2020 Auto Show

Thursday, January 30, 2020

We went downtown to the Convention Center for this year's Auto Show.  It is nice to be a Chevy Truck Legend's owner.   We get free tickets to the show and one salesman actually remarked about Bruces' hat which he also got for free.  He got two mugs too.  We got to ride in a Jaguar on a special course they had built inside the convention center.  It was a rather cool experience.

Here are some art pieces in the hallways of the center.  There were many but I snapped these two.

Delaware Park and an Early Road Trip

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Our first bus trip of the year shared with the Ladies of the Knights.  An afternoon of gambling at Delaware Park.  Together we kind of broke even.


Sunday, January 26, 2020

Road Trip.  We started out driving a little north, to Middletown, MD where we drove by some interesting items.

South Mountain Creamery

We stopped at Antitum Brewery thinking we could sit down and try a flight.  Boy, were we surprised.  The place was packed.  This was Sunday afternoon.  There was karaoke and it was the birthday of one of the regulars.  There was nowhere to sit and barely any standing room.  People were very friendly and invited us to take part in the free pot luck they had set up in the back.  So we ordered a beer, had a few bites, and took some pictures.  Promised we would come back another day and took our leave.

So Begins the RV Shows

Friday, January 10, 2020

Today was the RV Show at Chantilly, VA.  It is usually the first one in our area.  Although it is a small show, this year had two surprises.  The first was a VIP Lounge area for Good Sam members.  It was really nice to feel special.  Food and drinks are always fun.  The second was they actually had Class A motorhomes on display.  It was nice seeing them again instead of just towables.

Brand New Year

Thursday, January 3. 2020

We just got back from spending two wonderful weeks in the Seattle area with Erich and family.  Once we recover from jet lag, we are ready to get this party started.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Well, it's now quite a party, more necessary evils.  Today is prep day for the colonoscopy that I had to cancel last month because I had the flu.  This is not a good day.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

It is over and I got good news.  Because my exam was clear, I don't have to do this for five years. Yay!!!!

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Well, the fun just never ends.  I visit Dr. Kathleen Burger at GW.  She is a neurologist and it only took four months to get an appointment.  Actually, I really liked her.  Have to have three more MRI's and we will see what she has to say. 

More of 2019 Missed

 July and August 2019

I am going to blame the fact that I was concentrating so much on my "medical issues" that I just missed the things we did in July and August.  So like the Library of Congress, I am placing them at the beginning of the 2020 book to preserve the memories.  Let's face it, 2020 needs all the help it can get.

July

On one of our many road trips, we visited Glen Echo Park.  Glen Echo Park was an amusement park and public swimming pool back in the day.  It began as the National Chautauqua on June 6, 1891.  After the financial troubles of the owners and unfounded rumors of rampant malaria, the facilities were closed.

The Washing Railway and Electric Company constructed a trolley park (amusement park) in 1902.  It was popular into the 1940s.  The successor to WR&E, Capital Transit Company added a number of Streamline Moderne structures, but by the 1950s attendance began to decline.  The successor to Capital Transit Company, DC Transit Systems, Inc., closed the trolley line serving the park in 1960.

Glen Echo suffered segregation problems like many places in the 60s, but by 1961 the park was opened to all.   

On Easter Monday, 1966, a cigarette was thrown on the tracks of the roller coaster, damaging them.   The coaster closed early and a lack of communication caused tensions to flare and more damage was caused to buses.  The park, already a failing enterprise, was closed.

The GSA acquired the property in 1970 and the National Park Service took over the management.  The Park was transferred to the NPS in 1976.

The original land was divided to create the Clara Barton National Historic Site and the remaining land to the George Washington Parkway.  today the park is a successful Arts and Culture Center. 

Bruce always has an eye for patterns.

July

Again on a road trip, we followed a brown sign.  Love those brown signs.  We discovered Mount Calvert.  This is a historical and Archaeological Park.  We were lucky today because they were open to the public and we were able to visit a dig as well as the house.

Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building

 Saturday, August 10, 2019

I don't know how I could leave out something as interesting as this tour we did in Washington, DC of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.  So I am including it in the 2020 book so the memory is not lost.

We always knew of the Library of Congress and it was certainly on my bucket list of places to visit, but we had no idea that the building was the treasure that we toured today.

The Library of Congress was established in 1800.  The initial library consisted of 740 books and three maps.  These were housed in the new Capitol Building until 1814, when invading British troops burned the building, destroying the library.

Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement in 1815.  Congress appropriated $23,950 to purchase his collection of 6,487 books.  The foundation of a great national library.  To protect the national library, Congress approved the construction of a separate Library building.  This library opened on November 1, 1897.  In 1980 the building was named for Thomas Jefferson in honor of his role in the Library's history.

This building was breathtaking.  Three floors of exquisite architecture left me just staring and wondering how I could have lived in this area for so many years and had no idea how beautiful this building was. 

The first floor is the Great Hall, the Gutenberg Bible, the Librarian's Ceremonial Office, and Mapping a New Nation.  The second floor gives you a view of the main reading room, Thomas Jefferson's Library, exhibition gallery, and much more.  The Ground Floor houses the Bob Hope Gallery, Gershwin Room, and Graphis Arts Galleries.  There are many more areas to discover.  Here are some pictures but they don't begin to reveal the beauty.

 

Holidays in Seattle

Thursday, December 19, 2019 - Thursday, January 2, 2010

Bruce, myself, Chris, Candice, and Brandon are off to Seattle area to spend the Holidays with Erich and family.  So excited to be off.  The plane ride wasn't too bad, long but within expectation.  Once arriving at Sea-Tac Airport, not so good.  We landed a bit late, it was extremely busy at the airport and it took a long time to get our luggage.  Then off to the car rental.  I had reserved a mid-size but apparently, they felt we needed more than that.  Probably right so we upgraded, at a price, and got an SUV.  It was raining very hard even for Seattle standards so the drive to Erich's was a little nerve-racking but as always Bruce delivered us safe and sound.  Erich was wondering where we were because it was getting so late, but we finally made it.  Thank goodness they had pizza waiting for us.

On Friday, Erich and Yogini had work and the boys had school.  Since we were on our own, we went to breakfast at the Egg and Us and then drove up to the Snoqualmie Falls.  With all the rain we figured it should be pretty spectacular and it was.

Even the professionals were there.

The weekend was filled with shopping, planning, and just hanging out, enjoying the family being together.  The boys were having a blast spending time with each other.

Tuckered out.

On Monday we wanted to play tourist.  Especially since this is the first time that Chris and his family have been to Seattle.  Unfortunately, Seattle was living up to its reputation of rain, but we did our best to act like a Seattleite and just carry on.  The parking lost was near Erich's office building.  Then we strolled through Pioneer Square.

The next stop was the Seattle Underground.  Bruce and I actually toured this several years ago with Anita and John George when we visited them.  Erich hasn't had a chance to see this so it was great to take them all there.  The tour started in a nice room with a stage and we learned a lot of the history of Seattle first.  Then we broke up into two groups and began the actual tour.  We had a very fun and energetic tour guide.

Down to the Underground.

Skylights in the sidewalk above.

A Crapper.

We really enjoyed the tour. Just a funny note.  At one point Deven managed to lead the group and he announced to all that he was the leader.  Even the tour guide has to laugh.

The next stop was MOD pizza for some lunch.  Great little artisan-style pizza place.  Our next stop was the Pike Place Market.  By now Deven was a bit wore out so Erich and Yogini decided to head back home while the rest of us continued on.  We were really hoping to show Brandon the fish tossing guys there.  We did manage to see them toss a fish, but it was the smaller one they do throughout the day.  I was really hoping someone would order a big one, but at least he got to see it.  We stopped and bought a couple dozen little donuts to take home.  It was extremely crowded and by now we were pretty chilled through and a bit tired ourselves, so this was a short visit.

View from the top of Pike Place Market.

Fish Toss.

Riding the brass pig.

It is now Christmas Eve.  Erich has tickets for all of us to attend Enchant Christmas 2019 at T-Mobile Park.  This was a winter wonderland filled with Christmas lights and sculptures everywhere.  But the best part was watching my boys take their boys ice skating on the rink built here.  What a great way to spend Christmas Eve.

We were all very tired and cold when we got home, but there was still that Christmas Eve present to be opened and milk and cookies to be put out for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer before bed.

The big day finally arrives.

Building Deven's kitchen.

All good things must come to an end.  Early Thursday morning we had to take Chris, Candice, and Brandon to the airport for the trip back to Maryland.  But we still had a week to enjoy.

We just chilled for the next few days.  On Saturday, since we turned in our rental car on Thursday, we borrowed a car and went looking for some quirky stuff. We started out in Bellevue at the Yacht Club where we found a giant Tiki Head.

Our next stop was the South Bellevue Community Center where we found a Temple of Stones, a Stonehenge-inspired outdoor artwork.

We then drove to Renton where we visited a unique way to deal with a sewage water treatment plant.  Waterworks Garden, a lovely Sewage Plant Grotto.  There were some nice artistic environments and nice walking trails.  We did not walk as much as we would have liked to because it was rainy and being Saturday the area was really quiet with no one around.  We got a little spooked and moved on.

Back in Issaquah, before we had lunch at Dickeys Barbecue Pit, we stopped to see an old bus.  It was a little creepy for me but something I wouldn't have wanted to miss.  We all know when the music died, and this bus had a lot to do with it.  The Buddy Holly tour in 1959 used several tour buses.  This was one of them.  The buses were cold and many on the tour were feeling effects of the cold weather.  This caused Buddy Holly to charter a plane to their next venue.  The plane crashed killing him, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens.

The rest of ou time in Sammamish with Erich and Family was spent just visiting.  We did talk Erich and Yogini to go out for a while on New Year's Eve for some adult time while we stayed with the boys.  We had a quiet New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  Watched a few movies and just chilled.  It was finally time for us to pack up and off to the airport on Thursday morning.  Our flight home was uneventful and Chris was waiting for us in Baltimore for the rest of the trip home.  Now it is time to start planning what we can do in 2020.