Week in rewind..changes

Change in time zone, change in towns, change in hotels.  It's been a whirlwind week!

OK, I'm a little slow. Just learning how to do collages on PSE, this was a free one, so there are only 5 days..At least they were all DC.

Up at dark o'thirty to travel to Cleveland. I'd never been to this ball park, and was excited to watch the Indians play. Snow flakes in the morning, rain thirty mintues before game time. Rained hard. We left assuming it would be called. After three hours, game was on...most expensive hot dog the hubs has ever had.  :-)

NFL Hall of fame. I never even watched football until we had our son. He has given me an appreciation for the game. Lovely day here in Canton, Ohio



My favorite photo from April. Hoping when I return home, there will be sunshine and bees buzzing!

Sunday cathederal

While in Washington DC we went to visit the Washington National Cathedral. Many have seen this magnificent cathedral on television. Presidents, have visited, had funerals, and many famous weddings have taken place here.

For this Sunday, just look at the photos and imagine how glorious this structure is. How many years it took to complete.

It's hard to grasp the size of this cathederal. In the center of the stained glass is a likeness to Jesus. He's life sized. Six feet tall.  I kept staring at it. Really?  It was a large window, I knew that, but knowing the center of the man alone was life sized, made it all the more awesome.

A smaller chapel in the basement for a more intimate feeling

Flowers for Leontien

A rose by any other name, will still smell as sweet.

Last day in DC

Last night was a dinner to put in the books. I'm a geek, yes it's true. I love reality TV. One of my favorites is Top Chef. I watch it faithfully each week early in the morning after a workout. My girlfriend and I meet for coffee at my house, and watch the taped show from the night before.

Whenever I'm traveling in a new town, I do a check for Top chef restaurants, and the one that piqued my curiosity was in Frederick, Maryland. VOLT owned by one of the Voltiagino brothers who competed in 2009. Bryan didn't win, his brother did, but after eating his food, I have no idea how he did NOT win! I've had the privilege of dining in some wonderful restaurants, but this one was so amazing I will dream about it for years. I took a couple of photos and then felt like too much of a fool to continue, and by then the wine was flowing, and well....you know the rest. Photos go south with good wine, so just as well I put it away!

Beet salad that was better tasting than it was looking, and I think visuallly it's gorgeous!

Halibut that was so light I thought it wouldn't stay on the plate

I did get invited back to the kitchen when the waiter learned we were all the way from Oregon. I got to meet Bryan, shake his hand visit a bit, and took a quick pic on the hubs phone. It was fun. It was decadent, it was amazing. Not everyday you get an experience like this one.



 Today was our last day in DC. We've got the metro down. Travel like locals, even stopping to help a tourist or two. It feels good. The city has been good to us. The weather has cooperated, and we have taken in so much history and need time to reflect on all that we've learned.  Today was Arlington Cemetery.

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This was the view from John F. Kennedy's final resting place. In his will he stated he wanted to be buried at the family burial plot in Massachusetts. While visiting Arlington House, he was overheard saying, " I could see staying here forever" That was repeated to Jacqueline after he died, and she decided he belonged to the people, and was buried at Arlington with the eternal flame.  His wife is next to him, and two children, a still born daughter, and son Patrick that lived two days. 

His brothers Robert and Ted are nearby with simple wooden crosses to mark their place. I was very moved by the simplicity of their markers. These were men of considerable wealth, and power and that they chose something so simple was very profound to me. Admittedly I had a thing for Robert. As a young girl, he came to Salem. I was on the street corner across from what now is Macy's when a sedan back window opened up, and Robert Kennedy hung out the window. He greeted us, asked us what we were doing, and invited us to the Courthouse to listen to him speak. I was mesmerized by his message. It was very horrible to me when he was assassinated. So young, so vibrant, so handsome, and such vision.

We stopped at the tomb of the unknown soldier. We have seen this ceremony before, but today we were to be witness to a very special ceremony. The above guard was serving his final day at this post. We watched as a special good bye was given to the tomb from a soldier who stood guard over it for 29 months. It was very moving.

 To be a guard at the tomb is a real honor. Only the best, with the most perfect record can have this job. They are held in high esteem for their entire lives, their names left on the roster as those who served at this post. To witness a soldier leaving the post was a very special honor for us.


After the exchange, the new guard went and stood to the side. This soldier removed his sunglasses and gloves, saluted the tomb, and carried red roses out to honor the unknown soldiers that are buried there.



After this, he walked over and left with the same pomp and circumstance with a woman on his arm, that I can only guess was his wife.

11,000 acres and tombstones for as far as the eye can see. Starting with the civil war, up until now. There were five funerals going on while we were there. A very beautiful sad place. Rich in history, one that we should remember.

It was now getting close to two in the afternoon and lunch was on our minds. Hopping back on the metro, I had one more top chef stop at capital hill.  Another top chef contestant has a sandwich shop. President Obama and wife have both stopped there and it's a favorite of those working close by.  Burgers, and greasy fries. The kind you know you shouldn't eat, but are so good, you can't stop!



For any top chef fans, this is Spike's restaurant. Busy, loud, and oh so yummy. If you like burgers, this is a great spot!

OK, this has been a LOT, sorry.  If you're hanging in there, here are a couple of things that I love about this area. Love the houses/apartments whatever they are. They make me happy.



This one sang to me. Sorry, the photo doesn't do it justice. There were cars on the street, and this was the best I could do. It was amazing!

We leave at dark o'thirty for Ohio. Hopefully a little baseball if the rain holds off and then the hubs is meeting business folks.

Leap into spring

Friday, our last day in DC. We had rain at the beginning of the week, not much to shoot during that, but there has been lots of water!
Linking up withLeap into spring photo challenge. andLong road to china

This or that Thursday

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny, puffy cloud kind of day. We took this lovely spring weather to walk the monuments.  When I first heard we were coming to DC, I asked for two things. 1. Go into the White House 2. Take photos of the cherry blossoms.  Well, you'll see from my photos how much clout I carry!

This was as close to the white House as I got. Guess three month's notice isn't enough when it comes to National security, and this scary lady!

World War II memorial. So beautiful. Wreaths all around the pool with the names of the states that fought in the war. One end is the pacific ocean, the other the Atlantic.  So many elderly men wearing tshirts that showed they had served.

My father fought in WWII. He was in the Phillipines, Corregidor, and was in the Bataan Death march. A POW for 42 months. something I can't quite wrap my head around. Not much is taught about WWII, nor little mentioned about these atrocities that happened. Not PC. It happened, and at least there is this remembrance.

On to see the Lincoln memorial. One of my favorites. The clouds were sitting perfectly for Abe!

The Vietnam memorial. People take paper and etch the name of a loved one who died during the war. My brother was in Vietnam. Didn't die there, but was badly injured and was never the same because of the war. This was a somber time of reflection.

These three soldiers watch over the Vietnam memorial. All of their eyes are on the middle of the memorial. It's the names of the beginning of the war, and the end. All names were assembled by when they died. You could see the highest points were beginning and end.

The view from the top of Lincoln's monument. Looking down on the reflection pool that is under repair. It was leaking. Workers have been repairing it since Oct 2010. No end date in sight, or at least mentioned.

Korean Monument. This was new since my last visit to DC. Soldiers faces etched in the stone, giving it an eerie three d look. Soldiers life size out in the grass reflect back on the walls.

Another new monument since we were there. Martin Luther King.

Washington monument was busy looking at it's self in the water.

Roosevelt's monument

So much for cherry blossoms! Little teeny weeny cherries. I'm 0 for two!  No blossoms just means I must return again. Even though there weren't the blossoms, there was the most wonderful sweet fragrance as we walked. And walk we did! We walked ALL day long, Our traveling companions may be twenty+ our seniors, but they are the energizer bunnies! They just keep going.  Their knowledge of history makes it a joy to be with. I've learned so much.

This is my personal favorite of the monuments. Thomas Jefferson has the most impressive for me. I love everything about it! If you look between the pillars, you can see his silhooutte. Only cherry blossoms could have made this any better!