Since all of my takes seemed travel related this week…I thought I would do this thing over here…
Yes, we are travelling this week. It’s not exactly the most relaxing journey I’ve ever taken in my life. I was talking to my neighbor on Sunday. He noted the unfailing signal that we were about to take a trip – the presence of a rental car (in this case minivan, since transporting Stuff was one of the reasons for the trip), but he also noted my subdued tone. “You’re usually pretty upbeat and excited before you all travel…but…this time…” He was right. Fun Things have happened and have been enjoyed on this journey, but it’s also a lot of driving – 11 hours on Monday – and remember, I’m The Driver – and some since, and more tomorrow and the next day, and the worst thing, which is four different hotels along the way. Two of which, weirdly, had lobbies being remodeled which made breakfast awkward and pretty much a mob scene of people balancing styrofoam plates on their way to the elevators back up to their rooms, since their were hardly any tables, and (my favorite) eggs ground into the carpet, always.
I want my week-in-a-vacation-rental back.
So. We have seen.
“Rhine River Cruise”
Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It’s the one Williamsburg thing we had not yet seen in our regular trips up here, so it was time. I will post a longer review later, but I’ll just say that as a @Theme Park Hater, I didn’t hate it as much as I have hated other Theme Parks. I finally decided that the one thing that’s not present here are Characters – Busch Gardens has no television shows, movies or creatures to push on you, so while there are certainly shops everywhere, and everything costs a zillion dollars, the fact that the latest Merchandising Monster was not in your face all the time (or rather, at your side, reaching for your wallet) made it far less irritating.
There be crazy people hanging up there.
I sort of actually liked (I admit) the Italy rides. They were your typical amusement park rides, but gussied up to kind of-sort of look like da Vinci-designed contraptions. I thought that was clever.
You know what’s nice? When they are old enough to do things like this without you.
Roman Rapids. But of course.
Ciao!
Then to DC. A super quick trip. We had been before (as a family) years ago. I think it was the summer after Michael was born, so that would have been 2005. I also lived there ages ago – went to second grade at Patrick Henry Elementary School in Arlington. This time, we had time to see a few things, and see my father’s widow, Hilary, who has made her home here for a long time (when Dad was alive, they split their time between here and Knoxville.)
So. Air & Space.
National Archives, Natural History Museum, 20 minutes in the National Gallery before they kicked us out, and my favorite thing: all of that at night. Lousy pictures. Boo.
Wrong camera. Don’t know how to take night photos anyway. It was gorgeous. Take my word for it.
Tomorrow we start back to Birmingham. Via Charleston. Not kidding. There’s a reason for everything, though.
Until then, the sight they’ll remember with more clarity than seeing the Declaration of Independence, sadly. But probably.
Albino Squirrel in near the National Gallery
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Glad I’m not the only one to have been kicked out of the National Gallery of Art!