Still Here, But a Little Less So

I am still around, but a lot has happened in the past few weeks.

First off, me and the fam took a vacation to the Capitol the week of July 20. We booked the trip through travelocity.com many months ago right before the gas prices spiked, so we got a really good deal.
it all started out ok except that our flight there was a red-eye flight out of Burbank. Sunday 9:30 p.m. local departure with a Monday 5:00 a.m. arrival. and because we couldn't check in to our hotel until 4:00 p.m. that evening we went 36 hours with no sleep. that is though even without two younger siblings who aren't used to hectic sleep schedules. So instead of wasting the day, my parents decided that we would visit Gettysburg. Which was good for two reasons. First, my brothers could sleep in the car. Second, it gave us a chance to just drive all around and see all of the different monuments marking troop placements, artillery placements, battle lines, places where generals were shot down, and where the first shot was fired from. There were others as well, but there are way too many to list. After all this, we headed for the hotel and went to bed.
Tuesday and Wednesday were our open-topped bus tour days. We went to the Capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial, National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown, the National Aquarium, and of course the White House.
Thursday was the day i was looking forward to the most. That was the day we spent in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I love planes and the history of them and the physics of them, and , and ........ THEM!!!!!!!! but i digress. The X-1. the Wright test kites, and the Wright Flier were definitely the highlights, but there was a ton of other cool stuff there as well.
Friday was spent in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Rocks and minerals are another set of my favs. The colors, shapes, and formation history fascinate me to no end. and the museum has one of the largest collections in the world.
Saturday was the "chill" day. We first went to the National Gallery of Art. Now i know that guys aren't supposed to appreciate art, but i do. Monet, Bierstadt, Manet, De Vince, sculptors galore, and photographers. All have made there own separate contributions to our world culture.
after that we went back to Arlington National Cemetery. Our first visit was short because the bus came back too soon. so we went back to see the chageing of the guard ceremony. we were also able to see a wreath pressentation, which apperently are very few in number.

Vacation was cool. but two days after i got back, River (my car) once again failed on me. that was the last straw. i am now getting rid of her. $6,000+ is way too much to spend on a car's REPAIRS!!!!!!