Thursday 28 June 2012
Sunday was Shower Day
Two of Cheryl’s friends held a lovely shower for her. Another sign of times changing, this was a couples shower. We enjoyed seeing friends we knew and meeting new ones.
The hostesses had a cute idea. They had white onesies for everyone to decorate. Some were thematic, like UCLA and Duke, others humourous like beer, lollipops and penguins.
They were all very cute.
Daddy Dave had to fly to London for a couple of weeks. He tried to pack Ben in the suitcase and sneak out but we stopped him and promised to Skype instead.
On Tuesday, Jerry wanted to get out of the house for a bit so he went on a 10k Volksmarch. This one was a revision of a walk that he had done a year or so ago and went past many Embassies and through interesting Washington, DC neighborhoods.. New revisions on the walk included the Israeli embassy, the National Cathedral and the Peirce Mill, the last operating mill in DC. It was a great walk although very hilly.
The three of us won tickets to see The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Shakespeare Theater Company so we left Ben with a trio of sitters.
The production was delightful. We paid particular attention because we will be seeing The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa in Oregon in August.
Thursday, after passing his physical with flying colors, we took Ben out to celebrate with burgers at Good Stuff Eatery. Then the Presidential Marine Band put on a concert for us in front of the Capitol Building.
Ben really got into the rousing music by Sousa, Saint Saens, Rimsky-Korsakov, Copland and others.
This was music befitting the upcoming Fourth of July.
Sunday 24 June 2012
Food, food, food
We spent the day in Annapolis, MD (not at the Academy but the town). This centuries-old city, the capitol of Maryland, is charming. The narrow streets are lined with shops, restaurants, and ice cream parlors. We started with a tour of the State House. It was here that then General George Washington resigned from his post as commander of the Continental Army to assume the role of President of the United States.
The capital building is much like it was in the 1700s. Maryland has a bicameral government that meets for three months per year. We got into a political discussion with a store manager who informed us that he was unhappy with their legislature due to their inability to pass a balanced budget. Not much different than the problems we Californians face on a yearly basis. Travel shows one that the issues are the same no matter where you go.
This John Shaw flag is a reproduction of the one that flew over America’s first peacetime capital.
Touring the capitol worked up our appetites so we got in line for Chick and Ruth’s Delly, a cramped restaurant with huge portions of delicious food. Their menu states “No sharing.” We didn’t order the milk shake or hamburger, but enjoyed crab and shrimp sandwiches. Some of the dishes, including the three pound hamburger, were featured in the TV show “Man vs. Food.”
If we had the RV, we would have loaded up the refrigerator with leftovers.
After a bit of shopping, we got in line for our next meal. Cantler’s is a waterfront restaurant specializing in blue crab. We shared a mountain of crab with family. At the end of the meal arms, hands and faces were covered with crabs and stomachs were full.
But there is always room for ice cream, especially penguin-approved ice cream. Our hands and faces again displayed our tasty delights.
The capital building is much like it was in the 1700s. Maryland has a bicameral government that meets for three months per year. We got into a political discussion with a store manager who informed us that he was unhappy with their legislature due to their inability to pass a balanced budget. Not much different than the problems we Californians face on a yearly basis. Travel shows one that the issues are the same no matter where you go.
This John Shaw flag is a reproduction of the one that flew over America’s first peacetime capital.
Touring the capitol worked up our appetites so we got in line for Chick and Ruth’s Delly, a cramped restaurant with huge portions of delicious food. Their menu states “No sharing.” We didn’t order the milk shake or hamburger, but enjoyed crab and shrimp sandwiches. Some of the dishes, including the three pound hamburger, were featured in the TV show “Man vs. Food.”
If we had the RV, we would have loaded up the refrigerator with leftovers.
After a bit of shopping, we got in line for our next meal. Cantler’s is a waterfront restaurant specializing in blue crab. We shared a mountain of crab with family. At the end of the meal arms, hands and faces were covered with crabs and stomachs were full.
But there is always room for ice cream, especially penguin-approved ice cream. Our hands and faces again displayed our tasty delights.
Friday 22 June 2012
The National Zoo
Ben’s first day at work and one month birthday.
Our daughter Cheryl works for the Smithsonian Museum at the National Zoo. Though she is on leave, she continues to work on some of her projects, so we went to the zoo where Ben met some of her co-workers.
He again seemed underwhelmed by the exhibits though the triceratops caught a bit of his attention.
Worn out by his busy day, he collapsed on Daddy Dave’s shoulder.
He again seemed underwhelmed by the exhibits though the triceratops caught a bit of his attention.
Worn out by his busy day, he collapsed on Daddy Dave’s shoulder.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Ben Blog
The best laid travel plans are made to be changed. We were within an hour from heading out in the RV to the Dakotas and Glacier Park when we got a call from our daughter asking if we wanted to be Bubba and Zaida (Yiddish for grandma and grandpa). So instead of driving to South Dakota, after a brief waiting period, we flew to DC to meet Bennett.
It was a family gathering with our son Jeff flying in from Troy, NY and extended family coming from Baltimore.
Unlike the days when newborns stayed home for at least the first month, we have enjoyed introducing Ben to ethnic restaurants, grocery shopping, and enjoying the surprising lovely weather in DC. Ben even joined friends for his first pizza.
It was a family gathering with our son Jeff flying in from Troy, NY and extended family coming from Baltimore.
Unlike the days when newborns stayed home for at least the first month, we have enjoyed introducing Ben to ethnic restaurants, grocery shopping, and enjoying the surprising lovely weather in DC. Ben even joined friends for his first pizza.
Thursday 14 June 2012
Monday 4 June 2012
A Brief Trip
Columbia State Historic Park is one of the gems of the California Gold Country. To walk the boardwalks is to step back to the 1850s and the era when men and women came west to dig for their fortune. We came up with Mark and Ellen for a weekend getaway in our motor homes.
We started with luncheon at Kate’s Tea House, a beautifully restored shop serving excellent lunch choices, tea filtered at the table, and scones that seemed to float above the plates.
After lunch we headed to the “Diggins,” an annual celebration and re-enactment of the days when Columbia boomed. The tent city was populated with folks wearing authentic garb and talking about their life in the mining town. Since paper money was not trusted back then, the medium of exchange was either gold dust or eagles. We traded our worthless paper for eagles. Store keepers told how their goods arrived, whether by wagons across the plains or on ships around Cape Horn.
A theater was set up to present the music and songs written and heard by the gold miners.
The sun was pouring down on us and, since there was no A/C in the 1800s, we sought comfort in the motor homes.
In the cooler evening, we went to the City Hotel for a prix fixe dinner and evening of music and Mark Twain. Our salads, salmon or steak, and chocolate mousse were excellent.
Before and between courses, Dave Rainwater serenaded with music from 1861 on his banjo, guitar and fiddle.
Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, told us tales of his adventures in the Gold Country including drinking at the What Cheer Saloon in the Hotel. This was a delightful and delicious evening.
Ellen’s blintzes stoked us for our trip up the hills to see the Sequoia Gigantea in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Our 5K volksmarch took us beneath these red bark-covered behemoths. We traipsed along the path
climbed a massive stump
and peered way up to the sky to see the tops of the trees.
Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Murphy’s Historic Hotel. After a wee bit of shopping we returned to the campground to enjoy the end of a lovely weekend.
After lunch we headed to the “Diggins,” an annual celebration and re-enactment of the days when Columbia boomed. The tent city was populated with folks wearing authentic garb and talking about their life in the mining town. Since paper money was not trusted back then, the medium of exchange was either gold dust or eagles. We traded our worthless paper for eagles. Store keepers told how their goods arrived, whether by wagons across the plains or on ships around Cape Horn.
A theater was set up to present the music and songs written and heard by the gold miners.
The sun was pouring down on us and, since there was no A/C in the 1800s, we sought comfort in the motor homes.
In the cooler evening, we went to the City Hotel for a prix fixe dinner and evening of music and Mark Twain. Our salads, salmon or steak, and chocolate mousse were excellent.
Before and between courses, Dave Rainwater serenaded with music from 1861 on his banjo, guitar and fiddle.
Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, told us tales of his adventures in the Gold Country including drinking at the What Cheer Saloon in the Hotel. This was a delightful and delicious evening.
Ellen’s blintzes stoked us for our trip up the hills to see the Sequoia Gigantea in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Our 5K volksmarch took us beneath these red bark-covered behemoths. We traipsed along the path
climbed a massive stump
and peered way up to the sky to see the tops of the trees.
Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Murphy’s Historic Hotel. After a wee bit of shopping we returned to the campground to enjoy the end of a lovely weekend.
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