Two Very Fine Evenings

Yes, they were!

Only short evenings off this week... early on I managed to relax with watching a couple favorites... Ever After and Persuasion. In the car, I started listening to Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy. Right now I'm in the middle of Thomas Truxtun's first battle with the French in the Quasi-War. It's a very interesting read so far.

But Thursday and Friday were particularly nice...

Thursday the 25th, I went downtown to the Virginia Arts Festival's International Tattoo.

(That's His Majesty the King's Guard from Norway, and Pipes and Drums from the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, UK, joined with pipe bands from Canada and Australia.) I loved the Norwegians, and all the Bagpipers, and the French Paratrooper Band. Also the fifes and drums from Colonial Williamsburg were fun to watch.

Friday, I joined a few of my fellow Sonar Techs at a Sonar Tech's house in Chesapeake for an evening of fun: snacks, chicken wings, grilled stuffed mushrooms, fresh baked crab dip, sweet tea, and I had two samplings of fruit flavored beer (peach, watermelon). We stayed until it got dark, chatted around a camp fire, and generally had a wonderful time hanging out and watching all the little kids play.

Jw

To Maryland and Back

Plan of the Day:

Drive 3.5 hours to Luray Caverns, VA. A national historic landmark, and the most impressive cave I've seen.
Go a little further to New Market, have dinner at the Southern Kitchen, visit the local battlefield, continue 1.5 hours to Harper's Ferry National Historic Park. This was incredibly gorgeous, as Thomas Jefferson had commented in 1783. Stopped by because of its Civil War significance, but mostly enjoyed the view. Especially the bald eagle that flew overhead as I crossed the bridge on the Shenandoah... words can't describe how happy I felt. Merely a half-hour to Antietam, the bloodiest day of the Civil War, which happens to fall on my wedding anniversary, September 17th. It moved me to stand in the Bloody Lane and cross Burnside's Bridge. The day was so pretty, and the birds so happy... you could hardly believe what had happened just over 150 years prior. Then drive 4 hours home... and it was so worth it! I listened to the beginning of Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields, and the majority of Jane Austin's Mansfield Park as I went. All those rolling hills of farmland and pastures... and perfect sunshine the whole day.

Getting off the I-95 at Fredericksburg,VA, continuing west on SR-3 through Chancellorsville, by the edge of the Wilderness and Salem Church, through the tiny towns of Culpeper and Sperryville, across the Skyline Drive of the Shenandoah National Park, through Luray, and New Market, VA, on I-81 to West Virginia, through Charles Town (didn't know it at the time, but that's where John Brown met his end) to Harper's Ferry. Then getting a little lost through Boonsboro, and Funkstown, MD, then back to Antietam National Battlefield on the Sharpsburg Pike. Leaving Antietam, back through Keedysville, Boonsboro, and Myersville as I labored to find I-70. Passed numerous towns and cities (only stopping for gas once I was well past the outskirts of Washington) on I-270 to I-495, back to I-95 and I-295 outside Richmond to I-64 and home.

Left at 5:20am and returned at 11:00pm.

Whew!
Jw

A Day Spent in Brooklyn

But first I shopped at the MacArthur Center Mall. Barnes and Noble just happened to be right around the corner... and the WWII shelf just happened to be first in line. And how could I resist a title like Sailor from Oklahoma (2009) from the Naval Institute Press? It's another rare enlisted Navy man's account of WWII from his experiences all over the world. I can't wait to start chapter 1.. "Escape from Oklahoma". I picked up an inexpensive, hardback ESV Bible (in the same font and style as my childhood 1984 NIV) while I continued looking around. Then I located the mall's only toy store... Go! Toys and Games for a beautiful 500-pc piece peacock puzzle, a 6" globe puzzle, and a gift for my niece and nephew. Put those things in the car, then went to Brooklyn... at the movies for a matinee.

42 was fabulous! Very 40s indeed! I was totally taken in with Harrison Ford's different sounding voice I didn't even recognize him for a minute or two. The details of the story of Jackie Robinson were all new to me, so I enjoyed every minute, wondering what would happen.

Stopped by Chipotle in Ghent for dinner, and looked in an incredible movie rental store... they had huge shelves up and down the store (like a crammed used book store) filled with films categorized by director. I might go there every day if I lived nearer... :) It seemed encyclopedic at the least. Stepped in a small art gallery after eating as well, and if I had a couple extra thousand dollars to burn, I would have come home with a neat impressionistic oil painting of three snowy egrets flying over a river's mouth, and a more realistic painting of birches along a forest lane.

While driving to and from downtown, I kept listening to 1776 by McCullough. Just happen to be in the middle (and now aftermath of) the Battle of Brooklyn, August of '76.

This evening I drove back downtown for the Virginia Stage Company's production of The Odd Couple (Niel Simon, 1965)... which I believe is set in New York (I thought I heard a reference to Central Park). I went to it even though beforehand, while resting in bed, I was hurting from not taking pills in time for cramps. I figured I could lay there in pain or go and watch a fabulous play in pain, the latter taking my mind completely off it (and the pills started kicking in too). I'm so glad I did! It was so funny and touching. That and they offered a Military/Student special of $16.50 tickets for day of the show purchases.

I was completely wiped out when I got home, though. I fell asleep on the couch for a bit after talking to Mike. What a fun day!

Jw

Two More Days

Both of these last two days I've gotten off work very much later than normal... doing a special job that required staying til 4pm! :)

Yesterday I made it in time to the library on their very first shift of new Monday hours to return my last items: a WWII newsreel and the soundtrack of Curtains. I think I forgot to mention it before, but my last audiobook I finished last week was The Maltese Falcon. I tried starting The Hobbit, but the first disc had problems and I don't think I would have had time anyway. I didn't intend to work, but they had a bit of a backup of just getting checked-in items sorted out on the shelves in the back room... so I lent a hand for a half-hour, and in the process, I found that they had already entered my donated Tim Tebow book (from Saturday) into the system. Very glad they could use it... I usually don't buy brand new hardcovers like that, but I did that one time in January when I flew out to Oklahoma. Made the flight go by very fast... and it was an interesting biography too. Back at home I watched Romancing the Stone (1984) for the first time and laughed my head off. Thank you, Darling!

Today, getting out pretty late, I went straight to the library again since I said I would yesterday. Got to arrange dinner with Christine, and then put three audiobooks together before I knew it was time to go have dinner. I think I'm slightly addicted to Chipotle... good thing I get the chicken bowls loaded with veggies...a it's got to be relatively healthy... I hope. :)

And now I'm really tired. What a weekend I have coming up. Whew.

Jw

Sunday Adventure

Spur of the moment, this week I decided to go up to the Vancouver Aquarium today, to take more pictures for my project and to see two more of the aquariums of the west coast.

I got up at 8, had a quick snack of blueberry muffins and an avocado with my sister, and then took off north up I-5 all by myself. The scenery is just incredible! Both the Cascades and the Olympics were clearly visible and much of the way was brilliant green... farmland just north of Everett, and woods north of that.

I listened and sang to my heart's content and then stuck on an audio book by an Easy Company Soldier from the famous "Band of Brothers". He grew up here, in the Pacific Northwest... Astoria, Oregon, to be specific. It was fabulous hearing about how he grew up here in the 20's and 30's. And JBL narrated it, of course. This is the second time I've gotten a book that he read... both incredible stories, read meticulously! Sometimes I even forget that it's him... as he does Irish accents and gruff voices. Very entertaining. And then he mentioned Pittsburgh once, and some spy that got caught by the Germans... No kidding!

I stopped off at Bellingham at 10:20, drove through the Western Washington University campus just to see it, then headed to the waterfront to take in the Marine Life Center of Bellingham. It was a tiny little thing with only 5 tanks, but number of tanks doesn't mean you can take any less valuable pictures... in fact, the smaller, the less distracting the aquarium. There are a couple images I got that will be contenders for the project! I took about 3/4 hour in that little room! On the way back, I stopped in a little marine supply/art gallery not far from the waterfront. I bought a print of a great blue heron for Mom. After that I went to Taco Time, back by the university, and then hopped back on I-5 North.

The border crossing was fast, around 1PM, but the Canadian lady was grumpy. What's funny is, coming back, the American lady was friendly. Usually, or in my past experience, this should have been the opposite. Only took a couple minutes to get through.

I got confused by the directions Google gave me, and took a wrong route. I ended up heading for the University of British Colombia's campus, which I wanted to peek at anyway (they have a good Library Science program). Nice campus! It sits on the southern tip of Vancouver, jutting out into the Straight of Georgia. Views of towering mountains from across the wide river's mouth. When I turned around, I finally got it straight, and after a little getting lost at Stanley Park... and seeing Clydesdales, of all things... I found the Aquarium. I was a little bewildered, but made it alright. I found that I dislike Canadian traffic. They rarely have turn signals and when the light is green, it blinks at you. Why? Also, the streets seem a little narrower and there is a serious lack of signs directing you to places. Gah! I felt like I was in downtown Seattle (which I also strenuously dislike) except with no turn signals. To tell the truth, it felt a little like driving in Beijing - except with English. Maybe it's an Olympic thing. :)

The aquarium was... concise. I was surprised to find they had an African fish exhibit, combined with exotic birds. It felt a little out of place, along with the frog exhibit, as the rest of the aquarium was Pacific marine life. But their layout was very good and they had many great tanks, including 3 lionfish, a giant pacific octopus, hagfish, and the usual set. Outside they had a pair of beluga whales, dolphins, seals and otters. There was also a hawk and bald eagle show going on when I walked outside. Very cool, indeed!

I headed straight home after the hour and 3/4 I spent there. Going back was much simpler. I made it though nearly 3 full discs of the book! It's a very good one.

Got home at 8:15, filled up the 3/4 tank of gas I used today, and then got a snack at home. 300 mile trip today! Good thing I was in my car.

What a day, again! Holy cow! I have to stay in one place tomorrow!

Can I handle it?
Jp