Fun With Cindy

As reported in blog post #99, Dan's sister Cindy arrived for a one week visit just before Veterans Day. After such a noteworthy and moving Veterans Day at Arlington Cemetery, the pressure was on to "top that" .... i.e. once we got Cindy an "audience" with the President, how could we prevent the rest of the week from being a let down?

Actually, we had a great time the rest of her week here. Indeed, we took her to many places we have been before, all the "standards" that everyone needs to see at least once in their lives. The White House, the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian, the National Cathedral, and much more. True, the awe we felt the first time we saw each of those sites has lessened, we still enjoying seeing them. More than that, we draw great joy by showing people around town and helping them see our capitol city for the first time. Thus, it was with Cindy.

Cindy and Barb have coffee in the Georgetown Mall after a visit to the National Cathedral.

Viewing our founding documents at the National Archives (l) and at the Berlin Wall exhibit in the Smithsonian American History Museum (r).

Touring the Capitol Bldg inside (l) and out (r).

Photos at the Lincoln Memorial (l) and the White House (r) are Standard Operating Procedure in the Zuspan "Capitol City Guided Tour"....

...as is a picnic lunch on a clear day at the Washington Monument.

However, there were some very enjoyable "firsts" for us on this trip, as well, such as our first time actually entering the House and Senate Galleries, ....

Seeing the President, any President, in person.

Getting a look inside Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was shot.

Touring the inside of the Supreme Court (l) as well as outside. (r).

Enjoying the view from atop the Washington Monument.

Visiting the Air Force Memorial.

All in all, we had a wonderful time while Cindy was here. Come again soon, Cindy!

100

Hello, faithful readers. Do you know why this post is titled "100"? It is because this is our 100th blog post! That includes, of course, blog #1 entitled "A new life chapter ... a new blog page",which was really written by our kids to kick off our blogging adventure. It is hard to believe that we have been here in Virginia for over fourteen months. And to think of all the adventures we have had, enough to fill 98 more blogs, is almost mind-blowing! And now, this, our 100th.

God set us off on this adventure, for reasons that we may never fully understand. We have been blessed many times over already, by sharing adventures together, by sharing our adventure with others who have come to visit, and by finding some of the most encouraging and inspiring fellow Christians at Clear River Church. We look forward to all He has to offer us while we are still here, all the while eagerly anticipating our someday return to the Northwest.

Of the 98 blogs, it would be hard to pick the "top ten" list, but we each picked a few to share:

"Back to the beginning of the story" tells the story of how we were led to be here.

"Autumn in Arlington" expresses the beauty of the fall here cast against the solemn setting of Arlington Cemetery. "Autumn in DC" shows the beauty of fall here cast against the regal monuments in DC.

"Honor Flight" tells of our emotional encounter with WWII veterans.

"Cherry Blossoms" show the beauty of DC in the spring.

"When the kids came" was a celebration of our time with our kids here in DC.

"Our 30th Anniversary - Prologue", and all the subsequent chapters, tells of how we celebrated our 30th anniversary in New York City.

"Graves Mountain Lodge" introduces you to our new found brothers and sisters in Christ here in Centreville.

What are your favorites? Please leave a comment and let us know.

We know not what the next days, weeks, months, and maybe years will bring to us, but we have chosen to live this time as a wonderful adventure. And you know what we have learned from this? That we should ALWAYS live life as a wonderful adventure, an adventure that God in His Wisdom lays out before us for the taking.

And now, faithful followers, we come to the exciting announcement that was promised in our last blog post. Here it is - in celebration of our century blog, and your faithful "followship", we want to thank you by awarding a commemorative gift. Be one of the first five people to leave a comment and we will ship this commemorative gift to you. One per household and other fine print restrictions apply.

{Revision 1 - due to the overwhelming response (5 comments on the first day) we will extend a "second place" prize to anyone else who leaves a comments. DZ 11/20/09}

Love from our house to yours,

Dan and Barb

Veterans Day

Dan's sister Cindy arrived for a visit Tuesday, the evening before Veterans Day. We promised that she would enjoy more meaning in Veterans Day in DC than in anywhere else she has been. We certainly have more reason to thank our veterans now than at any other time.

On Wednesday we headed out for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery, where a special ceremony would take place at 11 AM. We knew that this usually included some high-level dignitary for Wa DC, but hadn't given much more thought to it than that. However, on the way there we heard on the radio that the president would be doing the honors of placing the wreath.

The weather was wet and cold but we didn't let that dampen our spirits, and the ceremony was very moving.

Cindy and Barb waiting for the ceremony to begin. You can see we are right up front!

Dress units from all five services align the steps behind the tomb (l). The Army band was there, as well (r).

The color guard lines the approach to the tomb.

The Vice President and his wife arrive (l), followed by the First Lady (r).

The President arrives and takes his place.

The President placed the wreath, the military was at full attention, and "Taps" was played.

The President moves toward the amphitheater where he later gave a short speech honoring veterans and active military.

The color guard and Sgt of the guard.

The sentry resumes his watch. The guard unit from nearby Fort Myer stand watch 24-7-365.

Dan and Cindy keeping dry until the Secret Service allows the crowd to disperse.

Thank you, veterans, one in all for your sacrifice of service to allow the rest of us to live in freedom and liberty.

Hello, faithful readers. Our next post will have an exciting announcement. Please be sure to check in and find out what it is!!

World Vision / Casting Crowns

Last night we volunteered at a Casting Crowns Concert near Woodbridge, Virgina. For those of you who are not familiar with them, Casting Crowns is a Christian musical group that has been making beautiful songs of worship and encouragement for about six years. (To learn more, click HERE.) On tour, Casting Crowns partners with World Vision, a Christian ministry that support children in many poor regions of the world. (To learn more, click HERE.) We have sponsored children through World Vision for many years.

We received an email from World Vision looking for volunteers to help out at the concert last night, and quickly agreed. Just prior to intermission , the lead singer for Casting Crowns gave a testimony to the importance of World Vision sponsorship and invited all the audience to consider doing so. Our job was to be available in the auditorium with sponsorship packages and information for people who wanted to sign up. We looked pretty cool in our orange World Vision aprons:

After intermission we were allowed to watch the second half of the concert. Callie told us we would be surprised how many songs we would recognize, and she was right. One after another, they sang great songs from their repertoire.

We had a wonderful evening, counted it a blessing to help World Vision, and were completely blessed by the music of Casting Crowns.

My First Political Protest .... Ever

We have been in Virginia and blogging about our adventures for fourteen months now, and so far we have not blogged political ... until today. (Unless you consider the account of our Inauguration adventure to be political.) Today, you may have heard, was a rally at the foot of the Capitol to express displeasure with the proposed House health care legislation. I don't intend to opine political here - I would be glad to have the conversation with you, though - let's just say that while I agree with the need to improve health care, I STRONGLY disagree with the way the House wants to go about it.

About a week ago, House conservatives called for a rally at the foot of the Capitol at noon today to protest the bill (just a day or two before the vote would take place). So I slipped away from work for a while and Metro'd over to the Capitol to show support for the cause. This is actually the first DC political protest that I have ever gone to. I have seen them on TV, but now I have been to one.

For a rally that was called on short notice, it was really well attended. Because of the crowd I couldn't really get close enough to see the speakers, but the crowd was pretty well-behaved. After the rally they lined up at the House office buildings to walk the halls and talk to the Representatives. The lines were too long and I had to get back to work.

Well, for a guy who grew up in an era of protests (remember Viet Nam?) it's about time that I protested something!

Just another DC adventure!

Dan

A Gray Day in Virginia

Monday was a Gray day in Centreville, Virginia. Not talking about the weather here. We had a short visit from good friend Roger Gray. For those of you who don't know Roger, we have been friends with the whole dang Gray family for many years. Roger is a pilot for Delta AIrlines, flew into Dulles Airport and had a 36 hour layover. We were able to have him over for dinner and had a great time catching up.

Next time bring Peggy, too!!

Monticello

Saturday we took off on an adventure that has been on our list for over a year - ever since we saw Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, we have wanted to go to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

We were hoping for a sunny day so that the fall colors would be vibrant. Although the day was mostly cloudy, it was warm and dry, so made for a good day.

Monticello is Jefferson's mountaintop home in Charlottesville, VA, about two hours south of us. Jefferson was a self-taught architect and designed Monticello himself, including many features that he had seen in Europe during his years as a U.S. statesman there.

Dan meets Thomas ... and he is shorter than we thought!

It is as beautiful up close as it looks in photos. We went on a thirty minute tour of the interior and then were allowed to walk through the outbuildings and basement on a self-guided tour.

At its peak, the Monticello plantation was 5,000 acres and had almost 200 slaves and hired help. Unlike other plantations, the outbuildings here were built naturally into the slope so they did not interfere with the vista of the main building. Above left is the north wing, which housed stables and a carriage house. Above right is a Jefferson innovation, a sixteen foot deep underground ice house.

Above left is the beer/wine cellar; above right, the kitchen; below is the room the cook and family lived in.

A small portion of the property is still devoted to raising crops. Here is the terrace garden that the employees care for. Note the vista on the left - Monticello offered Jefferson a grand view overlooking Charlottesville in the valley below.

Thomas Jefferson, and many of his descendants, are buried at Monticello. At his request, his tombstone reads:

Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.

It says nothing about being president of the United States.

Eight U.S. presidents have been born in Virginia, more than any other state. We have now seen the residences of three - Mount Vernon, Berkeley, and Monticello. We hope to someday see James Madison's Montpelier as well.



Another adventure ...!