Sunday, September 19, 2010

My most recent adventure.

It was time for me to make a trip to Virginia to see Cris' mom, bring her some mementos and help with the closure process, etc. etc.

She is living near John (Cris' brother) and doing really well. We did some site seeing,
and some baby bouncing. This is Anderson, John's grandson. Soooooo cute.


And this is Clair, John's granddaughter. Sooooo cute.

And here's their mom and dad--Jill and Matt. It was so much fun spending time with these twin cuties.

Just had to post this picture of an Ethiopian Wedding photo session outside the Botanical Gardens by the Capital. (Insert your photo caption here)
Botanical Gardens--really beautiful.
Gramma and John outside the Botanical Gardens.

The hat---classic.

We also visited the Pentagon Memorial on September 12. It was very moving.


This is the wreath placed by President Obama the day before.

Each person who died that day has a bench with a stream of water underneath. Some benches are facing the building honoring those who died on the plane. The other benches are facing away from the building honoring those who died at the Pentagon. They're in rows by age. Very moving.

Look closely at the one dark stone at the bottom of the building. They left this original stone from the charred remains as a reminder.
There are markers for each year. (John's birth year)

Cris' birth year.

We also visited the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum at Dulles airport (an extension of the one on the Mall--for REALLY BIG planes). The Enola Gay--dropped the bomb during WWII.

And the best part of all--the Shuttle. THE Shuttle!!!!!
So I'm standing there looking at one of the shuttle's that actually went in to outer space. Loved it.

Also went to an antique quilt show at an historic home. Actual quilts from the 1800's. . . .and a lot of other stuff too.
Like this totally cute purse I bought for Memzy made from authentic vintage 50's curtain fabric. Take my word for it--it's even cuter in person.


But--I've saved the best picture for last. My favorite thing in the D.C. area is the Star-Spangled Banner. I took an illegal picture while staring at it but it was too dark to post. Here's one cut and pasted for google. Sigh. . . .love it.

The original Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that would become our national anthem, is among the most treasured artifacts in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.


A true American Treasure.

5 comments:

Memzy said...

I can't do anything but comment on my cutest purse EVAH!!! I took it to church today and had no less than FOUR people comment on it's cuteness.

And the other pics are good too. It was great to see those benches. I pictured them differently. Poor little Grammy is so skinny! Good times.

Elder Jack Anderson said...

Great. Now Memz has the cutest wallet AND cutest purse. Awesome. ::seething with jealousy::

Looks like you made the most of your trip out there, huh? Those benches are way cool. I hadn't seen anything about those before.

I'm glad you're home.

gelly said...

Very cool trip! The space shuttle and 9/11 pics were awesome. But the American flag was my fave--I ::sheepishly:: didn't know they had that preserved but it's beautiful.

And the Ethiopian wedding--very beautiful people in a very beautiful place on probably the most beautiful day of their lives--weddings are wonderful. However, the bridesmaid's dresses stood out most to me. I think for me and my "Randall-no-junk-in-the-trunk" genes to pull off that dress, I'd have to visit this website... www.buybootypop.com
This would go well with Memzy's post about the Flabby Arm Solution. What will they think of next?

E said...

You made me feel all nostalgic. I love DC! We didn't visit the Pentagon, so I've never seen that 9-11 memorial. Whoever came up with it is brilliant.

In regards to our beloved flag, I photoshopped your illegal pic so I could get a better look at it, and now it looks a little BRIGHTER.

Larkin Legacy said...

The look on Clair's face is priceless!