Staycation Randomnation

So my staycation is almost over.  On one hand it felt like a real vacation, even though I didn’t leave town, because I spent most of a week playing tour guide to an old friend.  On the other hand, it doesn’t feel like a real vacation because part of my local ‘tour’ involved working for an hour last Saturday on the way to a concert and I spent another hour today doing work.  Completely disconnecting from a 24/7 business is quite the challenge.

A few random notes about this week:

- Every time I show someone around the Washington DC area I appreciate even more the awesomeness (is that a word?) of this place, from the whole notion that this is the capitol of the free world to the majesty of the seats of power to the grand scale of monuments to people and events that shape our nation.

- Whenever I think I know a lot about this area I realize I am still learning.

- I have lived here more than 25 years yet there are some attractions I haven’t visited till now, like Arlington National Cemetery.  Actually, I did see it on a family trip here when I was a kid, but this week was the first time I’ve seen it since then.  What an incredible, haunting, sacred place!

- I saw two somewhat recent monuments for the first time … the Franklin Delano Roosevelt monument and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. monument.  They are near each other and along a beautiful waterfront walk between the World War II monument and the Thomas Jefferson Monument.  Also saw the Lincoln Memorial and the Viet Nam Memorial on that same afternoon.

- Spending time with an old friend from half a lifetime ago is an ‘interesting’ experience.  Can’t say much else about that, other than it’s mostly a good thing.

- I usually try to take photographs with my ‘real’ camera when I go into downtown DC.  During my three adventures down there in the past week I only took my iPhone.  I’m kind of surprised by how good most of the pictures came out.  I still prefer my Nikon though.  Maybe next time.

- I also spent more time in my own wonderful new neighborhood during my staycation.  I went to my two favorite restaurant/bar establishments twice each and tried two others for the first time.  Summer is awesome here.

- Another tour guide adventure is coming next month.

OK, that’s all for now.