Night at the Museum- Looking Back

4,534 miles per hour!!

Imagine being in a museum after hours. It's dark outside and the place is strangely quiet of people noise. The audios on the displays still play throughout the museum, to no one in particular: rocket sounds, airplane engines, and hissing air. It's both thrilling and eery to walk among the exhibits alone, especially with these background noises coming from nowhere.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am left speechless by what man does with a tin can. I view the earlier examples of flight as nothing more than paper, spit and glue. The audacity and imagination of man to attempt such feats! Then he progresses to tin cans and explosives. The North American X-15 reached a speed of 4, 534 miles per hour. Can you imagine?! The controlled power is astounding.

Don't even get me started on these rocket boosters. They're my favorite display. Five massive rocket boosters propelled Saturn into space. Are we nuts or what?

I love contrasts. Just down the road from the space museum is the National Art Museum. The miracles there are worked in tiny brush strokes. Both museums leave me speechless. Man is using nothing, nothing but his imagination and whatever resources he can pick up around him to create masterpieces on canvas and in the air. I see the inspiration of God in all of it. And because I believe that, then I know this is a drop in the bucket compared to what God once created with His words and to what exists that we cannot see. The most astounding, amazing, wonderful creations of man are nothing more than a speck when compared to the mind of God. And there I am, speechless again : )

Saying Good-Bye, Calling, Meeting Needs

1. Thankfully, everyone doesn't leave at once. That would be a shock to my system. We still picnic in the yard, laze on the porch and make plans for the week, the summer, and the year before everyone leaves.
2. Steve, Tess and I were eventually left alone. We worked together in the garden this evening. We heard Sadie call, "baaa" from across the field. It's the cutest little sound and makes us smile very time we hear her.
3. Our harsh winter was rough on the garden. I tended the little plants that survived and gave them a makeover of sorts. This ebb and flow in gardening is what keeps it interesting and ever-changing.

Family Photos: Out-takes

What really happens when we try to take a family photo:

Somebody gets silly

Somebody gets silly

Somebody gets silly

Everybody gets silly

The majority get silly.

Somewhere in the five hundred photos we took we'll be lucky if there's one Christmas-card-worthy shot.

1. Oh my gosh. Everyone is here! It's wonderfully exhausting.
2. Mari timidly announces that she is going to have a baby brother or sister. My response is something like this: ??!!??!!
3. We look up from our conversation and see Jack proudly wearing Aunt Tess' sandal. He got it on all by himself. : )

Happy Easter!

Two week old Sadie-the-Lamb follows Jack.

1. The Redbud trees that grow on the perimeter of the woods are all in bloom. They're the pretty pinkish haze in the background.
2. All four girls are home this weekend; a rare treat indeed! This evening was perfect for a bonfire. We carried all our food across the field and dined fireside on veggie chili, corn muffins, fire roasted hot dogs, carrot cupcakes, and marshmallows, of course.
2a. One of Chelsea's friends from the trail stopped to spend the night with us. Tanacity is his trail name and he is co-founder of Tanacity.org. We all enjoyed getting to know each other, however brief it was. He was appreciative of the home atmosphere, food, bed, and shower and we were all appreciative of his company.
3. Our neighbor brought his little foster lamb to visit. She is the sweetest thing with her swishy tail and tiny, "baaa". Mari got to feed her a bottle.

Wednesday Interests

1. We kept ducking into stores just so we could warm up. The Stonewall Kitchen store was my favorite. They had the most wonderful Lemon Sage bar soap.
1a. I've never heard of a store devoted entirely to Marshmallow Peeps, but there it was. The poor, unappreciated Peep in all its glory. They even had a car with a huge Peep on top. (I need to get photos off the camera.)
2. I was very proud of myself for venturing out on my own and arranging my own transportation. I texted Steve to tell him where I was attempting to go...just in case.
2a. The crazy thing was, my destination was under two miles away. I go that far when I walk the dog at home! Sadly, these were not walker-friendly highways.
3. The most perplexing thing I've ever observed: A beautifully set banquet was set up in the hotel atrium. Linen covered tables, gorgeous salads with heirloom tomatoes and cheese, two glasses per place setting filled with ice cubed drinks, and artistic-looking desserts were at each place. My friend and I sipped coffee nearby and wondered who was to dine at these beautiful tables. Then, four waiters began clearing it all away, dumping all the food! My friend and I looked at each other in shock. I asked a waiter what happened. In broken English, he told me it was set up in the wrong place. Then another waiter with limited English said no, they were shooting pictures, like a movie, and now they were all done. I'm not sure which version was true. Either way it was unbelievable.
3a. Tonight was our function's banquet. They served over a thousand of us, plate by plate, and beautifully done. I always marvel when chef's cook huge quantities of individual, artistically arranged dishes for four courses to perfection.

Today's Rainy Agenda

1. Faced with a day of heavy rain, we took a taxi downtown and strolled a museum for the morning. Another quick taxi ride got us to Pi Pizza for lunch- my favorite! Our deep dish pizza with artichoke hearts, minced garlic, and lots of melted cheese under the sauce was perfection.
 2. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum was the setting for our private party tonight. It was bliss to be able to tour this museum with no one but our group in it. Buffets and bars were set up throughout the museum so we could dine and drink as we toured, all to our hearts content. This was really "the bomb" as they say and I can't thank the hosting company enough for this brilliant evening.
3. Steve presented his paper at the conference without a hitch. He could finally relax tonight...and so could I. I was watching the time all afternoon thinking, "Now he's getting ready...Now he's speaking...and so on." I'm a nervous wreck for those types of things.

Monday in Alexandria, The Gaylord

1. The briny smell of the ocean reminds me of Maine. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked to the water's edge this morning. A friend and I took a two mile walk around the harbor at sunrise.
(It felt like another two miles to find the way back and forth to my room. This place is like a small city.)
2. A short water taxi ride took us across the harbor to Alexandria. We spent the day walking cobblestone streets and little side roads lined with historic brick buildings. We lunched at a restaurant in one of these old, brick buildings. The atmosphere inside was dark, created from aged wood beams and brick walls with only one window at the front. We sat at a table in front of this window. A well made shrimp cocktail and a lobster roll satisfied my seafood craving.
3. Reunited with our husbands for dinner, we were invited to the lounge at the top of the 18th floor of the hotel's atrium. One of my favorite tables (aside from the dessert buffet) was the cheese and antipasto buffet. The hosts paired cheese with a perfect compliment of fruit for each one. Some of the fruits were in the form of slices of a sticky gelatin concoction with a consistency similar to Turkish Delight. I don't know what it was, but I need to find out : )
3a. Surrounding the atrium was a balcony overlooking the harbor with Washington DC in the distance. It was mild this evening, so we stood outside to enjoy the breeze and the view. The cleverly designed guardrail was lined with glass to preserve the view. Nice for others, but it meant vertigo for me! Needless to say, I stood against one of the pillars.

Exterior back of the Gaylord Hotel

Interior atrium