. Sue had to work (Memorial Day is not a SNL holiday), but around 1pm we headed off for Theodore Roosevelt Island. This is one of the items on our bucket list. Except for around Arlington, the traffic was not bad. We walked around the island - took about an hour. Interesting to be on a walk in the woods and see big housing buildings through the trees across the river. I took Sue's picture next to this wonderful red tree which is actually a dead pine tree. You can tell from the look on her face that this is not a good idea. Still, the reflection is nice. A beautiful day.

On the way back home we visited the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial, another bucket list item. A very quiet place, makes one thoughtful. Imagine if that plane had been assigned the White House or the Capitol, instead of the Pentagon. A whole family, the Falkenburgs, were wiped out in the crash.

11-7 Lee-Fendell & Gatsbys

Today we ticked off some local Landmarks - the Lee-Fendell House and Gatsby's Pub. The L-F House is the boyhood home of Robert E Lee. The tour shows several interior rooms, along with interesting historical tidbits. The picture is of the house from the backyard. Gatsby's is a restaurant from Washington's time and in addition to having really really good food, they have a tour of the upstairs areas that were used as an inn.