Two Hour Monument Tour

There really isn't a better way to see a city than by bicycle. Rance and I pulled into Washington DC at about 1:30pm, unloaded our bikes off the back of the car and gave ourselves two hours to ride around the capital mall to photograph the monuments. We have both been to DC before and last time we were there Rance got some fantastic shots of the Korean Memorial but they are all in low resolution. Now armed with a much better camera we set off.

First stop was the Washington Monument. We realized we were in DC at a perfect time most kids were either back in school or getting ready to go back so the tourist level was low. Making biking even easier around the foot paths.

We hadn't seen the new World War II memorial before; last time we were here it was under construction. It's a beautiful mix of fountain, carvings and granite. I could have spent a little longer here but we didn't have time. We set off towards the Lincoln Memorial, parked our bikes and walked over to the Korean Memorial. Rance got some great shots again and then we headed over to the Vietnam memorial. After a quick call to Rance's Dad we got a couple of names that he would like to have photographed.

From there we hopped back on our bikes and cruised the whole length of the Capital Mall all the way down to the Capital Building. Again the bikes were perfect. We never would have been able to do everything we did if were on foot.

We made it back to our car right at 4pm just as the parking restrictions were going into effect. We loaded up and were back on the road. We spent last night in Newark, DE and are heading out this morning for a quick tour of Philadelphia and then on up to Boston.

Hotel Bed Rating:

1st Bed - Way too soft ( ended up trying to sleep in the bathtub for a couple of hours)
2nd Bed - Way too hard (my back is killing me this morning)

I'm hoping the 3rd bed tonight will be just right.

Pressure to Make it Great

After having taken such a long break from blogging there's a little self induced pressure to make my come back entry something really worthwhile. But I am squashing that pressure with this mild mannered post. I don't know if anyone is even checking this thing anymore...I know I wasn't.

I'm sitting in a Days Inn Motel somewhere outside of Pittsburgh after driving/riding for almost 500 miles today. Rance and I are heading back to Bar Harbor to perform with our friends Jen and Larrance in their theater: ImprovAcadia. Tomorrow we're driving in to Washington DC to spend a few hours taking photographs and just checking out all the monuments see if anything's changed since last time we were there. You never know, Abe could get tired of sitting so erect all the time. I'd like to see him slouch for once.

Then we're off to Boston for a couple of days. I've always wanted to go there and experience the "most European city in America" (I just read that quote in reference to Boston). I don't know what that means but I'm guessing the women don't shave their armpits.

Today's most adorable/gross entry goes to the restroom stall in the first and only Pennsylvania rest stop we visited. I walked opened the door to the "mommy and me" stall to find two toilets side by side in the stall. Quite possibly the last thing I would want to do is urinate with my mom sitting next to me doing the same. The plaque on the bathroom stall showed mommy holding hands with her kid and so as I sat their doing my business staring at the vacant toilet bowl next to me and I tried to come up with anyone I would want to hold hands with at that very moment. The only person who came to mind was Oprah because I was guessing her poo wouldn't stink.

Mike and Duncan I hope you're working hard.

- D