Cian Goes to Washington

Daughter, Terry, summoned the family to spend the week of her birthday together in a cabin on Little Sebago Lake in southern Maine.   On Monday, August 13, all of the Florida Turners piled into a rented minivan and headed north.

Why drive for such a long trip?  Well, for five of us, that's Sherry and myself, our sons Chris and Michael, and grandson Cian,  it was probably less expensive than flying. Not to mention that flying has become such a hassle. But mainly I wanted Cian, age nine, to see Washington and New York City.

Going away for two weeks in late August raises the possibility of a hurricane.  Even though there was none in the offing, we decided to be cautious and make preparations in case one struck before we got back.  We brought the patio furniture inside, along with tools, trash cans, and everything else that might blow around.

Even in normal summer thunderstorms water had come in under the French doors from the patio.  Not a big problem when we are here to mop it up, but a worry when were going to be away for two weeks.  So we went to Lowe's and bought sandbags, which we piled in front of the doors and beside the patio.

Fortunately there was no hurricane while we were away.  Tropical Storm Isaac passed by Tampa the day after we got back, and didn't amount to much here.  The back yard lake in these photos, by our next door neighbor, Cait, is from a normal summer thunderstorm.  It appears that the patio was under water earlier, but the sandbags did their job.  There was no evidence of water inside the house.

We arrived in Washington, DC, in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 12, and checked in to the Marriott Courtyard at 1600 Rhode Island Avenue NW, just a few blocks from the White House and the National Mall.  Chris had work to do, but the rest of us walked around the area. Here is Cian in front of the White House.   (We didn't take the tour.)

A nice dinner on the sidewalk at ICI Urban Bistro.

On to the mall after dinner.  It was after 10:00 PM by the time we reached Lincoln Memorial.

It was inspiring to read the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, two of the most eloquent statements in the English language, cast in stone inside the monument.

The next morning we walked across the mall to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, passing the Washington Monument.

There is an overwhelming array of exhibits in the museum.  The coolest in my opinion is the Gossamer Condor, the first aircraft to achieve sustained, maneuverable human-powered flight.

There is so much to see in Washington.  We could have easily spent a week there, but we had allowed ourselves only one day.  By noon we were under way to New York City.