Tag / White House

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Travelling The 50 States – District Of Columbia

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the, umm… well, it isn’t really a state, but rather the seat of our federal government.  Founded in 1791 to house our nation’s capital, we present the District of Columbia.

StateDistrict: Columbia
Recognized as a federal district: 1801
Visits: 1

My one trip to Washington, DC came in June of 2019 to celebrate Michael’s graduation from junior high.  After arriving on Sunday night after an afternoon in nearby Baltimore, the week in DC was spent taking in most, if not all, of the tourist and historical sites.

We started things off on Monday with a trip to the Smithsonian Zoo, after which we headed towards the White House to check out the sites.  We followed that up on Tuesday with trips to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Supreme Court Building, and the US Capitol, where we took a tour which led us out through the Library of Congress. We also spent some time on the National Mall, where we saw the Washington Monument

History and culture was put on hold on Wednesday in exchange for some Americana as we traveled to Nationals Park to see the hometown Nationals take on the White Sox.  A trip to the Newseum and the Jefferson Memorial, where we saw a half-dressed Big Bird in-between filming, returned us to the main thrust of the trip on Thursday.  Friday returned to the Mall, where we saw the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, before heading to the National Air and Space Museum and then taking a tour of the White House.  After that, the plan called for a “show” at Ford’s Theatre, but a fire alarm cut that short.  Before heading to the airport on Saturday, we took another trip to the Mall to check out the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial.

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The Dog Days Of Summer

As we prepare to enter the dog days of summer, we have 4 shots of Angelina and Michael.  First, they pose in front of the Beverly Hills sign from New Year’s Eve 2018.  Next is a shot of them from the Capitol Building and then outside the White House from last June’s trip to DC.  Finally, from Warner Bros. Studio is a picture of them next to the Privet Drive street sign from Harry Potter.

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2019: The Year In Travel

Once again, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took this year.  As you may recall from last year‘s wrap-up, the year began in California.

New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, where Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band were performing.  Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade.  However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being.  The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor, and the beach before heading home.

And home is where I stayed for a whole month before heading out to Hawaii in February.  I arrived that first Saturday in February, checking out my surroundings around the resort and down Waikiki Beach after the long flight.  Monday, I took a tour of the island of Oahu, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  Thursday, I traveled over to Pearl Harbor and all of the associated attractions and museums.  Come the following Saturday, it was time to head home on an overnight flight that got me in town very early Sunday morning.

Come June, the whole family headed east to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  We flew into Baltimore, where Dennis, the boys, and I went to breakfast before heading to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants.  On the way to the stadium, we stopped at the grave site of Edgar Allen Poe and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum.  After the game, we walked to the local bus depot, where we caught a bus to Washington DC for the remainder of the trip.

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2020 Calendar

Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year, with entries from 5 different states.  Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2020.

This year’s cover features various shots of Angelina, Danny, and Michael in Washington, DC from our trip to celebrate Michael’s graduation in June.  There are photos from the US Capitol Building, the White House, Nationals Park, and the Supreme Court Building, with a special guest appearance from Abraham Lincoln.

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Fitbit V: Week 19

My best week ever, and my second ever week with over 100,000 steps, with every single day coming in well over 10,00 steps.  Things got started on Sunday, when the whole family flew to Baltimore to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  The boys made a trip to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants before taking a bus to Washington, where we met up with the girls.  All told, I ended up with nearly 12,200 steps.  Monday was the big day of the week, thanks to a trip to Smithsonian Zoo, which netted me over 24,600 steps.  Tuesday, we visited Museum of American History and went on a tour of the US Capitol, leading to 16,100 steps.  Wednesday, we headed to Nationals Park to see the White Sox battle the Nationals, coming in 11 steps shy of 13,000.  Thursday included a trip to the Newseum and the Jefferson Memorial, which left me 4 steps shy of 11,700.  Friday combined the Lincoln Memorial with a tour of the White House and left me 2 steps short of 16,400.  Saturday, the boys went on a walking monument tour before we all headed to the airport, finishing the week with over 11,800 steps.

Total steps: 105,924

Daily average: 15,132