Blogs from District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 94

I've already had days where, just after finishing up on the internet, something has happened to me which changes the whole outlook for the next day. And this has usually involved meeting somebody. Last night was no exception, except that this time I had already met the person. He was staying up in my room. Let me tell you about the room and the living area of mine for the past two nights. It was obviously somebody's home, that had been converted in a way so that they could host visitors. My thoughts upon this all boil down to the fact that they are Quaklers, and quite possibly this house was originally changed so that they could hold Quaker meetings and have like minded people in the same place, which would lead to brilliant nights of ... read more

Last night was not my best night. It was down to the fact that I changed my plans, so instead of travelling up to Montreal and the marvellous French Canadian areas, I was making the opposite journey of going to Washington DC. The DC stands for District of Columbia, just in case you were wondering. The thing about that is I am a cheapskate. Part of that involves me not wanting to spend more than I have to, and in this case, my question was this; Why pay 40 dollars for a room when you have a perfectly good bus seat to sleep on? I am missing the point right now, so I'll explain. Montreal is 8 1/2 hours away and DC is only 4 1/2. 7 hours sleep is a good night for me, 4 ... read more

There were plenty of things cooking in Washington DC last week including yours truly. Our nation's capital is infamous for its summertime heat and humidity. I, along with the locals and out-of-town tourists, was overcooked, almost burned in the soaring outside temps. Food: That was a big part of what last week (June 23-27) in DC was all about. The 39TH annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival was taking place on the National Mall. Sheltered under giant canvas tents from DC’s sweltering late June heat , Food Culture USA gave center stage to famous chefs, everyday cooks, farmers, and food lovers in general, all of whom, shared their knowledge about food. An Edible Schoolyard display was set up with The Capitol Building as a backdrop; beans (frijoles), corn, tomatoes, herbs, cukes, sunflowers, kale, lettuce, nasturtiums and much more ... read more

So much has happened that I don’t know where to start - it seems impossible that we have only been away 3 weeks! Perhaps the Shenandoah Valley is a good place because it is so beautiful in the spring and we really enjoyed it when Phil took us there the first weekend. On the way on Saturday we went to the new Smithsonian air and space museum at Dulles airport. Aircraft are displayed in huge hangers that give much greater opportunity to exhibit some of the larger planes such as the Enola Gay (of WW2 Hiroshima fame), a 707 and a Concord. It also covers helicopters and light aircraft as well as some of the very early flying machines. One section is devoted to space travel. The museum in the city is still there and you ... read more

After the great time we had in Japan (I’ll attach a few more images to start with- but I'm having trouble uploading photos from a 1770 house in Harrisonburg,Virginia! We may have to put them up when we are back in Washington) we moved on to Chicago with all the usual jet-lag and confusion that comes from changing time zones. In addition we struck the start of a cold spell in the mid north east of the country that brought rain, cold winds and some snow. The thermals and rain gear came out and the weather didn’t stop us exploring Chicago. What a fascinating city. It has completely renewed itself after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 which destroyed buildings in the centre of the city at the rate of 65 acres an hour. The reconstruction ... read more