More travel
What an action-packed week.
stinky_monky and I got back from our trip to Washington DC on Monday, got reconnected to the internet on Tuesday, and I got sick on Wednesday. My head is still stuffed up, but my snot machine is no longer on overdrive. Now I'm in the super sweaty stage that usually indicates the light at the end of the tunnel.
We got word yesterday that our adoption homestudy is done! We had our last interviews with the social workers a couple weeks ago but we were waiting on some documents from California, which appeared in the last couple days. Now we send off the homestudy results to the attorney we've already met with and then decide whether we want to also work with an agency (and then decide which one). But it's a big step! And now the waiting begins...
The trip to Washington was awesome. We expected the Fourth of July weekend to be a madhouse, but there were surprisingly few crowds. The only mobs we saw came on the Fourth, when people crowded Constitution Ave for the Independence Day parade and then when people came together on the west lawn of the Capitol building for the annual PBS concert and the fireworks show. On the Fourth we watched as impersonators of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams read the Declaration of Independence with a fife and drum corps, and then we ducked into the Smithsonian Museum of American History while the crowds watched the parade. It was a bit tingly to be there during the Independence Day celebrations.
During our four days there we toured the Capitol; viewed the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives; wandered through the Library of Congress, the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, and part of Arlington Cemetery; waved at the White House; visited the Washington, Lincoln, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, and got to know the DC Metro system very intimately. We didn't make it to all the places we hoped (especially the Jefferson Memorial and the Air & Space Museum), but we had to save something for our next visit.
Some random pics:
The Capitol building, which had a disappointingly short tour. We only got to see the rotunda (which was still impressive, of course), Statuary Hall, and the crypt where George and Martha Washington were supposed to be buried but plans changed. Since Congress wasn't in session we couldn't see the Senate or House galleries.
I can't escape Ronald Reagan, no matter where I go. Sure, Washington DC is a bad place to try to escape someone who became president, but still...
I'm not going to bore you with shots of every monument or memorial we visited, but I got a couple of neat shots of the Washington Monument. This one has clouds!
The Washington Monument again, but this time with the sun peaking out from behind it! We got hit with a massive rainstorm between the Metro station and the monument, which made for a neat effect.
Us, waiting for the PBS concert and fireworks show.
And now I have to get to work on that dissertation thing...
stinky_monky and I got back from our trip to Washington DC on Monday, got reconnected to the internet on Tuesday, and I got sick on Wednesday. My head is still stuffed up, but my snot machine is no longer on overdrive. Now I'm in the super sweaty stage that usually indicates the light at the end of the tunnel.
We got word yesterday that our adoption homestudy is done! We had our last interviews with the social workers a couple weeks ago but we were waiting on some documents from California, which appeared in the last couple days. Now we send off the homestudy results to the attorney we've already met with and then decide whether we want to also work with an agency (and then decide which one). But it's a big step! And now the waiting begins...
The trip to Washington was awesome. We expected the Fourth of July weekend to be a madhouse, but there were surprisingly few crowds. The only mobs we saw came on the Fourth, when people crowded Constitution Ave for the Independence Day parade and then when people came together on the west lawn of the Capitol building for the annual PBS concert and the fireworks show. On the Fourth we watched as impersonators of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams read the Declaration of Independence with a fife and drum corps, and then we ducked into the Smithsonian Museum of American History while the crowds watched the parade. It was a bit tingly to be there during the Independence Day celebrations.
During our four days there we toured the Capitol; viewed the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives; wandered through the Library of Congress, the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, and part of Arlington Cemetery; waved at the White House; visited the Washington, Lincoln, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, and got to know the DC Metro system very intimately. We didn't make it to all the places we hoped (especially the Jefferson Memorial and the Air & Space Museum), but we had to save something for our next visit.
Some random pics:
The Capitol building, which had a disappointingly short tour. We only got to see the rotunda (which was still impressive, of course), Statuary Hall, and the crypt where George and Martha Washington were supposed to be buried but plans changed. Since Congress wasn't in session we couldn't see the Senate or House galleries.
I can't escape Ronald Reagan, no matter where I go. Sure, Washington DC is a bad place to try to escape someone who became president, but still...
I'm not going to bore you with shots of every monument or memorial we visited, but I got a couple of neat shots of the Washington Monument. This one has clouds!
The Washington Monument again, but this time with the sun peaking out from behind it! We got hit with a massive rainstorm between the Metro station and the monument, which made for a neat effect.
Us, waiting for the PBS concert and fireworks show.
And now I have to get to work on that dissertation thing...