Well, we are back from our week in Maryland (a few pounds lighter from sweating that we may or may not have made up for by eating out...). We've decided that, although it was a beautiful part of the country, the humidity and city-street layouts are telling us not to live there. Ever. Unless we are occupying the White House...
We spent a full day touring D.C. on our first day - it was about 95 degrees and the humidity must have been temperature's twin brother. I doubt there is enough water in the Atlantic to allow for the number of showers I could have taken. We started out thinking we could walk the main sites, a feat we soon discovered was not only stupid, but unhealthy. After walking up to the Capital building at one end of the park, we quickly opted to fork out the cash to ride the tour bus. We covered a lot more ground and were able to get on and off at various stops throughout the day. Though we didn't really get to see the White House, we saw just about everything else. We even got to see somebody important (foreign dignitary of some sort) arriving via US Marine Force helicopter - it landed on the ground maybe 100 meters from where we stood. It was not an announced visit, and there were a full brigade of police and secret service keeping onlookers at a distance. Never did find out who it was for certain, but rumors of Iraqi Ambassador or Tony Blair were floating freely. Naturally, my only unobstructed photo turned out blurry. Our other highlight was seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in Arlington Cemetery. However, I was disappointed to learn that I am too fat to be a guard there, as we were informed that the Marine Corps has strict guidelines stipulating a maximum waistline of 28 inches. Maybe they just don't have enough uniforms?
Of course, the main reason we traveled so far during such an uncomfortable time of the year was for Tom's wedding. I'd have to say it was a success. No major surprises - a good thing when it comes to weddings, as I recall... It was a military wedding, and Brooke (the bride) was welcomed into the "air force family" following a saber-arch walk. It was a wonderful ceremony and reception, held at Tom and Brooke's church. A couple of other people from Carroll were there with whom we sat and "caught up," and Tom's other friends were great hosts. A number of us (10) drove up to Philly to catch a Phillies game, then drove in to a questionable part of South Philly to eat at the second oldest Italian restaurant in the U.S. If I remember correctly, it opened in 1908 and has been owned by the same family. The food was fantastic, and the environment was not nearly as intimidating once we walked inside.
Our final day was spent in Baltimore and we meandered about the Baltimore Harbor for most of it. The USS Constellation, a ship commissioned during the Civil War that intercepted slave ships and supplies coming in for the South, is docked there and open for tours. All four decks are open to explore and experience the life of a sailor in the 1860's. The hammocks on which the lower ranking sailors slept looked most uncomfortable, second only to the tools and supplies in the medical quarters... Trust me when I say that there may have been no worse time to have shrapnel lodged in any part of your body. I've got less menacing looking tools in my garage. After a little shopping (of course) and we then decided to spend our final hours at the aquarium. It was not nearly as impressive as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the dolphin show was more watching video clips on a giant monitor than actual dolphin tricks (the dolphins must have recently become unionized). But it was fun, none the less.
By the time we got to our hotel, we had about 5 hours before we had to leave for the airport. 4 am on the East Coast is 1 am in California, so Monday turned out to be a long, long, long, long day. I think we've finally got ourselves right, though. It was a lot of fun and we certainly packed in a lot of action - our most efficient trip yet, for sure. There is still a lot more to see out there, but if we ever make it back, I think we'd be better to try for October...
