Back home for a while anyway

We got back from England on September 5 and had a whole two weeks to relax before our next trip.  Yep, another one!  This one was more personal.  FIFTY years ago I had the honor and pleasure of being in someone's wedding party and on September 22 they were celebrating their anniversary.  Well, you've got to go celebrate something like that!  So on September 21 we hopped a plane for Chicago.

Our friends live in a small town in northern Ohio near Toledo so flying to Chicago was the best choice by far.  Then it is a 4 hour drive to Ohio. Well, it is if you are smart enough to go around downtown.  If you aren't, it's more like a 7 hour drive.  However, we made it.  The party on Saturday was fantastic and we got to spend a bit more time with our friends on Sunday.  Monday a.m. we were off for the Chicago airport again. 

Now you need to understand that my wife does about 75% of our trip planning.  I get a word in every now and then but basically she does all the work.  So when we knew we were headed for the Eastern Time Zone we decided to add on a bit to the trip.  First a quick few days in Montreal; since we've never been there. 

We mostly wandered around in the old part of town.  It was nice and we got to see some of the good stuff:  the cathedral, the waterfront and the underground.  In one part of the underground was a large mall that had a fountain shooting way up in the air.  There were a couple small boys who really enjoyed that!

It was a very relaxing time and we enjoyed seeing some of the city.  I did see something I've never seen before.

Beware of Falling Ice!  Someone must have had a really bad experience on this corner.

Well, now we've been more than a week in the East but that wasn't quite enough so we added another five days in Washington DC.  We visited Washington in 2003 in our trailer.  As I understand it there is one 'good' RV park in the Washington area and we didn't stay in it.  The park was fine but we ended up with an awful commute into the city every day.  This time we weren't making that mistake!  We had a hotel about 3 blocks from the National Mall.  In 2003 we had done the Memorials:  Washington; Lincoln; Vietnam Vets; Korean War Vets.  All the big things with the glaring omission of Arlington National Cemetary.  So this visit we did make sure to visit Arlington.  As with every military cemetary I've visited there is a sense of peace and sacrifice.

Having visited the cemetary we spent the remainder of our time in museums:  The Art Museum (West and East); the Air and Space; he Smithsonian; and even the Hirshhorn.

That was different.  The above piece is displayed in front of the Hirshhorn.  The name is "Still Life with Spirit and Xitle".  The materials used to make it are listed as:  Car, volcanic stonee, and acrylic paint.  The car, of course, is a Dodge Spirit. 

One unexpected thing in Washington was our first Uber ride!  Uber hasn't made it to rural Nevada but it worked very nicely in D.C.  After a few days of such wildness it was time to go home.  Believe me, home is looking really good these days.  Take care and thanks for stopping by!