Virginia, Alexandria - Wednesday, July 3, 2013, Old Town Alexandria

Happy Birthday to granddaughter, Mackenzie!! 

Once again we got on the Metro this morning and headed for the King Street stop to get us into Old Town Alexandria.  Robyn and Maddie picked us up at the Metro station and we went walking through this lovely old town with many modern amenities.

 

Shops line both sides of the street, many of them catered to our good tastes but not our pocketbooks.  I did find a little tea and spice shop where I was able to pick up just a small quantity of ground ginger.  I have a spice rack with lots of spices but I need small quantities instead of the large jars they sell in grocery stores.  When we moved into the RV I brought small quantities of all the spices I had.  Our spice rack (cabinet) might be a topic for another blog.

Old Town goes down to the Potomac River where we were able to look across to see the Capital Building, but it was kind of hazy for a good picture.

There is an old torpedo factory there on the dock that has been made into a place where various artists have shops.  Also lots of nice restaurants.

 

We all met up with son-in-law Jason for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the harbor (the name escapes me right now).  I wish I had a camera with audio to capture Maddie’s eye-roll and sigh of “wow” when Papaw shared one of his churros (cinnamon and sugar fried donut) with her.

Washington, D.C. - Tuesday, July 2, 2013, Arlington, Smithsonian and Maddie

We took the shuttle from the campground into the Metro station and managed to get off the Metro at the right stop!  Our first stop of the day was Arlington National Cemetery.  We’ve been there before, but it’s always a moving experience.  I especially wanted to come back to see the Arlington House that sits on a high hill overlooking the cemetery and has a wonderful view of the city of Washington, D.C.  This house was Robert E. Lee’s home until the Civil War.  The house actually belonged to his wife.  The Lee’s were married here and six of their seven children were born here.  The last time we were here it was going through an extensive renovation.  They did a very good job on the renovation – it’s beautiful now. 

This is looking up at Arlington House from the site of John F. Kennedy’s gravesite, where there is an eternal flame.

This is looking at the city of Washington, D.C. from the front porch of Arlington House.  I could have sit there kicked back in a lounger with an ice cold drink most of the day – but all those pesky tourists would have gotten in my way.

 

The next two pictures show some of the renovated rooms.

 

 

 

We were able to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Don’t miss that if you ever have the opportunity, it is so precise it is awesome.

 

We got back on the Metro and headed downtown to the Smithsonian museum complex on the National Mall.  Just a word to the wise – this time of year there are hordes of school kids and families headed to the Smithsonian.  There was a Folklife Festival going on in the mall itself and when it started to rain (once again, it’s following us) all of those people also decided to visit the museums.  At one point there were so many people packed into one of the areas, claustrophobic me had to escape to a hallway and sit down for a while.  I might find the museums more enjoyable at some other time of year.  I do find the outside of the Smithsonian Castle pretty amazing, inside not so much.

 

The highlight of the day was meeting up with daughter Robyn and granddaughter Maddie at their house for pizza for supper (Dad had to work late).  She had to show Papaw almost every toy she has.  And, of course, Papaw was glad to participate.  Almost every photo I tried to take of her is a blur, she was constantly on the move.

 

Maryland, Lothian - Monday, July 1, 2013, Duncans Family Campground

We are located about 30 minutes from downtown Washington, DC.  We are here mainly to spend some time with daughter Robyn and family.  They came over yesterday just after we got set up.  We intended to have hamburgers on the grill, but the rain is following us!  We ended up skillet frying the burgers to go along with some potato salad I made Saturday.

I ended up getting the head cold Greg was fighting last week, so we’ve been a little under the weather.  Feeling better now except for a nagging tickle that makes me cough.  It’s been a good excuse to be very lazy.

The campground has a shuttle into the Metro station so we are going to take advantage of that in the morning to do some sightseeing, so maybe my next few posts will be a little more interesting.

This is our view when we sit outside under the side awning.

The weather here is hot and very humid.  It was one of those days when the air just feels like it is sitting on you.  I didn’t realize how true that was until I snapped this picture, the air is so thick it is hazy.