It was a wonderful trip, despite the memories being slightly poisoned by what happened when we got back.
We flew to Baltimore on the 8th, picked up a rental car, then drove to Bowie, MD, where our granddaughter, Emily, lives and where we had a motel room reserved.
We spent the first weekend with Emily and felt that we bonded with her in a significant way. It was a delightful time. On Friday evening, after we arrived, we took her out to eat and talked endlessly. She loves the Baltimore Inner Harbor and the aquarium there, so we spent Saturday up there. Lots of walking around in the heat and humidity, but it was a happy time anyway. We ate dinner at the Rusty Scupper, a high-end restaurant on the Inner Harbor; she likes the place, and at the time we weren't worried about money, fortunately. (Had I known what was coming, the vacation would have been less happy.) On Sunday, the three of us went to see the new Star Trek movie. Leonore and I liked it quite a bit. Emily loved it. She said it was the best movie she'd ever seen. When I was 15, I would have agreed. Then we took her to dinner at a restaurant and talked much more. Really, it was a marvelous time for us, and Emily seemed to enjoy it greatly too.
We hope so much that she'll come out here to visit Daniel and us. Unfortunately, the idea of traveling this far without her family seems to unnerve her. We'll just mention it from time to time, avoiding pressure, and hope that eventually she'll give it a try.
After that, we drove to Leesburg, VA to spend a few days with Bob and Virginia, friends who used to live in Denver. They have an enormous house in a new development outside Leesburg. There are sprawling developments there, bedroom suburbs for DC. I'm sure it was much more charming 100 years ago, but it was beautiful to us because of the astonishing greenery and lushness. We were also in luck with the weather, which was cool and pleasant instead of the heat and humidity we dread. We spent time catching up on old times and, in my case, drinking lots of bourbon, of which Bob is an afficionado. He's enjoying being retired. He said that every day is like Saturday, and every night is like Friday night. Of course, they have that huge house and lots of money, neither of which most retired people have.
They took us into DC to show us how to get to the Metro station, etc. The four of us walked around the Mall and spent a few hours in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I looked at space vehicles that I had worked on in the 60s and 70s but had never actually seen before -- an odd thought. We took photos. I also saw German WWII V1 and V2 rockets, which the Germans fired at me when I was a baby in England. (When I was working at NASA in Houston in the late 60s, I ran into Werhner von Braun. I wanted to jump up and down in front of him and say, "You missed me!" But I didn't.)
The next day, Leonore and I went back to DC and the Mall by ourselves and walked for hundreds of miles. We didn't go into the museums but instead walked down the Mall, past the Washington Monument, along the tidal basin (missed the cherry blossoms by a couple of weeks), into the Jefferson Memorial (one of my favorite presidents), on to the Lincoln Memorial, then back. We had intended to include the White House, but Leonore was exhausted by that point, so we skipped it. Ate some food and then took the Metro back.
I loved downtown Washington. I had expected it to be cold and sterile, acres of marble. Instead it seemed warm and friendly. The good weather probably helped. I'd love to go back, but I suppose it would be best to avoid the middle of summer or winter.
Then we went to Bethesda and had a fine time with my old college roommate, whom I hadn't seen since about 1965. He's aged, of course, but he talks and laughs and stands the same way as long ago. We both liked his wife very much. It was a very nice visit, and I hope we'll have a chance to see them again soon. They didn't seem inclined to head west, so it will probably have to be there again. I'm so glad we were able to do that.
Then we drove to NYC to stay with Lisa, Leonore's dorm mate from Indiana U, and her husband, Andrew. We didn't go into Manhattan this time. (We did last year, when we visited Lisa and Andrew.) Instead we spent one day at the NY Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo, followed by dinner in the Bronx's Little Italy section. At the Gardens, we met up with another old college friend of Leonore's, whom we hadn't seen in 45 years or thereabouts. That was a nice surprise. The next day, we went to The Cloisters. Both days, it was chilly and rainy, which Leonore and I loved. The natives bitched about it. Everything we saw was lovely. If only all of NYC were like that. The drive to La Guardia on Monday morning, through rush-hour traffic, was a fucking nightmare.
Thanks to the two-hour time difference, we got home about 2 p.m., so I was able to do the weekly grocery shopping and get ready for the next day at a leisurely pace. Then I went to work on Tuesday and got laid off.
7 comments:
Thanks so much for writing all that, David. It's quite a good summary of our trip. You write a lot more succinctly than I ever seem able to.
On Sunday, the three of us went to see the new Star Trek movie. Leonore and I liked it quite a bit.I expect a longer review, of course... ;) I've done my homework already.
When I was working at NASA in Houston in the late 60s, I ran into Werhner von Braun. I wanted to jump up and down in front of him and say, "You missed me!" But I didn't.Ha! I had to admit a certain amount of amusement when I went to Huntsville, AL to find that the main convention hall is the "Von Braun Center." Any time his name comes up, I sing the eponymous Tom Lehrer song to myself. Need to go listen to that again.
I loved downtown Washington. I had expected it to be cold and sterile, acres of marble. Instead it seemed warm and friendly. The good weather probably helped.I had the same reaction. I fell in love almost instantly. When we were there, there was a farmer's market right off Dupont Circle, where our hotel was. It was just alive, in a way that many major American cities aren't. I need to go back when there isn't a Puerto Rican wedding going on (Puerto Rican family + Girsch = day-long hangover; it's almost axiomatic. But I digress.)
I'd love to go back, but I suppose it would be best to avoid the middle of summer or winter.By all means, avoid August, when we were there. The humidity was almost unbearable. There's a good reason why Congress is in recess then. I'd expect late April/early May to be a good time, or October.
The drive to La Guardia on Monday morning, through rush-hour traffic, was a fucking nightmare.Driving in NYC is almost never a good idea. We took the subway everywhere, but then we mostly stayed in Manhattan. For us, the cab ride to La Guardia was trouble free, but once we got TO the airport, the access roads were under construction and we had to circle a couple of times before getting to where we really needed to go.
Hrm, not sure why my line feeds after the close italics were ignored...
Next time, I'll look into leaving from some other airport, perhaps somewhere in New Jersey, instead of either of the NYC airports.
I can imagine how awful the humidity is in August in DC. I lived in Houston for four (hundred thousand) years, and I spent much of that time looking for a job to the north and west. Leonore's family lives/used to live in Mobile and Baton Rouge, and I've spent time in both in the summer. And in Florida, with my parents. They're all Hell. Philadelphia would have been a much better site for our capital.
Yes, I keep thinking of that song, too. He aimed for the Moon but hit London. The nasty part is that he didn't mind hitting London so long as that meant funding for rocket development. His supporters claim that he wasn't a Nazi at heart, just an engineer who dreamed of space flight. But he was clearly as cold blooded as any Nazi, whether it came to hitting London or working slaves to death.
Ah, the Star Trek movie. It was like a really good episode of the original show (the real Star Trek), with a much bigger budget and much better special effects.
I thought the movie did a very good job of capturing the light heartedness and adventurous spirit of the original, although it generally skipped the seriousness of the moralizing type of episode. Generally, the actors were well chosen. The big exception was Scotty. That wasn't the fault of Simon Pegg, an excellent actor, but rather the decision to make Scotty comic relief. I didn't understand that.
Leonore and I both thought that Zachary Quinto as Spock dominated the movie. Maybe that's because we're Quinto fans due to his performance as Sylar in Heroes.
Philadelphia: Blech.
Star Trek: I mostly agree, although I thought the "here's how we ignore what came before" contrivances were, err, overly contrived.
Also, Quinto was indeed excellent, but even though his role was somewhat limited, I thought Karl Urban as McCoy stole the show.
On to the link whoring! My review is here, and a humorous Onion take is here.
I wish I'd seen your review before. I was wondering why I missed it, but then I realized that it was posted on the day we left on our vacation.
I also liked Bones a lot. Checkov was odd. He was the only one I just couldn't associate with the original version, no matter how hard I tried.
Saw the Onion review before I saw the movie. Very funny.
Post a Comment