Mt. Vernon (East Coast Trip Part ... What are we on now?)

After leaving Washington DC, Joshua was determined to get right to Williamsburg, our next planned destination. But I convinced him to make a stop at Mt. Vernon, the home of our first president. I think he was glad we did. :) Here is a view of the house from the front.
And here it is from the back! The house was beautifully ornate with even the cielings decorated. George Washington was really into bright colors for his walls - blue and green like you've never seen before!
Here is the view from the Washington's back porch. Amazing, huh?

We spent most of our time in the education center and museum on the property where we learned all kinds of history (Joshua would love to share it with you, but I won't bore you now) and we even got to see George's dentures! Groos, I know, but interesting. They were not made of wood as you may have heard. They were made of cow's teeth. The bulky metal was not very comfortable, as you can imagine, and that would be why you rarely see Washington smiling in his portraits. 

Washington D.C. (East Coast Trip Part 4)

Our one full day in DC was a wildy windy and rainy one. There's no stopping us however: we took the bus tour of the whole city! At around 3:00 we had to call it a day since our shoes, socks, pants, and jackets had been soaked through. Here is Joshua (dressed like "the people" to avoid being a target for mugging) in front of the National Archives. Inside a dimly lit and well guarded room, we got to see the original Declaration of Independence alongside the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It was just like the movie National Treasure!
There are so many monuments to so many people in this town, we couldn't possibly see them all. We did see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and here I am at the Lincoln Memorial (forgive the hair ... it was terrible weather!). Joshua did have me pose with a penny, since this memorial is featured on the back, but I like this picture better and I'm the one doing the blogging!
Again, forgive the hair, but this was the best picture of the National Mall. We got tickets to go up to the top of the Washington Momument, but, since it was so cloudy, we figured we wouldn't be able to see anything anyhow. Besides, did you know there is nothing supporting this structure? It is simply one brick stacked upon another, no cement, no steel beams, nothing. I did mention we were under a tornado warning, right?
Not only is this city full of monuments, it is jam packed with museums! And the best part? They are almost all free! We stopped in at the Natural History Museum where we saw the Hope Diamond, a 45 carat stone. It is the most expensive item that you can hold in just one hand at an estimated $250, 000,000. We also saw the oldest Bibles at the Freer Gallery. One elaborately covered Bible had a stone which is said to contain a splinter from the actual cross of Jesus. Our last stop was the Air and Space Museum where Joshua posed with the original Spirit of St. Louis. We also climbed aboard a space station and touched a piece of moon rock! 

East Coast Trip Continued

So sorry to keep you in suspense ... we were so busy seeing the sights we didn't take time to blog. Our last stop in Charlottesville was the beautiful Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. (It is pictured on the nickel, which is what my darling husband has in his hand.) Joshua especially liked learning about Thomas J. because he had so many interesting habits. For example, he designed a clock and had it hung over his bed (which sits in the space between his office and bedroom ... how convenient) and would rise each morning as soon as he could see the clock's hands. He would then immediately record the date, time, and temperature. Then, he would put his feet in a bowl of cold water. Why you ask? He heard it would keep him from getting sick. It must have worked, since he was only sick about once every seven years. Not bad.
I really liked Thomas' clock displayed in the entryway. The weights hung down and showed what day of the week it was. One samll problem: There wasn't enough room for Saturday. Not to worry, T.J. was inventive. He drilled a hole in the floor and sure enough, in the basement, you can find the Saturday label.
Our next stop was our nation's capitol. We arrived in the late afternoon, so , in true Hardwick style we walked the entire city anyway!!! I have got to learn and wear walking shoes. We did see some great sight along the way ... the White House...
... and the capitol building. The statue on top of the capitol is named Freedom. No building can stand taller than her in D.C. which eliminates skyscrapers. We learned this little factoid on our tour the next day, which will have to be another blog since I have reached the maximum number of pictures.
 

East Coast Trip Part 2

To begin I must tell you , be patient, there's a lot in this one.

As we left the Sant'Agatas we headed north through the lush fall colored trees of northern North Carolina and Virginia. Just before leaving NC we made a quick stop in Hillsboro, home of the last headquarters of the Confederacy. Located in Orange County in the middle of fall it was definitely more orange than the county we live in. The town is pre-Revolutionary as evidenced by the street names King and Queen.

Next, our travels brought us to Natural Bridge. This is a giant stone bridge that was carved out by the natural flowing river below. One of the seven natural wonders of the world (I don't know completely what all seven are) it certainly commands the same awe as the Grand Canyon in it's scale. At night they have a light show while they read Genesis' account of the Creation. On one of the walls George Washington carved his initials (which we weren't allowed to do). Thomas Jefferson purchased this property from the King of England who himself purchased the land for $2.60. Also on the site were natural caverns with beautiful mineral formations. Watch out for bats.As if the Natural Bridge was hurting for tourism, some Professor that was described as "creative" (I'd choose eccentric) decided to create a scale replica of Stonehenge out of foam. This attraction was free, and so are the samples you can take home from it.
Unlike the real Stonehenge in England you can walk right up and touch this one. For the rest of the day I was singing Spinal Tap's song Stonehenge to myself. (If you think foamhenge is completely stupid as I do, just think, it still got two pictures on this blog)
Lexington is the home of Washington and Lee University. All buildings are bricks and columns. If I had College to do all over again I'd probably like to study here, but that's just based on looks.
Just behind the picture above is the Chapel that Gen. Robert E. Lee built. He was the President of this University. One interesting thing I learned about him was that his Great Grandmother was Martha Custis. She gave birth to Robert E. Lee's grandfather before she was widowed at 27. Martha Custis did remarry to George Washington our nations first President. In case you missed the connection: George Washington is Robert E. Lee's Step-Great-Grandfather. Inside the chapel is a sculpture from a single slab of marble of the late General just behind the pulpit. Even though he and his family are buried in the crypt below, this is not a depiction of him on his death bed. It's him sleeping on a pile of hay out on the battlefield. Yeah, right.
Moving right along; on our way to Charlottesville we climbed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you get a chance I recommend driving it; it's almost 500 miles of pure beautiful vistas. But if your trip is pinched for time only spend a little time on it, I averaged about 20mph along the ridge highway.

Once in Charlottesville our first stop was President James Monroe's home. It's surprisingly small for being the home of the man who held the highest number of important government roles of any president ever. I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of the home as I'm not allowed to take any. If you're interested, I'm sure you can google up some pictures.
Just down the street is Michie (Mickey) Tavern. An old Tavern-Inn for travelers through the area. I'm not sure of the historical importance of this particular installation, but as a record of times gone by it's pretty interesting. Such as, did you know that we get the term "Bar" because that's what the person serving drinks had to do, bar the patrons from getting to the drinks? And, next time you see us ask us the origination of the song "Pop, goes the weasel."
Yes, this is a four-seater outhouse for guests of the Inn. A little privacy please.
For dinner, we found the perfect place about a block and a half from our hotel. They have the best fish and chips I think we've ever had. One look at the name and you'd think, of course, it was made for us."

Tomorrow, Monticello, Lord Hardwicke's for lunch, Washington D.C.

Visiting the Sant'Agatas (East Coast Trip 1)

Erin and I are now on our week long adventure into America's past, visiting North Carolina and Virginia. Our first stop is visiting our friends Tara and Tommy who are recent emigrants to this land.

Saturday is the opening of Pecan season and what better way to start it than by going to a plantation to pick pecans? But we were too late and they were all picked (bad season) so we went to the other side of the plantation and learned all about picking cotton and the importance of Eli Whitney's infamous Cotton Gin. (see below for picking)It is a beautiful time to come here during the fall season. All the trees are turning a brilliant red, orange, and yellow. Although pretty, Tommy spent the better part of Friday raking the leaves out of his yard to impress us only to find the leaves to double themselvs by the time we arrived the next morning. Below is a picture of Erin and I below a Red Lace-Leaf Japanese Maple from the Raleigh Arboretum. (My personal favorite of all on display)Sunday we drove to the South-Eastern tip of North Carolina to a town called Wilmington. Old, quaint, and celebrity hot spot. I didn't see anyone familliar on the horse-drawn tram ride, but I did see John Travolta's picture inside a souvenier shop. (don't laugh, bad hair day)
Across the Cape Fear river (from where we're standing above) is the final resting place of the Battleship North Carolina. With 15 battle stars and fighting in every naval offensive in the Pacific, it is the most decorated ship in all of WWII. Below is a picture of the bunk quarters stacked 5 high. This is how a majority of the 2300 crew slept aboard this floating city of men.
We'll continue as our trip progresses...

Williams and the Grand Canyon

Well, I was going to let Joshua blog about this since I wrote about the rest of our road trip, but he hasn't got around to it yet and we leave on Friday for two more weeks of adventures. So, here it is. On our way back from Albuquerque, we made a detour to see the Grand Canyon. Joshua had never been and my family stopped for about 15 minutes once on our way to Lake Powell. We decided to drive until we were too tired, and we ended up in a lovely place called Williams, Arizona. The first listing in our AAA guide book that matched our price range was the Canyon Country Motel. Low and behold, it was a terrific place to stay for under $40!
The caboose and train car are rooms available for surprisingly low rates. There is also an RV park on site as well as an indoor swimming pool!
We stayed here in this cabin-style room equipped with a king size bed.
I'm sure everyone has seen many a panoramic picture of the Grand Canyon, so I will not post them, but here we are with an amazing backdrop at the South Rim of the canyon. 

Time Waster

Be forewarned this is addicting and a time waster. But then again so is television, puzzles, sudoku, etc...

First spend 30 minutes to an hour here.

Then when you think you've mastered that go here.

At first it looks like a drawing program but really it's a fun toy where you draw lines for a sledder to sled down.

Adventures in Albuquerque Part 3

While in town, we got to have lunch with Joshua's youth pastor and his family, the Bookers. We had a wonderful New Mexican meal with our new favorites: Carne Adovada and sopapillas. We spent a few hours talking and laughing while Dave and Joshua reminisced.
We also took a trip to the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe. Even Uncle Larry joined in the fun for this day. Our favorite site was the historic Loretto Chapel where a mysterious staircase was built without any nails or support.
Originally there was no railing, but the nuns who used the staircase were too frightened without it! The story goes that a carpenter showed up shortly after the nuns prayed for someone who could build them a staircase to get to the choir loft of the chapel. After he finished, the carpenter dissappeared, never to be heard from again.
 

Adventures in Albuquerque Part 2

After our rained-out morning, we were looking forward to the evening's Balloon Glow where the pilots inflate the balloons and light up the night. It was cold and windy when we arrived, so of course we headed for the hot cinnamon rolls and coffee.
The Fiesta had tons of booths and displays to see. Here we are in a model balloon basket.
Since it was so windy, once again the scheduled events were cancelled. Instead of a Balloon Glow, the pilots simply lit there flames for what was called a Candlelight Glow. A dissappointment to be sure, but interesting none the less. We were able to walk around the fields right up to the balloons as they lit their flames. It certainly helped fight the cold night air!
There were over 300 balloons on the field (I guess I should say baskets, not balloons) all lit up at the same time. Aftreward, there was a terrific fireworks show that lasted about half an hour! It was definitely the highlight of the evening. 

Adventures in Albuquerque Part 1

Joshua and I took a short trip to Albuquerque this month to visit my grandma, uncle, and cousin Alex. My dad was there as well. One bonus to visiting in October ... the Balloon Fiesta! We were very excited to see hot air balloons from all over the world rising high into the sky over us. So excited in fact that we got up at 3:00 am to catch the 4:00 am train from downtown to the bus pick up. No one but Joshua, Alex, and myself were brave enough for such an adventure. Here we are on the brand new Rail Runner metro.
After being dropped at the bust stop, we were stranded at the dark, rainy station while waiting to hear the fate of the balloons. Sure enough, the lift off had been cancelled due to inclement weather. Back on the train to downtown... Not to worry, we had tickets to go back that evening to see the balloons all lit up.
Before heading back to Grandma's for a nap, we stopped off at Denny's for breakfast. Alex got a fun dye packet that turned his water into green slime! He said it still tasted like plain water.
Alex enjoyed Joshua's reading of The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln (an absolutely hilarious book that Joshua bought me for my birthday). 

Note card saves the cat

This is a tale of how a 3x5 note card and a nagging wife can save a cat's life.
It's 2am and we are just about to leave for a 12+ hour drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am performing last-minute checks to make sure all items are accounted for. I run upstairs and grab a note card to jot down gas mileage statistics. Once there I realize, “I should brush my teeth or Erin will get upset.” I run into our room and grab my toothbrush, but cannot find the toothpaste because it's been packed. I run to the downstairs bathroom because I know we have sample toothpastes from the dentist there.

While brushing my teeth, Erin gets upset at me for taking too long and complains that I left the lights on upstairs. “I'm going to put the toothbrush back when I'm finished” I say.

“That's stupid just leave it down here. I'll turn off the lights.” And she drags herself up the stairs with tired eyes to turn off the lights.

A few short moments later we're in the car ready to leave. I close the garage door and realize, “I don't have my 3x5 note card. I must've set it down when I got my toothbrush. I knew there was a reason to go back upstairs.”

I open the garage door and start up the stairs picking up my toothbrush along the way. At the top of the stairs I noticed our bedroom door was wide open. We don't let the cat in our room because we don't like the hair all over. I replace the toothbrush into it's holder and pick up the 3x5 and place it into my pocket. Next I search for the cat because he is obviously being naughty. When ever our door is cracked open he dashes in. But he is nowhere to be found in our bedroom. So I search the other rooms of the house. Nowhere to be found.

The screen door to the garage has a mysterious hole in it. “Great, now we lost the cat!” Cats are curious so he can't have gone too far. I search the entire complex while Erin searches the garage. Thirty minutes pass and still we haven't found him. “This is a great beginning of our trip.” Moments later I hear a noise from the far side of the garage, and sure enough it's Six (the cat). When he sees me he leans down on his front paws and extends his orange hairs and tail straight up to look like a mean devil cat. I picked him up threw him in the house and slammed the door behind him. I yelled through the closed door, “I just saved your life, you stupid cat!” And we started our trip.

Upon looking back I realized that if I didn't have a stupid need to track my MPG on paper during a road trip, or have a wife that nags me to brush my teeth the moment I wake up, we may have returned from our 5 day trip to a very sick or dead cat in our garage.

I'm 28. Yay.

That's right folks, I turned 28 on Sunday. Although I've been feeling a bit under the weather, I did have a fun day. We started off bright and early by eating a delicious breakfast at the Pancake House in Anaheim. In honor of the owner's retirement, they served their amazing dishes at 1950's prices! For Less than $5, Joshua and I feasted on Dutch Babies, apple pancakes, potato pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and coffee. Amazing! And we brought home leftovers. When we got home, I took a nap while my wonderful husband cleaned every nook and cranny of our home. (This was in part thanks to the tv being broken!) Then, we met my family for a late lunch at Lucille's BBQ.
We continued the party at our house with dessert, coffee and games. I was badly beaten at a fierce game of Scattergories. Doesn't anyone know they're supposed to let the birthday girl win?
One last stop of the day: To Bed, Bath, and Beyond to spend one of my giftcards. After too many minutes poking and squeezing all of the therapudic pillows, I decided on a winner. Unfortunately, it didn't work so well. I had one of the worst night's sleep ever! Alright, it wasn't the pillow, but the nasty head cold I had. I slept on it ALL day yesterday and it's as cozy as a pillow could be. Let's see if Joshua's birthday can beat all that!
 

Thursday - No Luck Day

So, Thursday of last week I had a pretty rotten day. I needed to get up early to drive to San Diego. At 6am it's still dark out and the freeways are already starting to get congested. It seems as if any large vehicle (also known as SUVs) is late to get somewhere and tailgates me until he decides to choose one of the faster lanes to the left. One particular GMC sped around me but didn't seem to care to get fully in the other lane to do so. Once in front of me he didn't seem to have any dedication to any one lane. If another car tried to pass him on the right or left he would swerve halfway into thier lane. I think he was double-foot driving because his break lights were flashing constantly. Suddenly I became charged with super-citizen powers and sped up to be next to this large truck and see if there was a child or drunkard driving it. Once parallel with the driver I could see this short red, curly-haired irish-looking man peering over his steering wheel who, it seemed, couldn't see past his nose. I dropped behind him and dialed 911. I did my responsible duty and reported the drunk driver with vehicle type and license plate. I hung up the phone and the traffic came to a standstill. He plowed into the two vehicles in front of him. I called 911, "It's me, again. He wrecked."

An hour and a half later I'm 15 miles from my destination and the Interstate 15 freeway is under construction. The traffic is stop-and-very-slow, so I decide to put my new GPS to the test and route me a detour. I choose a three mile detour. It routed me just fine through the city streets until I got close to the freeway again and the street was just a parking lot. So I route another detour, this time 5 miles. I travel to the other side of the freeway, and when I think it's going to take me left back to the freeway, it says to go right. I zoom out the map and it shows that I'll be going around a lake. "Ok" I say, thinking that the GPS knows what it's doing. For the next ten miles I'm on a two-lane country highway that's hopefully taking me to my destination. I happen upon stop-and-go traffic again. This time I zoom way out on the map and notice that I'm being routed to the Interstate 5 freeway and back to the 15 via a third freeway. I calculate my trip from either direction and now I'm 25 miles from my destination in both directions. I decided to U-turn and get onto the 15 freeway as I should've. I happened upon my destination 1 hour past my planned arrival time.

While there I was to install applications and transfer data to a user's new notebook computer before he was to catch a plane. Everything was running fine and dandy. He had ten minutes left and I had one thing left to install. McAfee VirusScan (which I highly recommend) finished installing and the computer starts giving me errors and ultimately shuts itself down. "I've never seen this before" I say. "Sure" the user is probably thinking. I hate Dell computers. I reboot the computer and the same thing happens. Luckilly I could start in safe mode but you can't uninstall programs while in that mode. By now the user has left to go to the airport, so I go to the thinking room to ponder my problem. I came back and tested my theory to get the software removed, and it worked. I called McAfee support and explain my problem. I tell him it's a new Dell Notebook. He says, "Is it a D620?" "Yes", I say. "Does it have biometric software?" "Yes" "We have a patch for that, for some reason Dell's software conflicts." Great, I'm just glad it wasn't user error. But it was too late as the user was already boarding his plane then.

On the drive home, I'm happily on cruise control going the speed limit. I look in my rearview mirror I see a large pickup truck barreling down the road at 90-95 mph thinking he owns the road. When he gets a little closer another truck pulls into his lane in front of him causing him to slam on the breaks and change lanes almost clipping my rear bumper. The truck driver was considerably calmer after that and exited the freeway at the next exit.

At dinner I told Erin about my horrible day and she was sympathetic. I cleaned up the plates as Erin got her workout items together and turned on the television. "Look at this." she said. The tv was only showing an image on the center horizontal line. Now we have a broken television.