Oh Shenandoah I long to see you....

Or is it hear you? Anyhow this past weekend we took a trip to the Shenandoah National Park. Lucious green rolling hills with the river running through, a very beautiful valley, relatively cooler temperatures, and lots of wildlife. I can see how it inspired the famous song. We found a nice hike down to a waterfall and when we were talking to a ranger about directions he said "oh and you'll probably see a bear." What! We left on our hike and spotted a deer, some amazing colored fungus, and then sure enough a BEAR. We were walking along and I had a rock in my sandal so I sat on a rock to get it out when Brad said "Uh, there's a bear." I turned around and right in front of us was a black medium sized bear. For a moment we all just looked at each other and then Brad said we better keep walking. So we walked and talked-did what the ranger said to do, and Brad snapped a photo of the bear walking away. Whoa. Welcome to Shenandoah. We found the waterfall, it was beautiful and had an amazing view of the whole valley. I'll never forget Shenandoah!

Mr. Dennis

So it just occurred to me this Blog is mostly about my adventures in DC while Brad is working on his Internship. So this post is dedicated to him and his exciting day to day life. As mentioned before he likes to get to work early. He walks- just a short 8 minute walk, and in order to get into his building he places his hand on this screen-just like in the movies. What he does all day is somewhat classified but it is basically reading the news all over the internet (in persian and arabic) and writing short summaries for the governents own Wickapedia type search engine. It is also like a specialized Think Tank type of position because he is on teams with other people working on specific projects. He seems to really enjoy his work though sometimes he is a bit discouraged in his Persian compared to native Persian speakers he works with. So in his spare time he studies his Persian, sometimes he asks me to quiz him and that is quite entertaining with my Persian pronunciation. He also plays with his new favorite toy- his Push Up bars (see photo). Then of course I keep him entertained with tourist attractions and social engagements.

A Good Walk...

So it is what the tour book said. Most of the tourist sites around DC are well spread out and require quite a bit of time to walk from site to site. For my walk I started at the Washington Monument- got my ticket to later go up in the Monument. Then I took a walk up to the WhiteHouse snapping photos of buildings and statues along the way. When I got to the WhiteHouse I thought it was smaller than in pictures but very pretty. A lot of the DC workers were having lunch outside across the street in Lafayette square. It made me laugh how they were basking in the sun when it was 92 degrees plus humidity. That is the luxury of an airconditioned work building- I guess. Needless to say I found an indoor airconditioned cafe where I had my lunch- I had a Stromboli (type of pizza in a breadstick) which was my first. After lunch I explored some museums and walked down to all of the War memorials. They were all very moving (WWII, Vietnam, and Korean) but I will never forget seeing my reflection in the Vietnam memorial, and the words of the Korean memorial "Freedom is not Free." Very powerful. Finally I was able to see and go into the Lincoln Memorial- also very moving. Lastly I made my way back up to the Washington Monument and went up in it 500 feet (I think) and looked out over the city and where I walked. At this point I was exhausted and came home. Despite the humidity and distance it was a very good walk.

A daytrip to Annapolis

So after recovering from the 4th, we headed out Saturday morning to Annapolis. Once again thank you mom and dad Dennis for letting us use the GPS system. We got to see some 18th century historical houses. One of which will always be remembered because the guy who had it built did so as a gift for his fiance and then she jilted him right before the wedding and he died as a bachelor. Brad is posing as him in front of his house. Annapolis was beautiful, lots of Art, statutes, and memorials on the city streets. We had lunch on the dock, and then finished the day with some black history museums. It was very moving after our 4th of july celebration reflecting on the price many people have paid and still pay for freedom and in the words of Thomas Jefferson "for the pursuit of happiness." What a blessed nation we live in.

The DC 4th

We had an incredible 4th of July. It started with a breakfast in our ward parking lot- yum. When we were trying to leave our car was attacked with balloons by the local primary (very different from a singles ward). We took an afternoon metro ride into the city and found a place to sit and watch the concert and fireworks right in front of the stage on the steps of the capital building. They were great seats, and then began the wait- Brad actually fell asleep. Somewhere online I read that mini concerts before the main concert would start at 5:30. Um wrong. At about 5 :45 we asked a nice Indian family sitting next to us when the concert starts and they said 8:00. Great another two hours and nothing to eat in sight, we were going to watch the mini concert and then go eat and come back for the fireworks. Whoops. So we asked the nice Indian family if they could hold our place and we found a nearby hot dog stand, grabbed some food and then had to wait in line to get back in the Mall (where the capital is). An hour and a half later we made it back in, miraculously our seats were still saved. About this time it began down pouring and all of us on the steps put up our umbrellas creating a huge wall against the rain. About 5 minutes before the concert started the rain stopped. The concert in the words of Brad was "just a bunch of has-beens" But it was still cool and then came the fireworks with the orchestra playing the 1812 Overture and then Stars and Stripes Forever. It was very moving- seeing the fireworks just above the Washington monument and hearing this music. Then the event was over and the real event of the night (the metro run) began. Brad was very smart and chose the metro at the very top of the mall to get on. We had to wait in line to get into the station but got on the first metro we saw which was really lucky because most people we passed were denied because it was so full. I even got to sit most the time. Once we reached our metro stop it was pretty much smooth sailing getting home.

The Solo Tourist

So because a small town gets small after awhile and Brad is at work all day, I have become a solo tourist. Solo tourism has many advantages over group tourism. I will name just a few 1- I can take my time looking at all of the pictures in the Gallery of Art without my husband getting bored, especially in the modern art section. 2- I can skip things that don't interest me. 3- I can stop for breaks and have 2 hour phone conversations about my friends boy dramas...once again my husband would get bored. 3- There is something amazing about discovering a huge city by yourself, riding the metro, getting off on the right stop, and finding your way back home. I have to thank Mom and Dad Dennis for letting us borrow their GPS system. Priceless in DC areas. I am beginning to explore the national mall and have started out with the National Gallery of Art where I had lunch with my friend an employee who got us into this fancy restaurant on the roof. It was beautiful, it overlooked the Mall and the Capital building and thankfully was a breezy day:) I also started to explore the statues around the ground and lastly the National Air & Space Museum.

a cookie, a friend, and a discovered treasure

Perhaps I'm different than most people, perhaps I am not, but my ideal summer moments occur with little effort. This morning I walked to town to pick up some bread at the one and only Great Harvest. I was given a free cookie because it was my first time coming in so I took my treat and found my favorite reading bench to sit down and enjoy it. There is something about a park bench that cries out "come and sit, come and read, come and talk, come and enjoy your surroundings." For this reason I sat and enjoyed my cookie and then started on my book. I enjoy this particular bench because it is in the middle of the town square- though quiet,there always seems to be some activity. After getting through a few pages in my book an older retired gentleman came and sat beside me. What started as a light "beautiful weather we are having" conversation turned into a 2 hour tell me your whole life story type of therapy session. I was fascinated with this man's life. I was able to educate him a bit about Mormon history because of course he wondered about the whole polygamy thing. I was amazed by his faith and especially his love for music. After years of inactivity in the Catholic Church he was drawn to church one day, was incredibly moved by the choir and ever since has been a choir member. He invited me to his next performance. I felt after saying goodbye to him I just made a good friend in town. On my way home as I was digesting this delicious conversation I found a little antique shop. My Grandma Jefferson has helped me enjoy these type of shops so I went in. I found a corner of old Time Magazines. I started digging through them and to my delight found one of the original Time Magazines 1969 "On the Moon." It was the same I had seen hanging in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Priceless. Though small, these events are what summer tastes like to me...relaxation, friendship and simple appreciation.