"Last", but not least

As the final "national" holiday in February winds down . . . George Washington's Birthday . . . I thought I'd post a couple pictures about him from Washington. Ironic (at least a little bit) how he was our first president, yet we celebrate him last this month. I "dug through" - or searched through cd's and computer files - to try and find some new pictures that maybe wouldn't be repeats on here. You know, try to keep it at least a little interesting! :-) So, here's what I found:

That's me in front of the light pole with the Washington Monument in the background.

This picture actually has a funny story behind it. Carmen, another travel nurse, and I set out to "explore" the Mall one day during my first contract in DC. We were SO VERY proud of ourselves for finding our way to the subway, getting on the train going the correct direction, AND getting off at the correct stop!!!! Neither of us had a map of the Mall or the downtown area, but we thought "everything's SO big, how can we go wrong?!?" Well, if you know me at all, you know I can get lost just about anywhere without any difficulty!! Of course, we get off at the stop on the south side of the Mall where we're surrounded by the Department of Agriculture buildings. If you've never been there, or didn't notice, these buildings take up about 4-6 city blocks. So, we're standing there on the sidewalk just spinning around trying to see the Washington Monument knowing that if we see it, we can find the rest of the stuff. The part I'm so proud of is that neither of us thought to look UP!!!! For some reason, I guess we thought that everything would be at our eye level (me being the taller of the two of us reaching ALL of 5'4"). Who knows?!? Eventually, one of us thought to look up, and sure enough, there was the monument about 2 blocks down from us. I tell you what . . . give us a premature baby, and we're good to go. Give us pretty much anything else, and we're in trouble!!!!

Washington Monument in the fall of 2006 with the top if the Capitol just visible between the flags.

Washington Monument viewed from the end of the Vietnam Wall, fall 2006.

These two pictures were taken when my friend, Melissa, came up for a few days. We spent some time looking for a place for her family to live during their "tour of duty in DC" last year, but we also took time to do some touristy stuff. Well, in all my wanderings around the Mall (and believe me, there were a bunch), I'd never been able to find the Vietnam Wall. It's not just my lack of direction; it's actually kind of hidden from view. And, trying to be "safe" as I wandered around DC by myself, I didn't take a lot of secluded paths in search of it. So, with our cell phones handy and the buddy system in full force, we set out to find the Vietnam Wall. Turns out, it's not that hard to find if you know which sidewalk to take!!

The "Washington Crab" in little Washington . . . Washington, NC

I couldn't resist throwing this one in! :~) The crab with a portrait of our 1st President located here in NC. TOO FUNNY!! This town is the "first to be named after George Washington" in the country, and this saying is plastered all over the downtown and their brochures. Good times . . .

As I looked through all my pictures from the past 2 years, I was amazed at how many I have of the Washington Monument. I find this strange because it's not really that interesting to look at. All the other presidents have interesting monuments - or at least ones with a statue. Roosevelt's (NOT my favorite!!!!) is definitely the prettiest with something like 5 huge waterfalls throughout it. I wonder why that is. Just something to think about. I had to laugh while looking through all the pictures. I teased Mandy about ALL the pictures of the Washington Monument she took while visiting this past summer, and I realized I had taken probably 10X's that many!! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Have a wonderful weekend! :~)