Year: 2017

Today was 28 degrees and felt like 32 with clear blue skies. A good day to take it easy and not walk as hard as yesterday. Monica and I spent the morning and afternoon exploring the history of Saint Charles  (once the state capital of Missouri) and the many quaint shops along Main Street … just a couple of kilometers from our hotel. This is a city although it has more of a town feel and is the place where Lewis and Clark set off up the Missouri River in 1804 to explore the west. When they returned two years later, they made this their home. This was also the home of Daniel Boone (also a pioneer and explorer) and the home of sister Rose Philippine who was beatified (made a saint) as one of only a few Americans to receive sainthood.

We took our time getting around and didn’t arrive on Main Street until 9:30. Even so, the shops where still not open until 10. So the first thing was to visit St. Charles Borromeo church to get some pics of the windows. Blues predominate the colors and all windows have a very similar structure and composition. The church is bright and airy and the rose window in the south is remarkable.

Next we visited the Shrine of Saint Philippine Duchesne… born in France in 1769 and came to America as a young nun in the Order of the Sacred Heart to work with the Indians. She started several schools in the area and died in Saint Charles in 1852, was buried on this site, beatified in 1940 and canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. The Shrine to her life and work is understated as she would have wanted. We walked in an were greeted by the most gracious Jeanine who is a retired teacher at this school. When she learned of my passion for glass, she gave us a personal tour into the school library to see the stained glass windows that commemorate Saint Philippine’s life. We were so honored…not everyone gets this privilege.

Then we shopped and saw the sites. Most buildings along Main Street are original. Although they now house craft shops, restaurants and other modern businesses, each building has a historical plaque on the outside explaining what sort of business it was originally. Around the town are several sculptures and historic landmarks. A note of interest is just how dramatic the recent flooding of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers must have been. We saw tons and tons of uprooted trees and other debris that were deposited along the banks. Even some streets were covered in silt. The poor locals. River levels are now receding quickly and work crews were out cleaning up the mess.

Lunch was at Bradden’s for delicious salads and cold drinks… perfect on a hot day. Then back to the hotel before 4:00 for a dip in the pool.

Here are the photo highlights of day 25 – Historic Saint Charles

Clear blue skies today and a long driving day with touch-downs in 5 states; Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

We left our hotel in Florence, Kentucky at 8:00 and drove 15 minutes to the city of Covington, Kentucky (just across the Ohio River and state border from Cincinnati, Ohio) for a quick stop to see the absolutely breathtaking Cathedral Bascilica of the Assumption. This cathedral is 360 degrees of stained glass windows (no Tiffanys) and is right up there as one of my favorite churches to date. The sun was so bright in the east this morning, it made the windows almost unbearably bright… the camera could not even take a reasonable photo in the apse over the alter. Nevertheless, the most remarkable thing about this church is the north window… a 67 foot window which holds the claim as the world’s largest hand-made stained glass window. It depicts the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431AD that proclaimed Mary as the Mother of God. Jaw-dropping! (see Gallery/World Windows for all photos)

We couldn’t stay in Covington too long as we were heading north for a 1.5 hour drive to make the 10:00 church service at the Reid Memorial Presbyterian church in Richmond, Indiana. We got there at 10:15 and slipped into the back pew in time to catch a remarkable sermon from Rev. Joseph Fields… the message was about the last will and testament of Jesus, “Love One Another”. Monica and I shared communion with the congregation and really enjoyed the closing hymn “Dance in the Morning” which you would recognize as John Allen Cameron’s “Lord of the Dance”. After the service, Rev. Fields gave us a private tour and history lesson on this 185 year old church with its 63 signed Tiffany windows. (!!!) As with the cathedral in Covington earlier this morning, the sun was so bright, I could not get great photos. Nevertheless, what a thrill it was to be there and see these windows.

Then we drove west, past Indianapolis, across southern Illinois which is as flat as a pancake… farm lands and skies as far as you can see, and finally arriving in St. Louis, Missouri where we will stay for a couple of days. They have had terrible rains here lately and the Mississippi River is swollen to dangerous levels. We are hopeful the nice weather now will help speed up the receding water levels.

Here are the photo highlights of day 23 – Arriving St. Louis

What a day, what a day. It rained, it poured, then the sun shone bright on my old Kentucky home.

We weren’t in any rush to head over to Churchill Downs today because of the wet weather. We waited until 3:00pm and then got dressed to go. Monica donned her new hat and I my new Darth Vader bow tie!!! Funny story… I didn’t have a tie until a couple of days ago when Monica and I visited a nearby shopping mall… she was looking for a red accent flower for her ivory hat. We wandered into a novelty store that was playing loud music for the 20 something crowd. At that moment we walked in, the British jazz-rap group, Us3, was playing “Dark Side” (actually quite a melodious tune). Monica spotted the bow tie as if it was calling my name.

We spent the morning studying the horses and by noon, Monica had her picks and I had mine…. “Always Dreaming”. I knew nothing about the horse or his history…. I just connected with his name. It suited me.

At 3:00, off we went on foot for the 20 minute walk to Churchill Downs. The crowd today was 150,000 strong and we had to push our way through to the wager wickets as soon as we arrived. My bet was $6 on #5 Always Dreaming ‘across the board’ (cost me $18 total). Bets placed, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon watching both the people and the horse races.

At 6:50 pm, Harry Connick Jr. sang the National Anthem and it was time for the 143rd run for the roses. Just then the sun came out in full force and the crowd exploded in the grandstand as the horses exploded from the gates. Guess who won? Always Dreaming came in first and I made $61 on my $18 bet. What a great experience… definitely something you’d have to be there for to really understand.

After the race, we packed up and drove out of Louisville and headed north toward Cincinnati… chatting and reliving the day’s moments all the way to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow is Sunday and we are going to church… a very special church. I can hardly wait.

Here are the highlights of day 22 – Saturday at the Kentucky Derby

Woo hoo, let it rain! Surprisingly, we slept pretty good in our little tent last night. However, the dash to the showers this morning was a good soaking as was the dash back to the car. We sat there for a couple of hours to dry out and waited for the breakfast pavilion to open at 8:00 where we were first in line for all-you-can-eat-breakfast and then spent the next four hours (dry) watching live TV coverage of the Kentucky Oaks preliminary show on the sports network.

Today (the Oaks) is all about the fillies. Tomorrow (the Derby) will be for the colts. Monica spent the morning studying the horses and how to place the bets. What a complex system it is; win, place, show, trifecta, boxed-trifeca, superfecta… Oy-Vay! I left all that to her and was just happy to take the photos.

At 1:30 we caught the shuttle over to Churchill Downs (5 minutes from our campground) to watch the afternoon races and prepare for the main event at 6:15. That’s when the three-year old females run. Monica placed her bets early for the main event and then we strolled around the grounds enjoying the immense and colorful crowd. Lots of beautiful and bizarre costumes and hats. It rained all day and the temp never got above 10 degrees. Some poor girls were so scantily dressed it was obvious they were freezing and very uncomfortable. However, despite the weather, the mood was light and the air filled with excitement. One distasteful note is the many cigars that were being sold and smoked all around us… gag and gross!

There were several races throughout the afternoon. We watched in the paddock area where the horses and jockeys come parading in for the cameras. As a lark during one of the preliminary races, Monica placed a bet on a silver-bay fillie that caught her eye, Dream Dancing, and won $11… woo-hoo! However, she lost her shirt on the main event… sad face. The irony of it was that the three horses she chosen for a trifecta were all in the lead coming around the last turn… Mon was so excited… then they fell back and we’re passed in the home stretch. All in all, a fun and thrilling experience which gave us a better idea on how to go about it tomorrow at the Derby.

Back at the campground we met our tenting neighbours, nice fellows from Mississauga, had hot dogs and nachos for supper (only because we were starving and the other option was dried out pizza) and popped in for a minute to see the girl fights at the campground pavilion. That’s right, girl fights! The most disturbing thing about that was just how “into it” some of the crowd was. I share this with you just to illustrate how red-neck central this place is. After 10 minutes of that we went to bed (10:00 pm) but the music and hootin’ and hollerin’ went on until well after midnight.

It’s 4am now as I finish this, the sky has cleared (finally) but the temp has fallen to 7 degrees and Mon and I have come to the car to get warm. That’s it for the tent! It was a good idea at the time but just got too wet in all the rain. Tomorrow night after the Derby, we will pull out of here early and find something more comfortable.

Here are the photo highlights of day 21 – Friday at the Oaks

This is Thurby, the Thursday before the Derby. Normally there would be lots of social activities going on at Churchill Downs but it’s been raining hard all day so the crowd is somewhat subdued.

To pass the time today, we explored around Louisville a bit in our car. First we visited the Cavehill Cemetary (the rain held off perfectly as we coasted around this beautiful cemetary finding such notables gravesites as Muhammed Ali and Colonel Sanders. Some of the statues and monuments are very elaborate and some have stained glass. There is also a Comfederate/Union soldier section here as well.

Next we found an amazing Antique Mall with two floors and endless little rooms filled with treasures. What a great time. You could go around the place 20 times and find something different each time.

In the afternoon, we drove to Churchill Downs and visited the Derby Museum. Your visit starts in a theater with a huge 360 degree screen on which they give you an excellent 15 minute history of horse racing highlighting some of the famous winners of the past. Let me tell you, it is extremely emotional even for someone like me who is not a horse lover. I could tell Monica was floating on air.

Finally we drove out of the city to a nearby shopping mall where Mon found a colorful accent for her new hat and I found the most amazing bow tie. Can’t wait to show that off on Saturday.

Supper was at Applebee’S Restaurant for chicken and steak and then back to the Derby Camp ground to see if our tent had floated away. Happy to say our little $15 K-Mart tent is holding up so far but tonight we are blogging from the car and enjoying the country and rock and roll music mix from the camp ground disc jockey. Would you believe we are actually having fun. As I finish writing this, Pink Floyd is blaring over the loud speakers “Wish You Were Here”.

Here are the photo highlights of day 20 – Cemetaries, Antiques and Museums

Beautiful morning to drive over the spectacular Great Smokey Mountains National Park from Cherokee to Pigeon Forge. The views are breathtaking and the distance hills really do have a blue tinge to them… aptly named the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lots of turkeys.

We drove past Dolly World for the shots and carried on to Louisville and found our campground… the Derby Park Five Expo… and set up our tent. This place is red-neck central. Loud country music till 10:30pm, and real live entertainment this weekend…might get Mon up for a karaoke! Plus a flea market on site and all you can eat breakfast. Lots of RVs here but we are the only tent so far.

We are right at the end of the Louisville airport runway. Plus, the main thoroughfare into the city is 20 feet away.., you can really feel the Harley Davidsons when they roar past. Great fun!

We found a nice taxi driver, Paul, who took us downtown and picked us up later. Lovely city… especially at dark. There is a pedestrian only foot bridge over the Ohio River. It changes color continuously.  We strolled out on to it for some shots before home to bed in our tiny tent. The rain started at midnight.

Here are the photo highlights of day 19 – Arriving Louisville

A wondrous thunder storm rumbled through the night bringing clear blue skies and cooler temps in the morning as we left Charlestown and headed west toward the Great Smokey Mountains. It was a long driving day with two stops along the way;

1. The city of Ashville, North Carolina where we planned to see the Biltmore mansion built by George Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt of Newport fame. This mansion claims the title of America’s largest house. However, the entry tour price of $60 per person changed our minds. Instead we headed downtown to stroll through the shops of the renowned Grove Arcade. Monica bought some real cotton seed pods for a future wreath. While she shopped, I stepped next door to photograph the magnificent circular Bacilica of St. Lawrence, with its spectacular stained glass windows. (see Gallery/World Windows for all the photos).

2. Hendersonville, North Carolina known for its antique shops. What a lovely town. We started the visit with a refreshing cold one and shared an order of potato skins (they give you the entire potato…delicious). Then we shopped. The find of the day was much to Monica’s delight… Wedgewood “Silver Ermine” china… enough to finish the set that we got as wedding presents and then some. It is a discontinued pattern and she has been searching for it for years. She walked out of the store with $650 US worth of china for $100. Can’t beat that with a stick.

Finally we came to the town of Cherokee and found our hotel.  We are actually in a Cherokee Reservation and the town is fully equipped with casino, bingo hall and many authentic craft shops. Very touristy and very lovely nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tomorrow will go over these mountains.

Here are the photo highlights of day 18 – Charleston to Cherokee

Despite the forecast of a possible thunderstorm, we had sunny 28 degree weather all day with a strong easterly breeze that helped to blow off the stink.

We caught the bus downtown at 9:00 and spent the next 7 hours exploring the historic 350 year old streets of the city. What interesting history and fantastic architecture. The highlights of the day included:

• Strolling past the Medical University of South Carolina and then through the campus of the College of Charleston…beautiful with its ancient moss-covered oak trees
• The small and exquisite (plus air conditioned) Saint Mary of the Annunciation church – surprisingly beautiful windows
• The huge and extremely exquisite Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
• (my favorite) Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church (1750, oldest church in Charleston) – Tiffany windows. George Washington and Robert E. Lee worshiped here.
• Strolling past the stately mansions along the waterfront
• The Slave Market Museum – absolutely gut wrenching how the slaves were treated
• The French Protestant Huguenot Church – oldest Huguenot church in America. Several US presidents are Huguenot descendents
• The Dock Street Theater (1736) – rebuilt in the 1930s for $20 million and in use today
• St. Philip’s Church (Anglican) – only one stained glass window. Almost as old as St. Michael’s
• Charleston City Market – 3 blocks of artisans selling local crafts… the Gullah (southern Black) sweet grass baskets started at $100 … we decided not to get one. However, someone did get a nice hat for the Derby.
• Dinner at Poogan’s Smokehouse – pulled pork with mac ‘n cheese for Mon and southern fried chicken with collard greens for Nelly. Really good!

Sounds like a busy day but everything is really close in Charleston and all within easy walking distance. Nevertheless, the heat had us tuckered out by 4:00 so it was home to relax at the hotel and take a refreshing dip in the pool. Tomorrow we head for the hills.

Here are the photo highlights of day 17 – Charleston

We were on the road at 5am for the eight hour drive to Charleston with just one 10 minute stop at Rodanthe Pier to enjoy the dawn on the Atlantic.

Many miles… nothing much to report except an interesting note that instead of raccoons and skunks, the road kill down south is possums and armadillos.

At 1:30pm we arrived just outside Charleston to tour the Boone Hall Plantation, dating to the late 1600s when English born Captain Patey arrived in North America and was granted the 735 acre lot by King Charles. His daughter married a Boone and Cpt. Patety gave the land to them as a wedding gift. Thus began the legacy of several generations of Boones and the wealthiest plantation in North America in its day (pecan orchards and brick production), built on the backs of the slaves brought directly from Africa. The site today is still privately owned and we were only allowed to tour the downstairs of the mansion, the gardens and the slave quarters. It is very beautiful and very interesting, especially the story of the slaves.

By late afternoon, we headed toward Charleston, found our hotel and took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Then we caught the bus into town and found supper at the Charleston Crab House. Appetizers of fried green tomatoes and crab bisque then mains of shrimp ‘n grits and seafood trio  (scallops, shrimp and grouper). Wonderful food … very filling.

We strolled a bit of the waterfront to settle supper before catching a cab back to the hotel for the night.

Here are the photo highlights of day 16 – Arriving Charleston

Before we left Petersburg Virginia this morning, we had a very special stop to make…  The Old Blanford church which is today a Confederate Memorial site.

We were out of the hotel at 9am but the church didn’t open until 10 so we spent the next hour exploring the historic part of the city of Petersburg. Established in the mid 1600s, it was, for the next 200 years, a major hub of industry and commerce on the eastern seaboard as well as an important strategic point in the Civil War of the 1860s (north against the south over the abolishment of slavery).

Then it was time to visit the Old Blanford church. We walked into the visitors center exactly at 10 o’clock and were the only guests there. We were greeted by our guide Chuck. We had him all to ourselves as he led us through the cemetary and into the church all the while weaving the story of the southern Confederate army and the townspeople of Petersburg as they defended their city against the Union army of the north. In the vast cemetary surrounding the church are buried 30,000 confederate soldiers!!!

The church itself was designated a Confederate Memorial site in 1901 by the Women’s Memorial Association who commissioned Louis Comfort Tiffany to create 15 stained glass windows to honor the dead. These windows were paid for by the 13 Confederate States, 1 by Maryland who was a southern sympathesizer, and one donated by Tiffany himself (the Cross of Jewels). All are signed by Tiffany. They are absolutely spectacular… most windows depict of a martyred Saint. Photos are not allowed inside the church so I bought a gift store booklet and photographed the colored pictures for my blog. These pics cannot show the real beauty. You would have see them for yourself to really appreciate them.

Carrying on, we drove south and out onto the narrow spit of land called the Outer Banks. Only wide enough in places for the 2-lane road, it is essentially a sand dune that extends for many miles along the Atlantic coastline.

We passed through Kitty Hawk, famous as the site where the Wright brothers made history with the first sustained powered flight and now a congested tourist trap of outlet malls and kiddy amusement parks.

We stopped for some photos on the Rodanthe Pier … Monica loved the movie “Nights in Rodanthe” with Richard Gere.

We stopped to see the Bodie Lighthouse… beautiful… black and white horizontal stripes.

Finally we came to Buxton and found our hotel for the night. Here we visited the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse… so lovely with its black and white spiral stripe. This lighthouse was physically moved almost a mile inland in 1999 because of coastal erosion. At 210 feet, it is the tallest brick lighthouse in America and 29th tallest in the world.

Supper was at the Diamond Shoals Restaurant next door to our hotel. Tuna for me and crab cakes for Mon. Sufficient but uninspiring. After supper, we strolled to the beach to watch the fishermen and enjoy the Atlantic surf in the warm evening breeze.

Here are the photo highlights for day 15 – Outer Banks of North Carolina

A short post today as far as activities go but a long day covering 10 kms of walking in 30 degree clear blue skies. The shorts and t-shirts are out of the suitcase now.

We left our apartment at 9am and drove 5 minutes to visit the Smithsonian Historic site and home of Frederick Douglass, African-American, abolitionist, popular orator and statesman in the mid 1850s and a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln. His house sits high on Cedar Hill overlooking Washington. It didn’t open for public tours until 9:30 but we were anxious to move on to our major stop of the day before leaving Washington, so we didn’t bother waiting around… just a few pics and we continued on.

The next three hours were a very poignant and beautiful stroll through the gorgeous 1100 acre Arlington Cemetary… where approximately 400,000 soldiers and military leaders are buried. At any point in the cemetary, you are surrounded by a sea of white tombstones. The symmetry of the rows is hypnotic as they undulate back and forth over the knolls.

Highlights of our tour included:

• The interpretive center (aka museum)
• The grave of President J. F. Kennedy
• The grave of President Taft
• The monument to Robert E. Lee
• The monument to the crew of the Challenger (1986 just 3 weeks before Ryan was born) and the Columbia (2003)
• The tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we saw the changing of the Guard
• The monument to all nurses who served in the military

Leaving Arlington, we took Ryan to the airport, hugged him goodbye and made our way out of Washington… very slowly … in 3 lanes of snail-pace traffic that took 2 hours to drive 30 miles. Oy-Vay!

Eventually we made it to Petersburg, Virginia and pulled into the Holiday Express for the night. So glad to be here now. Looking forward to seeing some North Carolina coastline tomorrow.

Here are the photo highlights of day 14 – Arlington Cemetary

The morning dawned beautiful and warm. I stepped outside early to breathe the air and enjoy the signature sounds of distance sirens and rap music 😐

Our final day in Washington was another marathon walking day covering 12 kms to see all the wonderful monuments around the National Mall; Jefferson, F.D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., the Korean War, Lincoln, the Vietnam War including the Three Soldiers and the Women of Vietnam statues, WWII, the Washington obelisk and finally the White House. All superb monuments and we could really sense the respect and emotions other people around us were showing.

After the White House, we stepped into the very small and historical New York Avenue Presbyterian church to see the Lincoln Window. This is where many past Presidents worshiped and notables like Martin Luther King Jr preached. The stained glass windows are modern and superb, especially the Lincoln Window. I was very glad for the chance to visit.

Lunch, at Ryan’s request, was at MacDonald’s… yes, I know!

The final stop for the day was the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery (same building). Four floors of notable American artists, thousands of art works, thoroughly enjoyable and very sore feet when finished. My most anticipated viewing was the beautiful stained glass peacock windows by John Lafarge. I’ve long admired them in books and online but to see them in person is beyond amazing. They are truly mesmerizing.

Supper was a relaxing meal back at the apartment where Monica made us steaks and salad. Yum!

Tomorrow we wrap up Washington and take Ryan to the airport with a couple of interesting stops on the way.

Here are the photo highlights of day 13 – The Monuments and the American Art and Portraits Museum

The weather gradually improved all day and turned out quite balmy by afternoon. It was another big walking day which covered 10 km in total taking us to three more major attractions, the first of which was one I had been looking forward to for a very long time.

1. The National Cathedral: Officially called the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul but known commonly as the National Cathedral, this Episcopalian church is the second largest in North America and the sixth largest in the world. There are 215 stained glass windows in this Cathedral!!! , so you can imagine my excitement as we entered. There was a service in session so we killed a half hour by taking the elevator to the 7th floor observatory for sweeping views of Washington and then down into the crypts to get lost in the labyrinth of chapels. Down there, we found the tomb of Helen Keller.

This cathedral is absolutely spectacular in every way but the windows are truly out of this world. Most are of a more modern design style compared to European cathedrals we have seen but the colors are probably more spectacular. Each window presents a different major color theme and there are two levels of windows with the upper ones being the largest. This gives the entire building a spectral intensity. It just blew me away! One window in particular, “The Space Window”, is the world’s most expensive stained glass window because it contains an actual piece of moon rock donated by the three astronauts of Apollo 11; Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins. I also really loved the three huge rose windows in the north, south and west transepts and I bought a small souvenir sun catcher of one of them. Monica and Ryan waited patiently for me as I made two passes around the interior. See Gallery/World Windows for all the photos.

2. The Smithsonian Zoo: A free admission park, very well done as far as the animal enclosures go, but I found it quite smelly (ammonia). I’m not a big fan of zoos as I feel the animals must get bored and therefore unhappy. However, they do have their place and help to preserve endangered species. This zoo actually has pandas (two adults and a baby). This was the first time I’ve seen real panda… cool! There were lots of children in the park and the guides were helpful and patient with them.

3. The Ford’s Theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. It is still a working theater today but between shows is a museum for the public. It is very well done. At the end of the tour, the audience is seated in the theater and given the history lesson by a National Park Ranger (this being a national historic site). She wove an intriguing tale taking us through the events leading up to that night on April 14th when John Wilkes Booth crept into the theater, entered the president’s theater box and shot him in the back of the head. Lincoln actually lived for 9 hours and died next morning in a hotel across the street (you can tour that as well but the line up was too long for us).

For dinner, we strolled into Chinatown, through the Friendship Arch and found a great low key restaurant (Joy Luck) and had really good, nothing weird, and very inexpensive Chinese food. Then home to relax. It was another great day.

Here are the photo highlights for day 12 – The National Cathedral, Zoo and Ford’s Theater.

Today was an 8-hour sight seeing marathon to see three major attractions;

1. Capitol Hill – we had 10:30 tour reservations and arrived 45 minutes early at Emancipation Hall (visitor’s center). While waiting, we enjoyed the several sculptures on display including, just to name a few, astronaut John Swigert of Apollo 13 fame (Colorado), Chief Washakie (Wyoming) and Helen Keller (Alabama) plus the full size plaster model of “Freedom” from which the bronze statue that graces the pinnacle of the Capitol building was cast. At 10:30, we got in line with hundreds of rambunctious school children. Fortunately we found a small group of adults only ☺ and enjoyed the tour around the Capitol Museum Gallery. No photos allowed! 😡 plus the main rotunda was closed today due to a special function for holocaust survivors so we didn’t get to see the magnificent artwork of the dome. C’est la vie.

After the tour we visited and actually sat in on live sessions of both the House of Representatives (someone was not happy that Donald Trump has not produced his tax returns for the past several years) and the Senate (Senator Ted Cruz was chairing the meeting on endorsements for the new Deputy Attorney General).

2. Library of Congress: WOW!!! What a beautiful building… so ornate. This really made up for not seeing the rotunda in the Capitol. We saw the great reading room plus several exhibits covering WWI, discovery of the Americas as well as historical art and documents.

3. The Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space. Fantastic displays covering everything imaginable to do with flight from Davinci’s first models to the Hubble Telescope images of distant space. Very amazing!

Dinner was a couple of blocks away at the Elephant and Castle restaurant for a hearty meal and then home for the evening. Wonderful day.

Here are the photo highlights of day 11 – Washington Capitol,  Library of Congress and the Museum of Air and Space.

It rained all day but we didn’t care. Our plans for the day mostly kept us inside where we covered two major attractions: The Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Bacilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

1. The Smithsonian Museum of American History is free admission like all the Smithsonians. We spent nearly 4 hours perusing the three floors exploring the many exhibitions that tell the tale of how the United States came to be and continued to develop into a world super power. All aspects of American life were presented from politics to religion to entertainment to industry and more. The quality of this museum is exemplary… everything done with perfection. We were very glad to have Ryan as our personal history guide.

2. The Bacilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the largest Roman Catholic church in the USA and the second largest in North America (after one in Mexico). It is way beyond opulent and covers two full floors of space. Although the stained glass is certainly beautiful, it is the mosaics that dominate the decor. The vastness of the interior, however, makes it difficult to capture the beauty in photos. All you can do is look up with your mouth open and whisper “Oh, wow”. Unfortunately, the central dome is undergoing mosaic completion and won’t be ready for public viewing until December 2017.

Hungry after six hours of the above, we found a great restaurant called Busboys and Poets and enjoyed talking about everything we had seen today over our meal. Then home to relax and blog.

Here are the photo highlights of day 10 – Washington Museum of American History and the Bacilica

As we prepared to leave Lancaster County this morning, we were up with the chickens and enjoyed the sunrise over the Amish farm next to our hotel. What a beautiful sunrise it was and to our delight, two hot air balloons rose over the farm and drifted over the hotel. It was so quiet I could hear the people talking in the baskets.

The final destination today would be Washington DC but we had a very special stop planned on the way. Since it was Sunday morning, we wanted to go to church in Baltimore at the Brown Memorial Presbyterian church specifically to see the Tiffany stained glass windows but were treated to much more than just the  windows.

Service was not until 11 am but we arrived early (9:30) and stepped inside to photograph the windows before the crowd arrived. As luck would have it, we caught the music rehearsal of the morning’s special music guest group, Soulful Revue. Incredible! I had goose bumps the whole time. Here is a 3 minute clip of them practicing A Change Is Gonna Come by composer, Sam Cooke, and sung by soloist James Cox.

The Tiffany (and other) windows in this church are breath taking… two of them must be almost 30 feet high and are the largest Tiffany windows in existence (see Gallery/World Windows for all photos). The colors are absolutely astounding and as the sun rose higher in the sky and came around the southside side of the church during the morning service, the windows glowed brighter and brighter.

Waiting for service to start, we strolled around the block, found a coffee shop, stepped into another church (Corpus Christie) just for a shot before Mass started, saw the Maryland College of Art, strolled past lovely brownstone town houses and then back to Brown Memorial for the 11:00 service.

The entire service was a delight; the acoustics are phenomenal in this church giving an ethereal quality to the music, the choir was just as fantastic as the special quests, the message was about tolerance for diversity and the importance of belief, the people were friendly and welcoming and those windows are spectacular. We are so glad we did this.

After church, we carried on to Washington and found our apartment for the next five days. We settled in and then caught the subway to Ronald Reagan Airport to meet Ryan who is joining us for the week. Back at the apartment, we relaxed with conversation, wine and pizza as we planned our itinerary for the week.

Here are the photo highlights for day 9 – Sunday Service and Arriving Washington.

Unfortunately, yesterday Monica had taken a wrong step on a sidewalk crack and badly twisted her ankle. It was very swollen and painful this morning so there wasn’t much walking involved today. However, she was good for a drive in the countryside but will will have to lay low for a couple of days so she can be ready for Washington on Monday.

Gentle showers fell all day which freshened the air and made the fields extra green. We headed for the back roads to get lost many times looking for covered bridges and antique stores. We did find both eventually and in between discoveries, thoroughly enjoyed seeing the farmers coming and going about their Saturday morning business with horse and buggy. We did a bit of shopping and actually bought a tent… that’s right, a tent! ($15 at K-Mart). That should be a hoot a little later on in the journey.

For the day’s entertainment, we caught the 11:00 show at the Amish Experience in Intercourse called “Jacob’s Choice”… an experiential movie shown on 5 screens all around the theater (sort of like I-Max except with real wind and rain and smoke) about a young Amish man who wrestles with his choice to leave home to go to college and play baseball or stay with his family and be baptised into the church and live the Amish life of his fore-father’s. It was very poignant yet uplifting at the same time. This experiential theater is supposedly one of only three like it in North America.

Dinner was hearty home-cookin’ at the Good and Plenty Restaurant just down the road from our hotel. Fried Chicken for Mon and Dutch Sampler for me (chicken, meat loaf and pork ‘n sauerkraut). Mmmmmm, very filling and only $10 each (gotta love that).

Tomorrow we head to Washington with a very special stop on the way.

Here are the photo highlights of day 8 – Amish Country

We left Philadelphia at 8:00 with a gentle rain falling and headed north west toward Lancaster County. Traffic was surprisingly heavy all the way. We pulled into a couple of towns along the way to get out and stretch our legs;

• Pottstown – a bit dingy with an industrial feel but some beautiful churches (closed today)
• Reading – as in Reading Railroad fame of the coal industry during the 1800s. City size, some interesting history here. We found a Chinese pagoda high up on the hill overlooking the city. Closed today… as were ALL the churches (sad face)
• Bird In Hand – (funny name) which is in the heart of Amish farmland but has become a tourist trap of mass produced gift shops
• Intercourse – (why they would call it that?, who knows) congested and commercialized with a main highway thoroughfare right through pristine farmland that draws the tourists
• Lancaster – big city… we got groceries here and then got out as fast as we could
• Ronks – here is where our hotel is located

Our hotel is The Old Amish Inn and out our window we have a lovely view of an Amish farm. That will do nicely.  As I write this, the window in our room is open and a warm breeze is bringing the smell of cow manure (I love that… coming from Havelock) and the sky is darkening with the threat of a thunder storm (I love that too).

Tomorrow, Mon and I will seek the back roads away from all this hubbub in search of authentic crafts and enjoy a more peaceful Amish experience.

Here are the photo highlights of day 7 – Arriving Lancaster County