Virginia

Nate and I arrived back home Wednesday night from Virginia. We had a great trip! I went out first with Nate for a few days, then Jon came. Neil and Casey came too, and we all stayed at Hanshill (pronounced "honz hill") for three nights. It was cold in the mornings! On Wednesday, Neil, Casey, Jon, and I drove to DC (stopping at Mount Vernon first), and Nate stayed with my parents.

The DC portion of our trip was fun, interesting, tiring, and wonderful! In the span of two-and-a-half days (Wednesday mid-day through end of Friday), we saw Mount Vernon, all the war memorials (including the new WWII memorial), the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Holocaust Museum, the Supreme Court building (with lecture inside the court room), the Library of Congress (would have liked to have spent more time in here), Georgetown, the National Archives, the National Museum of American History (which houses the Star Spangled Banner, Lincoln's top hat, and has an exhibit with the dresses worn by many first ladies to presidential inauguration balls), Union Station, and the Washington Monument (we got to go to the top!). I might be forgetting something, but I think that's it! We also ate at a bunch of fun restaurants. The highlight of the trip, though, was the White House. On Friday morning, Jon's cousin, James, and his wife gave us a tour inside the White House. It was the same tour one would have been able to take pre-September 11, but now no one can go inside unless by special appointment. Then, later on Friday, we returned to the White House grounds for an HMX departure (even James didn't know what that acronym stands for): we stood on the White House lawn, saw the Marine One helicopter land 20 yards from us, and watched as President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Laura Bush exited the White House, waved (well, Condi didn't wave), and got on the helicopter. President Bush and Condi left from the Oval Office, which was a little farther away from us, but Mrs. Bush walked right in front of us. It was very neat!

Neil and Casey left on a flight out of DC early Saturday morning. Jon and I visited Arlington Cemetery on our way back to Lynchburg. It was very crowded since it was the Saturday before Memorial Day, but it was cool seeing all of the veterans (and hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles).

While we were gone, Nate did great. He didn't fuss one time while we were gone; he was content finding new things to play with in my parents' house (slamming doors, playing with drawer handles, trying to catch Jack's tail) and did really, really well for them. When Jon and I got back on Saturday afternoon, Nate was playing by himself with some blocks in the dining room. Jon and I walked in, he looked up, his eyes got wide, and he got a huge smile on his face. Then he started giggling. He reached for me and I picked him up, and he laughed and kicked his legs. Then he reached for Jon, who held him while he laughed. Then he reached for my mom and did the same thing. Then he reached for me again. He kept going around the circle like that for a couple of minutes.

Jon went home the next day, and Nate and I stayed at my parents' house for three more days. It was a great trip, and it's also great to be home!