Quiet in DC

There are lots of time I complain about living in the DC area. The traffic is some of the worst in the country, and Laura can attest to that, and there is always a heightened sense of security. But there are also many things to love about it - open space is never too far away; lots of museums and galleries and there is wonderful architecture.

Some of my favorites are the frequently overlooked. Places like the National Building Museum and one Union Station.

Tika was coming back from Ottawa on the train and I promised to pick her up. It was 1:25 AM on Saturday and the building was almost empty but it gave me a chance to take a couple of pictures. I wished I had brought a real camera but my cell phone was all I had at this point.







What I do like is that it is such a wonderful building - for such a utilitarian function. Makes me think that we lost a bit when we moved to air transport - especially lately.


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My Saturday morning run

After having picked up Tika at Union Station at 1:30 AM and getting to sleep at a little after 3 I got up this morning to run the 19th annual Van Metre 5 miler. It was nice that they started 8:30 so I did get a little over 4 hours sleep.

The morning was nice - about 50 degrees and sunny. It was a bit Windy but that did not make it any colder - just windy running - and in this case a course that never had the wind on your back.

There is always a good crowd for this run. Lots of families and some very fast individuals. I like this run because it is early in the year and helps give an indication of fitness. That indication is made right up front as shortly after the start you begin climbing and hit a nice hill from just around mile 1 to just before the 1.4 mile mark and then you get another smaller hill from mile points 1.9 to o2.2. After that it is undulating roadways until the last half mile which is all uphill, but small.

It was nice this year to have such a great day and such a great crowd. I finished, unofficially around 39 minutes which was about 2 minutes faster than last year. I never said I was fast but I figure if I get better as I get older then that is a good thing.

Next up - Cherry Blossom 10 miler.

Another Special Day ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTEN!!!!!

Hard to believe ..... your 17th birthday. Why only last year we were .... celebrating your 16th birthday. Isn't math great :-)

All joking aside ... we hope you have a FANTASTIC day today.

You are a very wonderful person and you deserve to enjoy your special day ... and myself and Laura will extend that into tomorrow as well.

Happy Birthday ... We love you :-*

They do grow up ....

Very early this morning Tika hopped on a train at Union Station in DC and headed out for her spring break. Yes - I said the train. Some of you may say that it is an odd way to get to Florida - the traditional soring break get-away - but Tika is anything but traditional. For spring break she wanted to go to Ottawa.

Yes Ottawa - with all its snow and low temperatures in the single digits - Fahrenheit.

So this morning she caught a train just after 3 to head to New York to take the Adirondack to Montreal where she would grab a bus for the last leg to Ottawa - 21 hours later.

Laura said she must be my daughter as it sounds like a Gary trip.

I am proud of her - she decided that this was the trip she wanted to make - she figured out and booked the travel and arranged for places to stay and for tickets to two hockey games. Yeah I guess she is my daughter.

Have fun ... and stay warm ... we love you :-*

Spring?

It should not be a surprise to anyone when I say that Laura loves tulips. For those of you that have been to our house our dining room is considered the tulip room. Whenever I get a chance I buy tulips for her, sometimes cut and sometimes potted.

Last year we had a couple of versions of potted tulips so after the flowers faded I dried the bulbs and planted them and was a bit disappointed that last year I saw nothing arise from those spots.

So today I went to get the mail and as I turned back to go into the house I saw ....

I hope they make it but I guess it also shows that spring is not far away.

HAPPY PANCAKE DAY!!!!

OK - I know - technically it is not Pancake Day - it is Shrove Tuesday but to me that has always meant PANCAKE DAY!

Of course for myself and Laura that is a good thing as we both love pancakes and today I will get to make a non-traditional recipe with no dairy - so it should be fun - maybe add a berry compote and of course real Canadian Maple Syrup.

Sorry Mom - no nickels in the pancakes tonight.

Happy Pancake Day to all ..... enjoy!

Picasso in Richmond

Last Fathers Day Laura had gotten us a family membership to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It is a great membership as it also allows us access to many other museums and galleries throughout North America. On Sunday we used it to visit an exhibit we had actually been waiting to see.

Myself and Laura picked up Kris and Sam at 10 and headed down to Richmond where we picked up Tika and headed out to lunch. Laura had made reservations at a very popular restaurant in Shockoe Bottom called Cafe Gutenberg. She had picked this place because it had a great menu combination of vegan and non-vegan items. Tika was able to dine on vegan biscuits and gravy while myself and the girls were able to satisfy ourselves with beef satay, waffles, surry sausage and bratwurst. (btw - if you do get to go there - have the sweet potato fries but STAY AWAY from the pork sandwich).

After lunch we headed over to VMFA and the Picasso exhibit. The place was busy. Laura did point out that it was only the second full weekend for the exhibit and with 170 pieces from the Picasso Museum in Paris it is a large exhibit that is unique to North America let alone to Richmond. Thankfully my wife is a very smart lady and with our VMFA membership we were able to get in to the timed exhibit very quickly.

The exhibit has a great mix of his various styles and I love seeing the studies that then develop into the actual pieces so it was an entertaining exhibit to see. We actually spent an hour going through the exhibit and I know that myself and Laura will go back to revisit as it was crowded and we could have spent much more time there. None the less - it was fun.

After the exhibit we headed over to "For the Love of Chocolate" which is a great store down in the Carytown section of Richmond. We picked up some chocolate and candy and after dropping Tika back off at her dorm we made the slow ride back to NVa.

I am looking forward to myself and Laura heading down to Richmond to see the exhibit again and to also see the rest of the museum.