Where Did They Go?

Thanks for asking. It has been 21 days since our last blog post. This is the longest stretch of nothing-ness since we started blogging last Fall. Some of you may be wondering "where did they go?" Some of you may not have noticed. We like the first group better. Of course, if you are part of the latter group, you probably aren't reading this anyway!

Well, to answer the question, Barb left three weeks ago and took the laptop and camera with her. She has been to Crystal Lake to see Mom T, family, and friends. She then went with Mom T to Seattle for two weeks. Dan was there, too, on business and stayed a few extra days to be with the kids. Barb is now on her way to Wyoming for the rest of the week. Dan is back in Centreville holding down the fort.

Barb has just been toooooo busy to update the blog. Soon she will be home with laptop and photos and we will add some visual aids to our next blog post.

Reminders

Should we ever "forget" where we are, there are always reminders that we are near the capitol of the United States, with government and military facilities all around. This morning was one of those days.

Hi, Dan here. My office in Arlington is very near the Iwo Jima Marine Corp Memorial. As I pull off the highway and wind my way around the off ramp, I can glimpse the statue every day if I wanted to. But as time goes by, I find that the "awe" and "wonder" of this magnificent sight fades into regularity. I admit that I don't always look for it anymore.

Today, though, as a was winding up the off ramp, I caught a glimpse of some movement and activity on the grounds around the memorial. It appeared to be some sort of military marching group. After I parked in the garage at work, I decided to go check it out. When I arrived I was able to see that the seating area was set up for some sort of ceremony and a Marine Corps Marching unit and band were rehearsing for a performance that was yet to come. I was treated to a short bit of marching music (including the piece that is used in the credits for the movie "A Few Good Men") and precision marching and rifle drills.

With only my phone-cam available, I couldn't get very good shots, but here is one, anyway.

It was a great way to start my day and to remember, and appreciate, the our US Armed Services.

AT&T National

Yesterday we went to watch the AT&T National Golf Tournament at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. This is a tournament that is hosted by Tiger Woods and honors our military by providing free tickets to active military personnel.

Congressional Country Club is a beautiful golf course which has long been rated as one of the top 100 courses in the US.

It has a massive and gorgeous club house.

To say we followed Tiger Woods is a stretch. To watch him play really required a bit of hopscotch around the course to cope with his gallery. We would plant ourselves by one hole, watch him as he played through, and then hop a few holes ahead and wait again.

We also watched some other notables, including Jim Furyk, Davis Love III, Anthony Kim (who were in the same group), Freddie Couples, Vijay Singh, Boo Weekley, and others. It was a beautiful day, and partly cloudy weather helped keep the temps from getting too hot.


We hadn't been to a golf tournament since the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Wa., so it was nice to see the pros play.