I'm back from my sojourn to California. I had some thoughts of skipping it this year and pleading busy. But a promise is a promise, so off I went. In hindsight, I am glad I did.
I very much enjoyed my trip. I got to spend a lot of quality time with friends and family. Thank you to all of you who made the time. I don't think I've ever has so little time to kill on a trip back. I miss you all.
For those keeping score at home this is my sesquicentennial post.
Labels: California, family, friends, vacation
I recently went East to visit Laura and see the sights. Good times. For those who haven't had a chance to visit her I'm happy to report that she has herself setup nicely. Her home is pretty big and remarkably private. (It's tastefully appointed as well.) Her little town of Phoenixville is very Butte-like. According to Laura it's a steel town gone bust (sound familiar?). It's got a cute downtown, and has that local character that is so rare in these days of national big box retail chains. Its located near Valley Forge National Park (which is quite spectacular by the way). I do hear that it's Strawberry Festival sucks, so you might want to skip that.
We had a good time checking out Philadelphia proper, Seeing the Liberty Bell, Exhibits on Ben Franklin and Independence Hall. If your a liberty nut like me its quite interesting. Excellent I highly recommend it. New to Philly is an old-time ice-cream parlor / soda-jerk. It was pretty cool. Its run by some collage kids, they make their own ice-cream, and have waxed facial hair. Delightful.


Laura was sweet enough to take me to Washington DC. I had never been so it was a real treat. It was during the "Rolling Thunder" bike rally so the streets and parks were filled with bikers, vets, and Joan Jett impersonators. It was about 95 degrees and we ended up walking a pretty big circuit. We did the American History and Natural History Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, The FDR Memorial, The Korean War Memorial, The WWII Memorial, and The Jefferson Memorial. Oh and we saw George's House.



My last day of touring we hit Valley Forge. Which is quite cool. Washington seems like quite the dynamic cat. We took a trolley tour which the only run on special holidays, with a ranger that was quite knowledgeable. I recommend it as a stop.

Visiting Laura was a pleasure. Plus I fixed her porch light. She also has learned that I am a culinary genius and am not to be questioned. :)

Labels: friends, image, vacation