25 September 2009

We have visitors. Tremendous visitors! (part 1)

Last weekend my eldest sister Susan (a.k.a. "1") came to visit me with her husband Mark and their son Keegan. Keegan is three years old, and understands that saying you want something is for amateurs. If you want something, say "I neeeeed it...", because who can argue with what you need?

Saturday morning we visited the Reston Zoo. It's a petting zoo in Reston, about 20 minutes from where I live. It was a great place to visit with kids. Keegan was a bit shy of all of the goats and sheep rushing to the sides of their pens, but he loved the snakes. He did eventually warm up to the baby kangaroo because he was a bit shyer. They also had adorable bunny rabbits of all sizes, who seemed to revel in piling up for photos.

Keegan and Daddy feed the Kangaroo
Bunny Pile Bunny Drink

Then we went to Great Falls National Park. As I had hoped, we saw many kayakers playing in the rapids.

Great Falls National Park Great Falls National Park
Great Falls National Park

... and it gave Keegan a chance to look cute wearing his "pack-pack".

Great Falls National Park

More to come later, where we visit the Udvar-Hazy center and the World War II Memorial.

Gratuitous Cat Picture

Sunbathing Zellie

If there's one thing the Intarwebs doesn't need, it's another cat picture. But ... Zellie is so kyoooooooot!

21 September 2009

Philadelphia, and an update on mom & dad

For Labor Day weekend, Rob and I went to Philadelphia. I had been there before once but I was there for work so I didn't wander around very much. It's only 2.5 hours from the DC area so it was a great pick for a weekend trip.

Our first stop was Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in the 1820s, it was one of the first large prisons in the US. It was intended by its founders to be an all solitary-confinement prison but that did not last into the 20th century. It closed in 1970 and reopened as a historic site in 1994. When I visited briefly five years ago, I still had to wear a hard hat to go inside. No more hard hats and it's a bit more polished now, which I must admit is a bit of a bummer. The prison has a fascinating history which I won't go into here, but if you live in within a few hours drive it's definitely worth a drive!

The first picture shows how the city grew up around the penitentiary. In the middle is the original guard tower, on the right is a newer tower built in the 60s, and in the background is the skyline of Philadelphia. The bottom picture was taken from a catwalk on one of the cell blocks. They do not plan on completely restoring any of the prison, but I love to imagine what it would have looked like.

Towers at Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary

One of the neat things about Philadelphia is all of the public art. The picture on the left is a statue is called "Government of the People". Rob thought it looked like a bunch of people holding up a giant pile of feces and I can't say I disagree. I wonder if the sculptor was inspired by that thought. On the right is Philadelphia's city hall, also a delightful building. I heard that the best view in the city is from atop city hall.

Government of the People Philadelphia City Hall

Philadelphia is just about as saturated with history as the DC area. The picture below is a memorial to all of the soldiers buried in unmarked graves in this public square. The main inscription reads "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness".

Washington Square

Update on my parents . . . they both spent a week in the hospital following their motorcycle accident. They both will need months to be back to normal, and I'm going home in a few days to give my sisters a break and spend the week helping them out. My mom has a broken right ankle which required surgery (no driving for weeks) and my dad has both cracked ribs and vertebrae and a broken right shoulder blade. He has to wear a tight brace around his torso when he is not lying down. I'm very glad that they are going to be okay! Thank you to everyone for the well-wishes.

07 September 2009

Gut-wrenching

Sunday afternoon my parents were riding their motorcycle on M-55 near Cadillac when a car pulled out in front of them. They were unable to avoid colliding with the car. They were both taken to the hospital in Traverse City Sunday night and are expected to be okay, although my dad is in worse shape than my mom. My mom will probably be released from the hospital tomorrow.

I was spending the holiday weekend in Philadelphia when I got the call from one of my sisters and I've been unable to think about much else since then -- especially since I'm so far away and I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was there -- but seeing this picture of the bike in the weeds being photographed by a state trooper was a bit more shocking than I expected.

Yes, motorcycles can be difficult to see, and no one means to cause harm to others when they are driving. That is why SAFE DRIVING IS A FULL-TIME JOB. A moment's inattention can have tragic consequences. Please take the time to look twice.
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