The long awaited job update ...

I know everyone has been asking me for an update, but I really haven't had time until now! Today is a lovely day because I only have to work at one place. Actually, I quit the test scoring job completely and now only work at the zoo and Sylvan. Scoring tests for eight hours a day (as you can imagine) was dreadfully boring! I had to go to the bathroom every hour just to stay awake! Hours with the other two jobs have been picking up, and I really like them both. Mostly I have been training to work at he zoo. There are a lot of animals and I need to know about all of them! It's a fun environment to work in though and the best part ... I get to walk there from home! On Friday I get to present my clouded leopard pre-show to my bosses wearing a Madonna-like microphone. Once I "pass" I can work at the theater as an Adventure Guide and pre-show host. Fun! At Sylvan I get to work four nights a week with students from first grade to high school teaching math and reading. The staff there are all wonderful as are the students. I am hoping to pick up more hours there so when the summer is over I won't need to find yet another job.
So there you have it. Other than working, Joshua and I have been enjoying the weather by walking or bike riding. We need to get in a little better shape for our rides before summer hits. :) Yesterday we went to yet another church and so far it's the best match for us. Afterward, we went to a few open houses. (No, we're not really on the market for a house yet, but we want to check out the price range and neighborhoods so we can be prepared when we are ready.) Then, we celebrated the beautiful day at Joshua's parents' house with a delicious steak bbq and a blackberry cobbler for dessert.

Tulip Festivale!

For the last three years I've been telling Erin about the annual Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley. In April the tulips come into bloom and all the farms show off their rows and gardens. So, Sunday we, with Dad and Mom, went to join in the festivities.

It's about a 2 hour drive north from Tacoma so we made a quick stop at a rest area along the way for rest, coffee, and a quick pose by a very large stump. An example of what the trees used to look like here before the greedy loggers cut them all down.

There are more rows of tulips in front of me too, with colors so vibrant that no camera could ever capture.

The last time I was there I didn't care too much about the flowers other than the cool look of rows of colors, but this time I really appreciated all the different types of tulips from curled to frayed and pointed.

After all the flower fun, we went to the nearby arts community, La Conner (not pictured), for a big lunch.

When it rains it pours ...

And I don't just mean the weather! Remember how I was searching everywhere under the sun for a job? Well, I got three! The first starts on Tuesday and will only be a max of 9 hours a week at a local tutoring company. The second starts Wednesday and lasts for one month only. I get to grade tests for 40 hours a week! And the last is the zoo job. After turning it down, I got a better offer from them and accepted. Needless to say, I will no longer have days full of wondering what to do in this lonely apartment. Wish me luck!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

This was the view from our balcony this morning. Minus the power lines, isn't it gorgeous? (That would be Mt. Raineer for you who are unfamiliar with Washington.)

Things are coming right along here. Yesterday we spent the entire day getting driver licenses and Joshua's car registered. It's funny to me how thing are so different from California.

1. There is no DMV. You have to go to one DOL (Department of Licensing) for your license and another DOL for your plates. They are two totally separate locations. Weird.
2. Your plates don't come in the mail, they hand them to you right there!
3. Every seven years you have to go and get new plates. I was wondering why Joshua had a stash of old plates!
4. Your drivers license has your last name first.

Some things are just the same however.

1. The DOL was just like the CA DMV in that there were only two employees and one was on the phone. Why don't they staff those places?
2. The picture on your DL makes you look tired or somehow unlike yourself.
3. You end up spending more money than you had anticipated because of the train tax or the licensing fee or whatever else they can think of.

We did have a wonderful evening with Joshua's parents. We ate at the Margarita Beach Cafe (the leftovers are making the fridge smell like tacos) and then played a few rounds of Canasta. I always seem to lose at that game, no matter who my partner is. I guess I am missing that competitive card playing streak all the Hardwicks seem to have. :)

Today Joshua is back at work and I am deep in job search. So far I have one offer, but unfortunately, it doesn't pay enough to make it worthwhile. Back to the drawing board. Does anyone want to buy a handmade scarf?

We Have Arrived!

Here's the House of Mystery from the last post. Sorry about that.

Our official welcome to Washington. Funny story. I told Joshua that I wanted to get a picture of the welcome sign for my scrapbook. He tells me it's really small and probably not worth it, but I insist. So, as we approach the state line he tells me to watch the bridge for a green sign. Sure enough, there's a freeway sign that simply states "Entering Washington". Boring! So I put the camera away and enjoy the scenery. Then, I see the REAL sign (pictured here) and rush to grab the camera, but alas, my reflexes are way too slow after doing nothing but sit in a car for two days in a row. Well, Joshua knew how important this picture was to me, so we exited the freeway, turned around, and did it again. This time I had the camera poised and ready, but just ahead of us was a beat up old car blowing smoke out the exhaust that filled the air and almost blocked my picture. Thankfully, I got the shot and we were able to move beyond this section of freeway.

We arrived to the apartment around 8:30 (after my bladder caused us to stop every half hour for the last couple hours). After surveying the place, I sat down and cried. I had left my home, my family, my church, my job, my state, and here I was in a musty, moldy, dirty apartment. The next day, with the help of about 10 magic erasers (I'm serious - I love these things!), 3 air fresheners, a grout cleaner and brush, oven cleaner, floor cleaner, 2 pair of rubber gloves, and one wonderful mother in law, it was beginning to feel more like home. Now that it's clean I can finally start to unpack those boxes. Maybe I'll just leave a few packed and tuck them away in the closet ...

We've been busy bees all week long with Joshua working, unpacking, hanging out with family, and trying to get a feel for the new neighborhood. We celebrated our niece Madison and our nephew Richie's birthdays Saturday night. I can successfully navigate myself to many important stores: Michael's, Artco, Ross, Tuesday Morning, Target, Safeway, Big Lots, Starbucks. The weather has been terrific. Sure, it rained most of the week, but the days that are sunny are simply amazing. We have been able to go for walks and drives and take in the scenery. We have a view from our apartment of the water and Mt. Raineer (when the clouds lift). The next time it's clear I'll have to snap a shot.

Sacramento, Mount Shasta, and the Oregon Vortex

Well, we have arrived in our new home (I'll tell you all about it later). But first, here's a brief summary of our trip.











Our first stop was in Sacramento where we met up with the Muellers for lunch. It was a beautifully hot day and we took a quick tour of the old town section. We had fun meeting our new niece and vistiting with the fam.












Next stop: Mount Shasta. After Joshua's first drive up, he decided Mount SHasta would be a scenic place to spend the night. We had an amazing view of the mountain from our breakfast table! Don't I look thrilled to be going for another 9 hour drive?












What road trip would be complete without stopping at a toursit attraction you saw advertised on the highway? Not the Hardwicks I tell you! Somewhere in Oregon we stopped to tour the Vortex and House of Mystery. This is a place where poeple with motion sickness should never go! Thank goodness i was already drugged for the car ride. The vortex is a plce where magnetic fields cross in such a way that normal rules of science do not apply. Vision is distorted making people appear larger or smaller than they really are, balls roll uphill, and there is a general sense of dizziness everywhere you look.

Oops ... I just deleted the picture of the house. I'll put it with the next post.

If you've been to Knott's Berry Farm, you'll recongnize this place. The Knott's house was modeled after this one.

The End of an Era

Well, today was officially my last day of teaching. I'm not as sad as I thought I would be. Maybe after a few months it will actually hit me .

Here are some things I will miss:

The children. Their smiles, hugs, and giggles. That look on their face when they finally get something that's been given them trouble. Their gifts from the heart. The trust and respect that they placed in me. The songs that they hum while hard at work. The silly dances they do every time they hear music. The goofy things they say. The pride they glow with when they realize that they can read a chapter book.

My colleagues. The stories that they have to share. Their wisdom. Their willingness to help. The amount of energy that they pull out of themselves every single day. The way they can find the positive in a situation. The rate at which they can empty a plate of food in the teacher's lounge.

And of course this list would not be complete without some of the things I will not miss:

Paperwork. Whoever thought of bubble in forms was not considerate of our fingers.
Recess duty.
Fighting for one of the two stalls in the restroom at 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 each day.
Having a bell ring to keep me on schedule.
Tattling.

So there you have it! The end of an era.

I miss my boys!

Joshua and Six the cat have been in Washington state for three days nows. Meanwhile, I'm still in stinkin' hot California missing them! Why didn't I quit my job sooner? Oh yeah, it's parent conference week. It's the least I can do to stay and finish the week.
Speaking of school, I told my little ones that I would not be their teacher for the rest of the year. After about two seconds of "oohh!"s, we moved on with our day and not another word about it! Great. Glad to know I'll be missed.
Joshua and Six, I want you to know that you are greatly missed! I can't wait to join you on our new adventure.

Moving Out Day... The Day After Retrospect

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here with an empty apartment. My wife is gone to be with her girlfriends one last time. My job is to clean up the mess created yesterday during the move, and try to sell or get rid of the remaining appliances and furniture pieces.

Let me begin by saying that one should never attempt to make a move on a weekday (Mistake #1). Nobody is able to help. I didn't realize how much stuff we had, and had left to pack. We had over a month to prepare and a pile of boxes was quickly adding up in the garage during that time. But one quick look around the house showed that there was still much work left to be done.

Jay's comment to our previous post was aptly put. At first we had a system for marking the boxes. Four pen colors: red, kitchen;  blue, bedroom; green, bathroom; black, living room and everything else. Our packing of the boxes was Tetris-style, you couldn't find an ounce of air in them at all. But yesterday the gloves were off and the clock was ticking. "Do you need this?" "No, throw it out." Unopened bottles of cleaner that we got with buy-one-get-one coupons named Zip, Pow, and Bang. (those didn't do so hot a job at cleaning. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser, however, is worth its weight in salt. Or some other confused cliché)

We found that Uhaul is overly expensive for what you get and the risk involved. So we did what our friends the Sant'Agatas did who moved to North Carolina, we called ABF Trucking. For less than half the price we were given two 6x7x8 cubes to fill and then they will move them for us. They do have door-to-door service, but we took the cheap path and  save another $300 by moving the items to the cube at the terminal ourselves, which meant an in-town Uhaul rental for $30. That was mistake #2. With this setup we are packing our items into the truck, driving it to the ABF terminal, unloading, and packing a cube, and we'll have to duplicate the process on the other end. I quickly saw the error of my ways (because of Erin's pressing persuasion) and opted for the cubes to be delivered to the door of the new place.

We were done by 10:30pm and crashed into our bed. I slept like a rock, mostly because my body wouldn't move. I can feel every muscle in my body all the way down to my fingers. At 5:30am I awoke and took a shower, couldn't find my clothes, or a light, realized there were no curtains on the window, and put on my robe and got the paper. An hour later, when the sun came up, Erin came downstairs to find me and the cat laying on the couch reading the news. She noticed my clothes, or lack thereof and had a good laugh. I went upstairs to get dressed and realized that I had packed my socks.

So here I am, wearing yesterdays socks, and waiting for people to pick up our old stuff. Craig's List is a wonderful place to get rid of stuff. Most things I listed for free, and they're going like hotcakes. I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK and they were going to charge me upwards of $120 to take away my broken TV and BBQ. A free listing on Craig's List prompted a phone call from Kevin, my new best friend. He comes in to pick up a broken TV and notices all my Goodwill items in the garage. He starts going through the pile like an IRS auditor. In one bag he found an old Vans shoe of mine and put it on his foot he liked it so much that he took the other one and his shoe and put it in his car. He continued to walk around with mismatched (and one untied) shoes. He left with over half the items in the pile now in his car. Thank you, Kevin.

Next up... Unloading in Tacoma!

Isn't Moving Fun?

So this is the current state of the Hardwick house. Boxes everywhere, closets emptied onto the floor for sorting and packing, and a general feeling of chaos. We have until Friday to get the entire place packed and ready to be loaded into the shipping crates. Aahhhh!!! Does anyone want to come help?

You don't see that every day ...

The packing fun is well under way at the Hardwick house. Six the cat is doing his part too ... He likes to play with any and all of the packing materials and jump inside all the boxes.

Six also got to visit the vet this weekend. He is in excellent health and ready for a new home! The doctor gave us some pills to help him sleep in the car, but bathroom breaks will still be an issue. Joshua wanted to get a leash so he could stop with him at rest stops. He actually kind of likes it I think! He did this hilarious army crawl - we should have video taped it!

Our main tasks every free minute have included packing, taking trips to Goodwill, and surfing the internet for apartments and jobs. We are on our way!

I'm in Love!

Obviously, I'm in love with my husband, but tonight, I found a new love ... Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. That thing is awesome! When we first got married, Joshua kicked the door in the kitchen while showing off his fancy swing dance moves. I have tried every cleaner ever made (and some I made myself) and could not get that black mark off. A few minutes with the magic eraser and it's gone! Also, I attempted to dye my hair one time (NEVER try that) and spilled a drop on the bathroom floor. Oh well, there goes a piece of my security deposit. Magic eraser wiped that stain off like it was nothing! I'm serious people! Buy stock in this stuff 'cause it's gonna revolutionize cleaning!

Motorcycle blues, but good news!

I just closed my garage door, with greenbacks in hand, after waving goodbye to, Hoot, my first motorcycle. Why is it leaving? Because I'm going to get a bigger one. Not right away, but in the not to distant future. This time I will earn it, versus forcing my future self to pay for it. The immediate reason for selling my beloved Hoot? To get rid of excess stuff, pay off bad debt (car loan), and move to Washington State. Yes, you've heard rumors before, but this time it's actually going to happen. My boss knows, Erin's boss knows, our Landlord knows, now it's your turn. So dust off your cone-shaped hats and blow those party favors because Erin and I are entering into a new chapter of our lives.

It's nothing new, people leave California all the time. So what's the big deal? Well, most of our predecessors have left here in tiny apartments or condos to move into bigger and better homes (much to my envy), but not us. We are moving on from our near-flat grade incline careers to a bigger and better opportunity. What does opportunity look like? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a pay raise. I liken it to a sling shot; you have to pull back before you can shoot forward. Just pray that the rubber band doesn't snap.

It all started with a book my parents bought me for Christmas (really it was Thanksgiving, but you'll understand if you read an earlier post). Upon reading that book I had a Jerry Maguire moment. Those moments really do happen. Instead of a kid cursing me out though, our TV just bit the dust. I wanted a new TV, but I needed to wait until after Christmas when the prices go down. During the in between time I started to read. I found I enjoy reading. My mind eats things up. There's so much knowledge out there that I've just been neglecting while watching people guess letters on a wall. My moment wasn't about reading, it was about life and career. I feel like I've wasted so much of my life watching TV that I completely missed out on my true desires. Not that I completely know what they are yet.

One interesting note I learned about TV and reading. I watch TV on my own, I even shush Erin if she talks over it. But while reading I have a conversation with God, asking his input on the text I'm ingesting. I still shush Erin if she interrupts though. But don't worry I get my fair share of shushes from her too.

With this new outlook on life, I shared my desires with my brother. He realized that this is the person that he wants in his organization. Without much effort he offered me an opportunity to work with him, my dad, and a sister, along with a host of others, to streamline the operations of his restaurant and ultimately duplicate it. (when I say "his restaurant", I don't mean solely his, but it works for this conversation)

Lastly, I'm thankful to God for giving me a wife that is willing to follow me into this new change in my life. But I'm sure that she's just excited not to have to teach anymore. I know that we're both glad to get out of California, finally.

Projects

For those of you who didn't know, I spent much of December on bed rest due to a muscle torn to bits in my leg. Although the first week was a loss because of the meds, I was rather productive for the most part. Doing what you ask? Projects! Using my Happy Hooker crochet book, I taught myself the basics of crochet. I have since made two scarves, three hats, and a poncho. The above hat/poncho set (modeled by my lovely assistants) are a gift for my friend's one year old daughter.

Have no fear knitting friends! I have not given up the yarn art with two sticks. Here is a scarf I made using my husband's idea of creating length by placing a hole at the neck. One side of the scarf gets pulled through the hole without being wrapped all the way around!

So there you have it. Between my Christmas gift of every episode of Friends ever made and my love for all things yarn, I have been quite a busy gal!

Christmas 2006

Well, it was Christmas after all. And what is a Christmas without some baking. I wanted to build my first Gingerbread house this year, from scratch. So I invited my Mother-In-Law over to teach me how to bake one in exchange for cookies.
This first picture is one of the walls coming out of the oven with a Jolly Rancher window.

Next you can see the building coming into shape. I'm using chewing gum for roof shingles. I purchased just enough from the store, but my wife and her mother had four sticks of gum while waiting for me to finish. But I wouldn't finish without at least three more sticks of gum.

Here is the finished product. Complete with lights! Above is the back of the house and below is the front, with a pool just out of sight. Special thanks also go to Shana and Aunt Beth for the extensive decorating.

On Christmas Eve I got a jumpstart on a 3D puzzle of San Francisco that I got last year. I got it done in less than a day.

Erin dropped the hint about this book only a few times. Many people were confused why she would ask for such a book, until they knew the subject matter. (It's about crocheting, a form of knitting with a hook-ended needle)

On New Year's Eve I was a barrel of laughs. I started by dancing with Erin until I crashed onto the floor. The Sandman hit me hard.

But while I was down for the count Erin and her mom were partying like there was no tomorrow, apparently. At least they were color coordinated.

Internet Family Connections

I think the internet is great, don't you? It allows us to keep in touch with family and friends, and extended family that we may never have known about. Below is an email Erin received a few days ago in response to a previous blog posting (Grandma's Rant). Read it, it even contains a genealogy that we may have too soon forgotten:

Erin--I am married to your cousin Peter Selph, a son of Mary (Graham) Jones Selph Allen. She was a sister to your grandfather Graham. I found your blog this morning while I was trying to google Aunt Jean's Maytag ad. I did that a couple of years ago and found a copy of it for sale on an antique shop site.

I thought you might like to know, if you already don't, that the piano in the ad (and at your grandmother's house) was given to your great-grandmother Beulah (Galt) Graham Kinseyon her sixteenth birthday as a present from her father, Thomas R. Galt.

The first time I saw the ad was in 1972 when I was living in Brownwood, TX. Iwas about 13 years old and on a trip with my mother. During that time my grandmother was ill and my father was working a temporary job in Carlsbad. We were on the road a lot and mother always took along lots of magazines. After I flipped through one, she asked if there was anything interesting in it...I said only this ad with an antique piano in it. Then I complained about the people in the ad blocking the view of the piano! But I always liked those Maytag ads because of the letters the women sent in. Years rolled by. I married Peter in 1983. More years rolled by and I went with Mary to visit your grandparents on one of my trips to Albuquerque. Mary had told me about the piano being given to her mother as present, but she never mentioned the Maytag ad. We were sitting at your grandmother Jean's, looking at the piano, and Jean and Mary started talking about the Maytag ad. Then I remember that I had seen the ad. By then, Peter and I had been married for at least 15 years or more. Small world!!!!

Enjoyed your blog,
Kathy Duncan

Thank you, Kathy! We really enjoyed reading your email. I hope you don't mind if we share it.
Joshua Hardwick

(I know it's January, but...) Thanksgiving!

After our amazing vacation to the east coast, we came home for 21 hours of laundry for me, work for Joshua, repack, and catch another plane for San Jose. Joshua's work had needed him to do a job in the Bay Area the day before Thanksgiving so it became a free flight for the two of us. Check out that awesome turkey! My husband is quite the chef.

Joshua's parents came down from Seattle to celebrate with us. Debbie had a beautiful table set for the meal. We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving feast complete with ....

Our famous pumkin ice cream pie! This has become Walter's (not pictured) favorite dessert ever. William helped Uncle Joshua crush the cookies for the crust and he helped Aunt Erin put the whipped cream on top -only a little went in our mouths!

Since none of the families present would be seeing each other for Christmas, we celebrated that holiday too. We even went to see the Christmas tree lighting in San Fransisco's Union Square. Avoid it if you can. But it was a great kickoff to the Christmas Season!

East Coast Trip Part 5 (final)

Okay, so I'm locking myself in today to finish writing about our trip from over a month ago. Then we'll get on to things like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our final major destination was Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown where we rejoined with our friends Tommy and Tara. These are rebuilt towns from America's past, arranged like a theme park.

Williamsburg was Virginia's first capitol while still under British rule. Evidence of it still exists across the street where the University, The College of William and Mary, resides. The school is named after The King and Queen of England at the time it was built. William and Mary were cousins who looked very much alike. Alumns of the college were many of our first Presidents including Thomas Jefferson.

The Governors Palace, picutred below, housed the royal appointments until the first American born Governor was appointed. And he was Patrick Henry of "Give me liberty or give me death!" fame.


Inside the Governors palace were oversized welcoming rooms for entertaining, and gardens outside for relaxing. Except I didn't feel to relaxed when I became lost in the hedge maze.

The Capitol building below is the first representation of government in our country. Members of the House of Burgesses included Patrick Henry, George Washington, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson. During the Revolutionary war Thomas Jefferson recommended that the capitol be moved to it's current day location in Richmond. The original buildings of Willamsburg were all mostly destroyed in the war, except for the Magazine (armory). In the mid thirties Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller rebuilt the town as a living history museum based on historical data and the original foundations. Today, the Virginia State Legislature meets in the House of Burgesses within the rebuilt Capitol building (below) once a year.

Next stop, Jamestown, America's first settlement by the British. The Virginia company sent three ships of men to create a settlement, find gold, and ship it back to Brittain. They were never successful in that regard.

Neighboring where the area where John Smith and his crew landed were the Powhatan Indians. We learned how they lived on the land those 400 years ago and prepared animal skins.

We were so impressed, Tommy and I had to try them on and pretended that our sister was Pocahontas.

That wasn't enough pretending for us, we now wanted to be John Smith and John Rolfe.

Here I am again as John Rolfe rowing away with Pocahontas, my wife. These boats were projects for the indian men to get away from their wives. They carved them out by lighting fires on top and carving the ashes away with shells.

On our last day we fit in some good ol' North Carolina BBQ and Sweet Tea. I don't know why the rest of the nation wants to take the sweet out of the tea. It's like putting bones into your fried chicken, it's just ridiculous!

For more information on the history of Williamsburg and Jamestown:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Williamsburg

http://www.history.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown%2C_Virginia

http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown/jamestown.cfm

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!