Thursday, October 26, 2006

"The whirling dervish" or "How the beltway was conquered".

Good evening everyone. I apologize for the lateness of this post and recognize the tardiness of posting to my blog. My only excuse is that I've been super busy. Hey, it's the most convenient excuse I can come up with on short notice. ( :-D ) The title of this chapter of the blog is, I know, a bit confusing but the truth is it's your choice. Believe me when I say that either title will fit well. This particular chapter is about the 'vacation' I took with my oldest brother, Jerry. What an experience, and I add quickly, one that I don't intend to repeat. (unless I completely lose the rest of my mind)
We started the trip at about seven p.m. and drove until we reached out destination at roughly four a.m. Upon reaching Lynchburg, VA. We promptly slept until eleven a.m. What a start to a vacation, huh? After visiting with my nephew and his charming wife for a day or two we then set off on a mind shattering three day tour of five states and the District of Columbia. The first day of the tour we hit Monticello and Gettysburg, and before you say anything, they are a couple of hundred miles apart. What we saw in those quick hours was mind numbing and meant to be seen in a much longer time. After seeing Gettysburg (and I use the word seeing loosely) We drove a couple more hours into Maryland where we spent the night. After rising early the next morning, having breakfast, etc. We then headed for D.C. I hardly know at this point how to describe that experience. After checking into our hotel we spent the waning hours of the day at the Holocost museum (about forty five minutes there) then on to the Smithsonian. Two whole hours I recall it being. Then it was back to the hotel and a quick nights sleep. The next morning we were again up early, had breakfast then headed out to catch the subway to Arlington. We spent a whole hour there glancing at what should take a whole day to see. Then it was on to the National mall where we took in the Lincoln memorial. At that point Jerry and I parted ways for a bit. After a hurried visit there I walked to the Korean war memorial then on down the mall to the World war II memorial. What a magnificent sight to behold. Breathtaking really. Then it was on to the Washington monument where Jerry and I once again met up. Let me interject here that I'm working hard to recall the events because I don't generally think as fast as things actually transpired. Day three came and we were on to Richmond where we saw St. James Episcopal Church, then on to Appomatix. Both of those places amid the five hour drive back to Lynchburg. By that time I was pretty much numb and ready to get back home. Thinking back on it I can't believe I survived as well as I did. Those kind of experiences only happen in the movies I thought. Well, I stand corrected. I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't had a front row seat for the whole thing. Now the good news. I did, indeed, survive and am back. I'll write more on the subject later, but for now, I'm off to bed. Goodnight all..... .........And so it went..........

2 comments:

Dawn (of Course)! said...

it's good to have you back.

Crissy said...

In my opinion, Jerry just knows that if he gets still for longer than 5 minutes he'll fall asleep. ;o)