if I only had a map...

Good morning! and greetings from our nation's capital!

I have lots to share with you! Let's start with Wednesday. We got to the Washington Marina around noonish. I immediately found a Starbucks and then got lost. not the bad kind of lost, just the I-know-where-I-came-from-and-how-to-get-back, I-just-want-to-find-another-way-kind-of-lost... Here's a tip for you, if you should come to DC anytime soon: NO ONE knows where the Washington Marina is. Apparently, the marina has been around forever, but because it's under a bridge and utterly useless to the natives, it doesn't exist.

Here's what happened. I left Starbucks and headed for the mall. I wandered around under the Washington Monument, then to the Smithsonian Castle.
From there, I knew there had to be a better way to get back to the Washington Marina than the way I came. so I asked. The hot dog vendor looked at me like I had 2 heads.
"Near Phillips Seafood?" I asked.
"Oh!!! yeah! just down that way... you'll find it!"
So I started "that way."
After heading "that way" for a while, I stopped and asked a cop- "Can you tell me how to get to Washington Marina?"
Blank stare.
"Phillips Seafood?" I clarified.
"Oh!! yeah! just down that hill!"
So I started walking "down that hill." People around here give crappy directions. Once I got to the top of that hill and realized you could go one of 2 ways "down that hill," I stopped a security guard outside of the Post Office Headquarters... and got a blank stare.
I'm telling you- NO ONE knows where the Washington Marina is.
But I made it back to the boat and promptly told the Capt that we should probably go to Phillip's Seafood at some point...

Yesterday, because we couldn't count on the weather, we decided to plan some indoor activities. So we headed to the Smithsonian- Natural History and Art!

I found a badger for dad:


and an otter (also for dad):





This piece is called "Electronic Superhighway" and was created by Nam June Paik. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but I'm only about as tall as, say, the border between Carolina and VA. It was huge.


and this chandelier is AWESOME! There are Barbie heads on the very top and little plush frogs holding on at the very bottom... I'd like one for Christmas, please. oh! and those are cupcake holders under the lightbulbs. :)


After the art museum, we jumped on a tour bus and got a 2-day ticket. The bus took us ALL OVER!! It was great! and by that time, it had rained, so it had cooled off significantly. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the sights! and it gave me a chance to decide on a plan for today!







I'm excited for today! The Plan: The Capitol Building, the Nat'l Cathedral, Georgetown, then The Lincoln Memorial.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading- ya'll are the best! hugs!

The House that George Built.

Good morning, friends!

Happy birthday, Ryan Allred!!!

Thanks for all the comments yesterday- great to know you're enjoying keeping up with me!

Yesterday was a great day! First we went to the Arlington Cemetery:











We got to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in time to see them change posts- it was very cool. They are just so very precise. 21 steps each way, then they change their gun to the other shoulder. 21 steps, move the gun. There was a guy who came out, told us what was going to happen, told us to stay standing and quiet, then they went through all the steps to switch soldiers.









After that, the Boy Scouts got to take part in a ceremony to change the wreath in front of the tomb. That was cool too- they'll remember that forever!



Some of the graves were absolutely beautiful! This one in particular: such detail!

We saw Kennedy's grave:

This is a great view of the Washington Monument from in front of Kennedy's grave:

We left Arlington Cemetery and went to the Iwo Jima Memorial! This was probably my favorite part of yesterday- it's such a neat memorial.



Then we went for a VERY scenic drive and found Mount Vernon! The house that George built!







Also, I promised I would show you pictures of the dock we've been on for the last couple days... but the pictures are missing. Not sure what happened... those are the only ones I can't find. oh well.
Just know the dock is very small and the boat is very big.

The End.

New places, new weather!

We're in Alexandria, VA. It is beautiful here. When we left the marina this morning it was a good 15 degrees cooler than it was yesterday- Thank goodness!!

wait a second. priorites:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOMMA AND DADDY!!!!! You two rock. Keep up the good work. Thanks for being the best parents anyone has ever had. ever.

and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY GRANT! Welcome to the world, little guy!

Alrighty, so the last time I was able to post was... Irvington! I was able to tell you about breakfast at that "gas" station... then I got some pool time... you remember all that.
That night (Saturday) we went to supper with Dick and Fran at this place called the Trick Dog Cafe.

We're in crab country. I had crab cakes. life is good.
oh! and I drew a picture! (that's a bird in the top right corner. see it?)



...and so did Fran. she's a natural, huh? she claimed it was a tree.
I told her I wouldn't post it. oh well :)

On the way to supper, I was able to take this really awesome picture... White Fences Winery... how can I not want to drink their wine when they have a gigantic corkscrew at the entrance to the winery? great marketing.

We left Irvington and got close enough to Smith Point light to take some pretty great pictures! (note the potty)

Also, we saw this light... not sure exactly what it was, but it's pretty!

Once we got into the marina, I took a walk to see what I could see... and found some pretty cool boat names!

This one is one of my favorites:

This one is just a really cool boat:

and look who we found again! we were so excited!

Last year while we were kayaking around Block Island, we saw this boat name... it's one of our favorites!

Last night, we got some serious wind... check out the radar!

but it chilled out after a while and we saw a BEAUTIFUL sunset!

This morning, we headed up the Potomac toward Alexandria- it was a great day on the water... like I said, about 10 to 15 degrees cooler, and sunny!

We passed by Mount Vernon:

and this fort-like structure: (feel free to tell me what it was if you know... it was up on the bank just as we approached DC, protecting the city, perhaps?)

We also got our 1st glimpse of the Washington Monument AND the Capitol building!!
so cool!!


When we got to the marina, we knew we were in for a challenge. There was very little dock to tie up to... but we're pros at this. (I say that all the time to Barry... sometimes sarcastically, like when I screw up. But this time I mean it- we made those lines look like ART! more pictures tomorrow... these are just some that Alice took to prove I actually do work on the boat... for those of you who doubt. You know who you are.)



After a rinse-down, I wandered around "Old Town" Alexandria and found a Starbucks (free wi-fi! what up!?)
This is a really neat little town- cobblestone sidewalks and such :)
Will update tomorrow- hope this post finds you well! Thanks for reading!

If you're happy and you know it, leave a comment!