Week 25: Washington DC and Maryland

We are still heading south, week by week, trying to avoid freezing temperatures,
though, the cold weather is catching up to us quickly! We don’t want
to be driving this beast in the snow/ice.

Our Maryland experience included a quick visit to Baltimore and the Inner Harbor, followed
by an evening in festively-decorated Annapolis! I love this place and if I didn’t get
seasick, I would strongly consider living here, on a boat, as many people do.

One of our first stops in this area was to show the girls my old apartment. It was
entertaining to watch the girls wrap their heads around the fact that their
mom had a life BEFORE them. Seeing my apartment brought back some great memories,
most of which I can’t share, but, I am thankful these days were prior to camera phones!

History class this week was spent at Fort McHenry. We learned about Francis Scott Key
and the story behind him writing of The Star-Spangled Banner. Though it was written in
1812, published in 1814, it wasn’t made the national song until 1931. Rumor has it the
melody is to an old English drinking song.

DC Highlights:

My favorite experience this week was watching The Christmas Carol performed in
Ford’s Theater while sitting across from the balcony where John Wilkes Booth shot
Abraham Lincoln. I kept hoping to see Abe’s ghost, but no such luck!

I have been to DC several times, but never while the National Tree was illuminated.
I didn’t know that the tree is surrounded by 50 smaller trees for each of the states?!

Mother Nature worked with us again today, being mid-December, the beautiful weather encouraged
us to rent bikes! Our kick-stands went down at several locations, including: the US Capitol,
Washington Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial (the girls turned the marble into
a slide… at least they will remember something), Jefferson Memorial, Korean War Memorial,
Vietnam Memorial, and my favorite, the Reflection Pond. We had a quick game of tag before
walking over to the White House.

I really like that the girls are getting comfortable riding the train and subway system(s)
and learning that you really don’t need a car in many areas of the country. Pick the life you
want. I say…Live on a boat.

Cheers!

Tina
Boondocks and Bliss