Now to let you in on what I've been up to since I left on my blogging break. Hubby, the boys and I jumped in the van and headed to Washington, DC, on December 26th.
The sunset was beautiful as we neared Maryland. The colours were awesome. This photo, taken from the van, doesn't really do it justice. We stayed in Maryland overnight and then made our way into Washington on the morning of the 27th. It was a beautiful day.
First stop was the Lincoln Memorial and as we stood on the steps, we saw this plane coming in for a landing. The planes fly in right over the Potomac and are quite close.
This picture is out of place. We saw this monument to women a little later on, but blogger won't let me move it.
A view of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial. This is one of my favourite places in DC.
We took the elevator up the Lincoln Memorial because of my arthritic knees, but I wasn't to be beaten. I walked down every step.
Brandon and Jordan in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was warm enough we only needed sweaters.
Here is the path going toward The Wall. You would never know that they had a foot of snow just a few days before we arrived. We did see signs of it, but not in this area.
This is a tribute to those who fought in Vietnam.
A Christmas tree at The Wall. The decorations are made by children. There were a lot of people at The Wall the day we were there.
Another view of The Wall. It always humbles me to stand before this beautiful tribute to those who sacrificed all.
If you look closely, you can see a young girl who found the name she was looking for on The Wall. Could it have been her grandfather? The boys had been to the Wall in 2005, but didn't remember it well. They were astounded at how many names are written there.
Then we drove down Constitution. Here is the Capitol Building. The traffic was horrific and there were no parking places anywhere. This was taken just before I accidentally knocked the camera out of the van and into a gutter filled with water. I was sure it was ruined, so that night we went out and bought a new camera. It's remarkable that the photos on the memory card weren't damaged and believe it or not, when I got home and tried the old camera, it still works.
We arrived home today about 3pm, dropped the boys off and came home for an hour and went to Mom's for New Year's dinner. As always, it was delicious. I have other photos that I will be posting after I get the software for the new camera installed.
Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, filled with love, laughter and abundant blessings.
Welcome home Mary. Your trip sounds wonderful and, from your photos, it looks like the weather was incredible. And I'm happy to hear that your camera survived its little adventure safe and sound. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow fun....and you were only 8 hours from us!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you enjoyed your trip...we so loved our trip there a few months ago.
I am glad ya'll had good weather...it was a tad hot during the day when we were there.
Hope your feet survived...mine took a beating on that trip.
And I am so glad your camera survived....the last time I dropped mine....it was gone.
I would love to go to Washington DC again. It's such a beautiful place to visit, but the traffic is just awful!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more pictures.
PS - I just love the new background!
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing Mary! The pictures are amazing and now you have a back up camera!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family
Breeze
Happy New Year Mary
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a good trip with lots of memories. Lucky for you that the camera is still all in one piece - now you have a spare lol
Take care
Cathy
looks like a fun trip!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
I'm not sure what impresses me most, your blog going native or you guys going to DC. You are very good to the boys.
ReplyDeleteI worked in D.C. for 8 years -1964-1972 -and though I've been back there a couple of times since then, I've never been back and done any sight-seeing so have never been to the Vietnam War Memorial or anything that's been begun since I left the place. I'm disappointed though thinking that you travelled through PA on your way down there and I didn't know about your trip. Could maybe have made arrangements to meet up someplace at least for a cup of coffee. Next time you travel south, through PA, let me know and we'll have to see if we can arrange something, somewhere, if it's at all possible.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy New Year to you Mary...you were missed, but I knew you all were having a trip of a lifetime. This is such a wonderful city to visit.
ReplyDeleteWelcome 'home'.
What a treasured trip for the boys! Memories, memories. We have a ship reunion in DC the end of this year and I want to go. Ron does not want to go. Your pictures make me want to go even more. Now think of this, you were in light jackets while most of us were in snow up to our necks! Happy New Year Mary.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing that it was sweater weather! And that your camera survived. When I slid into the ocean in Hawaii and mine landed in the sea, no such luck! Salt water and cameras - not a good combo!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip. I love DC, but would not want to drive. I managed the subway system by myself, which was kind of a kick. DC was in meetings all day, so I played tourist alone. Really fun, though nobody to compare notes with and ooh and ahh. The Wall was so heart wrenching. I went in the Holocaust Museum, but had to turn around at the shoes and go back out because I couldn't take it any more.
Welcome back!
I saw the Vietnam Moving Wall last summer when it arrived here. Humbling is the only word I can think of....as many people as there were there you could have heard a pin drop.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home......
Jerri
Thanks for visiting our country. You were lucky with your camera. Honey Bear dropped mine on the 19th while he was taking a photo. Someone bumped his arm. It skidded across the concrete. It wouldn't even close and is frozen in that position. He had already purchased and wrapped the one I wanted for Christmas. Still, it was a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't have wanted to lose the photos you made. We, once went to Charleston, made lots of snapshots, came home and realized we had no film in the camera.
Happy New Year, Mary.
Mama Bear
Glad you had a nice break and to share a trip with the Grandsons. A good history lesson for the boys. Peace
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and yours, dear Mary! Oh wow, how wonderful that you were able to go to Washington, DC during the Christmas break, that's one place I've never been but would love to go to. I so enjoyed seeing your photos!! It must be so awesome to see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building and the Wall in person. Next time I'm coming with you!!!! lol xoxo
ReplyDeleteWelcome back ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove the wolf header (that Anni is soooo creative and talented isn't she!) and the first colorful sky view especially but I enjoyed catching up and seeing the sites you visited. FYI ... if you want to move a photo in the Blogger editor, click on it ... choose 'cut' ... move your cursor to where you want it to go and paste it there. If it won't let you paste where you want, put a letter in the spot ... highlight it and paste the photo over the letter. Works like a charm but it took me FOREVER to figure this out for myself.
Happy New Year ;-)
Hugs and blessings,
Hey girl what a wonderful time you must have had. I would so love to see that Wall.... I think that is a wonderful education for those boys.... I nominate you for Grandma of the year.........
ReplyDeleteLove ya!
Happy Twenty-Ten to you and your family, Mary!
ReplyDelete~AM
What a wonderful trip! I love seeing your pictures and glad your camera and memory card still works. I've not been to D.C. but it is on our list. My husband grew up in Connecticut and played in a Fife and Drum corp, so has marched in parade's in DC. Says it's incredible!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, Mary! What a wonderful trip. I'm glad you didn't lose your camera after all.
ReplyDeleteTina
Mary-what a wonderful trip you all had! After reading through the posts I kinda feel like I got to tag along too. Wow the Horitculture Center was amazing-such a variety of beauty.
ReplyDelete