A visit...

This past week I was priveledged to go back to Washington, D.C. this past week to visit. I was invited to go back to D.C. by NCCNHR, the organization I worked with this summer.

Anyways, I had a great time this past week visiting again. I didn't have a ton of time to go visit the sites again, as I spent the majority of time at the Crystal City Hilton helping with NCCNHR's Annual Conference.

I've added a few pictures below....



















^^^ This one is Tori (another NCCNHR intern and my Starbucks buddy), Alice (NCCNHR Exec. Director), and myself at the Senior Prom dinner and fundraiser event Monday night.























^^^Another picture of just Tori and I this time.



















^^^This is Kelly (a friend from the program this summer) and I enjoying Smores for dessert at Cosi Restaurant. It was pretty cool to roast them inside. :) Oh ya, and don't we both look awesome in our suits?!


Stephanie

Some final photos of my last couple days in town.....

My "D.C. Moments"

So we were talking in class a couple weeks ago about some infamous "D.C. Moments"...that is, things we will never forget, and people probably won't believe at times. Here's the start of my list of D.C. Moments..some of which I may have talked about before:

* Seeing the lady fall asleep on the metro and fall OUT of the seat due to sleeping. Ever since, I make sure I lean my head against a window if I think I might dose off for a minute.

* Running down the escalator at Metro Center because Jenny decided to try and make the train that was loading. The big guy who was a major escaLEFTER (see earlier post and photo) moved when she squeezed by, but moved back as I tried to. Then after I got byI lost my sandal on the escalator and had to get it back on my foot before I could keep moving. Good news is I made the train and Jenny and I didn't get separated.

* After spending a few Friday or Saturday evenings in Adam's Morgan...the guy at the Jumbo slice pizza knows me by name...it makes you feel special. :) lol. The bartender at the blue canopy bar does too and makes me special drinks!

* Spending the 4th of July in our Nation's Capitol...an experience in itself without all the drama of the severe storms during the early evening.

* Staying up until 1am playing Texas Hold 'Em -Cereal Edition when we all had to be up at the crack of dawn. Oh ya, Lucky Charms were 100 points, Apple Jacks were 200, and the Marshmallows from the Lucky Charms were 500 points. Hilary won- but I think she cheated and ate my marshmallows!

* How about that time at Union Station when John and I were headed home late one Friday night and I was walking and talking and nearly hurt myself by walking onto the up escalator to go down. Luckily not too many people were around. Ever since though the red/green arrows that tell the direction of the escalators really stick out to me!

* The time my "new friend" (annonymous is good) said to be as the conversation starter as we had a happy hour drink in Chinatown one Friday after work "So....you don't talk about guys much...." Now you have to understand the relationship we have. We talk about almost everything together- friends, family, work, school, etc, etc but never has the topic come up. My gut reaction was instantly "Well I'm NOT a lesbian if that's what you think!!" I think we were both laughing for a good 5 or 10 minutes...though it was totally not what she meant it to sound like. You have to understand that D.C. is a fairly openly gay/lesbian area so it's not uncommon.

* Making it a general rule to not run to catch buses or trains, with weekends being an exception, especially for buses because they are oftern far and few between. So the second last weekend in one day I ran for 3 metros, and 4 buses. I made them all, and was proud!

* I'm sure there's more, so I may continue to add some...

Conclusion

Washington, D.C. was a wonderful city to experience. 8 weeks was so short to completely live up to everything possible. I truley believe you could live for years in that city and never see or do all there is.

The big questions everyone seems to be asking: Would I go back? Would I do it again?

The answers to both are YES! I absolutely loved everything about the summer in Washington D.C. The people; the environment; the new friends and old; the good times and the bad; the crazy rain and floods; the heat and humidity; and so much more! I can't truley explain the wonderful times of the summer- both personally, and most importantly career related.

I went into the summer hoping for a one-of-a-kind experience, and in hopes of something possibly being open for me for a career to start with when I graduate in December.

I got all of that and so much more. I left with dreams and the sincere possibility of a position for a project that the organization is hoping to get the funding for. Hopefully by December there will be funding in place, and an opportunity for me.

The next three weeks I will be continuing to work on the Residents' Rights Week packet for NCCNHR and see it through until printing. Obviously since I am back in Michigan this will be done remotely.

What the rest of my future will hold? Well, one can only guess. It is hard to believe I will graduate in December. College has gone so quickly. Decisions will be hard in the coming semester in regard to my next steps: job, career, Graduate school, relocation: in Michigan, or another state, and the list goes on.

For now, I can only wait and see what the future will bring, what offers I receive, and what opportunities come my way.

I conclude my summer adventures in Washington, D.C. knowing one thing: although there was a significant cost with this internship program, I can only believe at this point that it will be worth every penny I spent.

Until next time....

Stephanie

P.S. Though I am back in Michigan, I am still doing internship work and am still reflecting over everything so I may continue to update on occasion.

You know you're NOT a tourist anymore when...

In no particular order (because I cannot decide on one!).......

* You know bus routes enough that when someone asks if I'm waiting for the same bus (#80 for example) I can tell them "No, that bus stops a block and a half down that way..." And then when they walk back bitching about the buses I can continue to argue back to her that the 80 bus is NOT going to stop at the stop I am at.

* You have the metro system nearly memorized and can travel from most anywhere to anywhere without pulling out a map anymore. AND you can tell a tourist with confidence when they ask if they are going to right direction, or where they need to go.

* You know the streets like the back of your hand. Or, you have a handy map that you continue to carry with you just in case (that happens to be only the size of your hand) but rarely need to reference it anymore.

* You know where the good ice cream places are and the quickest way to get there! You know I LOVE ice cream! Ben and Jerry's, Hershey's, Dickey's, Hagen Daaz, and so many more to choose from here!

* You have a SmarTrip card instead of paper metro cards. You ARE cool with a SmarTrip card. :)

* You recognize homeless people because they are in the same spot everyday, and after 7 or 8 weeks of walking by them everyday at least once, if not twice, you feel like you know them.

* You have officially rid yourself of saying "I'm going to buy a pop" rather than "I'm going to buy a SODA!" lol....it took me a while, but I trained myself. It's funny because people down here don't know what POP is sometimes- they just give you a blank stare.

* You can feel satisfied that you have done everything tourist related that you desire, given limitations. (i.e. you can't get some places with public transportation).

* You know some of the staff at area restaurants that you frequent often.

*Being able to go to a nighttime establishment and the bartender knows you. Not only that, but you and him have created a special drink personalized to your tastes.

* You feel like everyday is a new adventure in the same place, yet never get tired of it.

The long drive home...

Saturday morning we got up and started the long trip home to Michigan. The last view of the city was from a scenic outlook along George Washington Memorial Parkway. It was a bittersweet moment as so much happened in 8 weeks- there were good times and bad, but mostly all good. Believe it or not, even with all of the working throughout the summer, this was one of the funnest and most relaxing 8 weeks I have had. There was always something exciting to do and somewhere to go.

Shortly into our drive we stopped at Great Falls Park to see some of the scenery. Pictures will come soon! It was beautiful, but extremely HOT and steamy...

We got back on the road and stopped in Hagerstown at the huge outlet mall for lunch and shopping for a few hours. We drove a few more hours before stopping for the evening in Monroeville, Pennsylvania where there was another huge mall. We looked around a little and had a nice dinner before calling it a fairly early night (at least compared to the last 8 weeks).

Sunday morning we got up and stopped next door to our hotel at a toy and collectible show that was going on before hitting the road. We drove the rest of the way home and got back to Battle Creek around 7pm, thus officially concluding my Washington, D.C. summer adventures. :(

Long and deleted entry....

Sometimes I hate technology. I have started this long and detailed entry about my final week twice now, and I save it to finish later only to be lost somewhere is cyber space! To say the least, I'm not taking the time to rewrite it again! Here's a recap of my last days in Washington D.C....

Wednesday night after work I met up with Rob (my friend from Adam's Morgan). We had dinner at Mimi's Restaurant, one of the places I had been wanting to try. They are known for their 'singing servers'. Well, I was a bit disappointed. The servers didn't sing at your table, they just take turns singing cheesy songs along with a piano player. It was still a nice evening though. After dinner and drinks, we went in search of a bar that made frozen drinks because Rob and I were yet to have our traditional Strawberry Daquari when we are together. It's usually virgin because I've never been 21, but we celebrated the end of my summer in D.C. with a real daquari this time now that I am legal. Later that night I spent some time packing things up and intend on doing some sleeping (I needed it!!) but ended up talking with John in the courtyard until almost 1am.

Thursday was a busy day. I went into work early so I could get things done. Oh course things never go as planned, buses are delayed, and distractions are promimnent. Tori (the other intern) and I went to Starbucks for one final time (it became a weekly or more frequent thing of ours to leave work for a bit and grab one. We no more than got back and decided we were hungry for bagels, so we killed that craving from the cafe downstairs in the office building. Shortly after it was time for lunch. Lori and I walked to Corner Bakery to get something (she said I could pick anywhere and she was buying for my last day). We took it back to the office and they had an all-staff lunch and fond farwell party. They also had a huge chocolate cake for me. I could barely finish my piece. Later that afternoon Lori and I sat down to go over where I was leaving off on the Residents' Rights Week Packet and she insisted I have another piece with her. I got out of the office around 7pm, with my bag loaded with stuff I had accumulated and things I need to continue to work on the next few weeks from home. I was already late for my last class and had about had it with waiting for the bus so gave in and took a cab home. After class, I did some more packing and tying up loose ends. John and I went for one last walk later that night into Georgetown so I could get some ice cream. When we returned we ran into a group of people wanting to play some cards so I joined in the somewhat violent seeming games of cards for a few hours, thus making another late evening.

It seems I hadn't gone to bed until around 3am Friday but sure enough was up by 9am. I met up with Erica, or should I say long lost Erica! We served on the NYAC together for 3 or 4 years, had numerous phone conversations and emails, but we never able to meet in person. We finally managed to meet up for about 45 mintues on Friday morning and have tea and this neat little tea house in Dupont Circle. Then I rushed off to meet up with the internship program gang on Capitol Hill for a very nice closing luncheon at The Monocle. We had a extravegant full course meal and beverages. Most of us said our goodbyes at this point because people were starting to leave Friday afternoon and evening. There were tons of pictures, but those will be in another post. probably.

After lunch I met up with Mom and Cheryl at their hotel and we went to my apartment and moved everything out and checked out. After getting cleaned up, I headed downtown to work for our Summer drop-in celebration. It was a fun-filled evening, lots of networking, and lots of goodbyes to all of the wonderful people I have met in the last 8 weeks. Following the event I let Cheryl experience her first metro bus ride as we headed up to Adam's Morgan. I took them bar hopping for a few hours which was fun. It was pretty early to be out on a Friday night (10pm) but it was still fun. I got to have a few last Jello Shots from Millie Al's, see Gary the bartender for one last Stephanie's special creation, and see my pizza man and get some free pizza. That's right Jenny- I finally got free pizza out of him! :) haha...And I can't forget about the guy who want his picture with m because he considered me a "local". Fun times will forever be remembered in that Neighborhood.

Pictures will follow soon- I promise!

Pictures!

I'm on a roll tonight with this blogging! Here are some pictures from the weekend. Be sure and keep reading the other posts below the pictures for lots of weekend posts!



^^^ The Old Post Office Pavillion and clock tower I went up to.



^^^ Look Closely (click photo to enlarge)... The white circle is the White House. Now look even closer....the faint green circle shows the top of the steeples of Healy Hall. Healy Hall is directly outside my apartment window across the street. I could see where I live! :)



^^^ Still investigating as to if i suddenly was in Paris, or if there is another Eiffel Tower.



^^^ Another view from the clock tower



^^^ From the clock tower...don't know what it is though!



^^^ The view...



^^^ The stairs leading from the Old Post Office Pavillion Clock tower to the Congress Bells



^^^ The Bells



^^^ Inside Pentagon City Mall



^^^ Random



^^^ Hilary, Me, and Katie having some fun. :)



^^^ One of a few famous stars by a theater downtown




^^^ Overlooking Old Town Alexandria from the top of the Metro Station



^^^Parrots in Old Town Alexandria.
(I could have had a picture with one on my shoulder for like $10 but I'm too cheap!)



^^^^Ronald Reagan Airport from the Metro



^^^ Enlarge the picture and see the flock of birds!



^^^ By far my favorite sign on the Metros...I HATE Esca-LEFTERS!!!




^^^ A picture just for fun...Gotta love those tourists outside my apartment in awe of campus!


That's all for now folks!

Until next time...

Stephanie

Oh the Places I've traveled.....

A few have asked what all I've done, and/or where all I've been. So, below is a map of the metro system. The purple dots around a station means I have actually traveled TO or FROM that station on the metro. The yellow dots mean that I have been in the vicinity of that metro station either via bus, car (when I go on nursing home site visits mostly, or walking). Most stations I have been to numerous times, but that's asking a bit much for my to remember EVERYTHING! Click on the graphic below to blow it up. Unfortunately, I can't get it so you can clearly read the station names, but it you want to see a clear map of the stations go to www.wmata.com and look at it.

Now of course I have been through alot of the areas in numerous forms: walking, bussing, taxis, etc, but the color coded circles on the map show overall where I have been, and how many different metro stations I have actually walked out of into the area.

Stephanie

Winding Down...

As the Washington D.C. summer comes to an end, so must the list of things to do....Suprisingly, after this weekend, I only have a couple things left on muy "list" and they are restaurants so it won't be the end of the world if I don't get to go there.

Saturday I got up and headed to Pentagon City Mall to return something and walk around one last time. Then I jumped on the metro and headed towards downtown and the Federal Triangle area. I had to be down at the Ronald Reagan Building by 7pmish to get my ticket for the Capitol Steps Comedy Show with the rest of the group, so I had a couple hours to explore. I first went to Old Post Office Pavilion. There where a few shops and eateries. The main highlight was the clock tower which holds the Bells of Congress and above that has an aerial view of the entire city and beyond. It was a fairly clear day and the sites were just amazing!

Then I moved onto the Metro Center area of downtown and went to a couple of shops before heading to the show. The show (Capitol Steps) was absolutely hilarious! I have a video of a couple scenes of it on my camera. I'm working on figuring out how to get it viewable from this site. After the show some of us had dinner at a nice little bar/cafe type place nearby. We were sitting under a canopy luckily because it started pouring. To say the least- it was worth the cab fare to get home instead of buses/metro. By now it was after 11pm, but we still found some fun for a few hours.

I slept in today for a change. Jenny and I decided oto go to Eastern Market for a couple hours and check it out, and have lunch at a nice little European cafe called "Bread and Chocolate". It was pretty good. I wanted to go to Old Town Alexandria still so we took the like 40 minute metro ride there and basically walked down to the water and went to a couple of shops and then left. Unbelievably, it is already 7pm! Where has my night gone?!?!

For sake of time and sanity, I'll be posting pictures in another post soon.

Stephanie

Another week gone by...

And how fast the weeks are flying! It is so sad to think that in one week I will no longer have the need to update this blog. :( One good thing though is that I can go back and print out each entry and put it in a scrapbook of memories from the summer. Ok, enough reflecting (I'll do some more next week).

So...it seems like every night has been a late one, and every morning an early one since last week. Sunday night we were up pretty late chatting at the hotel, then I had to get up early since 4 of us had to get through the shower, and I had to get to work. I got there by 10am which wasn't too bad considering the commute and all from the hotel. Monday at work was a busy day and I worked a little late since I had come in late. I made it home and headed down to Georgetown (the shopping area) to get a pedicure. You all know me well enough that this is not a usual thing for me, but wearing sandals EVERYDAY ALL DAY for 7 weeks straight does horrible things to your feet and I have no other option.

Tuesday night was class as usual and I honestly can't remember what happened.

Wednesday night I worked late because I went to a family council meeting in Maryland at an enourmous continuing care retirement community. This place was amazing! Check out www.erikson.com for all the sites they have. Side Note: I requested information on the two Michigan locations and my Dad informed me the Friday I got a slew of bags of a bunch of binders sent to me via priority mail from like every one of the Erickson communities in the U.S. That should be entertaining to come home to and see. Maybe my parents will take a picture of the mess of mail and I'll post it.

Thursday I got up early (yes, LATE night and early morning) and was at work around 8am to get some things done early because I know my afternoon was full of meetings back to back...after work was class, and then John and I worked on the puzzle some more.

Friday I went into work early again and had meetings in the afternoon again. I hate Fridays, as they always appear unproductive! Kaja (pronounced Kaya), a staff member at NCCNHR, made my afternoon though by once again sharing her stash of Lofthouse Sugar Cookies with me. :) Friday evening I met John in Dupont Circle on my way home for a nice dinner. Then we came home and did our laundry and worked on the puzzle. Fun times...friday night in Washington D.C. spent doing laundry and a puzzle. Nice....

And that officially catches me up on ym blogging. Sorry, nothing too exciting has happened this week. I only took a couple pictures too, and nothing really worth posting. So for now, I am going to go find some picture moments and make the most out of my last weekend in Washington D.C. Tonight we are all going to see Capitol Steps- a DC political comedy of some sort. It's supposed to be pretty good.

Until Next time--

Stephanie

P.S. Stayed tuned for a posting on "I know I'm not a tourist anymore when..."

Here we go.....

Where to start...I haven't been home hardly at all- let alone at my computer!! So last Tuesday night as I think I mentioned our class was cancelled. John and Holly and I went to Old Glory and had some good ol' fashioned BBQ for dinner. After waiting for over 40 minutes only for John to go question where our table is, did they discover they gave us a light buzzer thing but never put us in the computer or something! THEN, to add to it they were out of the yummy sounded chicken I wanted.

Last Wednesday night we had a "mandatory event" that was seeing this show called "Dog Sees God". It was a parady about all the Peanuts characters as teenagers. Let me just sum it up: -Snoopy was put to sleep because he had rabies and had eaten his best friend, Woodstock, to death. --Charlie brown was dismayed over Snoopy's death and only Sally, his sister, showing up at his funeral. --Sally was a messed up girl at first, but really came out as a great character in the end. --Linus was a druggie, who smoked his blanket's ashes after Charlie and his friends burned it only a few months earlier (they let him keep the ashes to it though). --Lucy was in a psycho jail because she had gotten pregnant, then had an abortion and the next day some 'red head' in front of her in class pissed her off so she set fire to the red head's hair in front of her. --Marcie and Peppermint Patti were preppy-like cheerleaders who thought they were all that, AND in my book they are still questionable lesbians. --Schoder (piano guy) was a 'geek' and everyone kind of ignored him after his Dad commited suicide of something. --Charlie and Schoder made up and then made out- yes, made OUT. lol. --The two later made out in front of everyone else at a party, then everyone attacked- mentally and physically- Schoder because they thought they they ruined Charlie Brown, but in reality Charlie Brown was the one who started making out first. ---All I can say is this was a very interesting play. It kept people laughing, but I think some people in the group are still disturbed by the homosexuality and sex in it, and the fact that it was mandatory we went.

Thursday night was class as usual and then John and I hung around the apartment and played slideshows for each other on our laptops.

Friday I went to a workshop called "Medicare Academy". It was very interesting. The other intern at NCCNHR, Tori, went with me. Afterwards we decided to stop off in Chinatown for a happy hour drink at Legal Sea Foods. Good times, and good conversations. I headed to home to change for the evening, but first ran into David, a friend from home in Dupont Circle. I directed him and Mike to Five Guys and a Burger in Georgetown for dinner and continued home for a quick shower. Then I met up with my good friend Rob and a friend of his. We ate at the Daily Grill- worth EVERY penny (even if i was Rob's penny), then headed next door to a club for a bit. We ended in Georgetown at the Ritz Carlton for a drink which was really nice. Saturday I got caught up a little on sleep and then headed out for the day around 11am. I intended to get alot done on "my list" downtown, but that never happened. I started out by heading to Union Station and the National Postal Museum. The museum was so cool! I actually went through and read everything in the museum and not just skimmed things. It was very facinating to read about the history of the postal service from the early days. They also had a family day thing going on that was really neat. Here are a few pictures I took at the museum and around Union Station:



















Saturday evening John and Holly and I cooked an awesome dinner of BBQ chicken and cornbread. It was probably the best food I've had in a while. Then we began digligently working on a 1000 piece puzzle John bought at the Native American Museum. It didn't get THAT far in like 4 hours. Later John and I headed out around 11pm to go take some pictures of some of the sights downtown. We got some decent pictures. It was a nice night for a walk, just a little muggy out. I even had him singing Tommorrow from my favorite movie- Annie with me.














Sunday morning I got up fairly early to go meet David and Mike again. We spent the day down on the National Mall finishing all the things they still wanted to cram in before leaving. We ate dinner at the Hotel Washington on the rooftop terrace with one of the most incredible views of the city....pictures are below...then we stopped back at my apartment so I could grab a couple things and we headed to their hotel for the night. I can't tell you how good it felt to get in the swimming pool and hot tub that night, and to take a shower in a non-mold stained tub the next morning! I felt clean finally and didn't have to wear my sandals in the shower.

Me in the fountain I seem to love!!



Reagan airport at night....the view from the guys' hotel room.



From the Hotel Washington...notice the plane!!



My FIRST, yes MY FIRST ice cream cone since I got here...pints of Ben and Jerry's doesn't count!!


Another view from Hotel Washington...



For sake of posting overload, I'll save this week's events for another post. It is getting late and the pillow is calling my name!

Until next time... Stephanie

National Postal Museum...

I'll be posting more later (I know, I know, I keep promising this but I really will!)...but I spent a couple of hours at the National Postal Museum today. It was one of the best museums I have been to in Washington D.C. i haven't downloaded the pictures yet, but I did get some neat "fact cards". I got one of these everytime I printed a postcard (those of you on my list should be getting one soon!) Anyways, here are some interesting facts.

Did you know that...

--Some postmasters made and used their own stampts, called "Postmaster Provisionals," severeal years before the introduction of adhesive postage stamps by the United States Government in 1847?

-On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong cancelled the first piece of mail carried to the moon with a postmark which read "Moon Landing, USA"?

--A sled dog was used to carry mail in Alaska until 1963 when it was replaced by an airplane?

--It was a mail coach which brought into existence the old Boston-New York-Philedelphia-Baltimore turnpike, the first great American highway?

--Horse drawn carriages were used to deliver mail in Philadelphia as late as January 31, 1955?

--Over the years, postmasters in larger offices have had cats on their payrolls to protect the mail by keeping their offices free of mice and rodents, compensating the felines with food and shelter?

That's all for now....stayed tuned. I am trying to make the most of my last two weeks in Washington D.C. which means not much time at the apartment or on the computer!

Steph

The woes of transportation...

I love this city, the idea of public transportation, and not having to fill up youe gas tank every few days because you are "still hoping" that gas will go down a few cents before your $5 (or less than 2 gallons of gas) runs out. I KNOW there are others like me. It's funny though you know...I hate putting gas in, yet it doesn't even phase me that a bus ride costs me $1.25 (but includes a 2-4 hours free transfer to ride more buses or get home in that time period), or anywhere from $1.35 to $3.60 (ONE way) to take the metro.

The metro is a little quicker than buses and you don't have to stop every other block, but then again buses go more places. If you have the time, buses are so much better I think. Personally, the metro gives me a headache. I have to position myself on the car to be facing forward....some seats are backwards because the train goes both directions...and if I have to stand, I have to face the forward direction too. It makes me quesy not to. I can't read because it makes me nauseated with the lights in the tunnels flying by me. So that leads me to shutting shut my eyes if I am going more than a couple of stops. If I don't shut my eyes, I let my mind wander to what everyone else is doing to try and avoid noticing the lights flying by on the outside of the car. And that leads me to the humor of this post:

"Weird things that people do on the metro...and/or the bus".

1. Soduko puzzles...not just from a book, but printed from the internet (how weird). I guess the guy was probably on his way to a business meeting and printed them off at work for his way there??

2. Guy balancing his checkbook. Random.

3. People reading various things from the daily Express newspaper, to a book.

4. Lady in fornt of me sketching the guy sitting in front of her. Now that's just plain creepy- as far as I know they were NOT together.

5. Guy in the front corner of the car 'sneaking' his lunch....you know it is breaking the law if you eat or drink on any of the public transportation...and you can get fined pretty well for it.

6. Younger kid trying to get his shoe laces unknotted.

7. A babysitter and her friend with 4 screaming kids mad because they have 2 more stops until the zoo stop! And they were throwing fits!

8. Can't forget random people sleeping against the window, or that one time on another journey that the lady was sleeping and fell out of her seat--NO lie!

Ya....so people do weird things on the metro or bus...most of my stories are from my journey from downtown to Rockville, Maryland on the red line...a route I have taken 2 or 3 times now....and it is a good 30-40 minute ride which provides alot of time for fun observations.

That's my post for the now....maybe later tonight or tomorrow I will finish telling about my week....stay tuned!

Stephanie

Alive!

For those who actually check this thing on a daily basis I AM alive! I hope to update on Thursday sometime. I worked until nearly 11pm on Monday, class was cancelled Tuesday so a fwe of us went to a nice dinner at Old Glory for some BBQ and then i had a project to work on for a friend, and tonight I worked until 7pm before going to one CRAZY play about the Peanuts gang in their teenage years. That will defintly have some explaining about the vulgarness of the event in another post soon!

To bed I said!

Steph

White House, Nationals Baseball, Botanical Gardens, Sculpture Garden, and more!

What a weekend! I made a list about a week and a half ago of all of the things I want to do yet while living in Washington D.C. and I have slowly but surely been crossing them off my list! But wouldn't ya know, at the same time, I continue to add to my list. Get ready because as usual this i a jam-packed entry with tons of pictures. Don't forget to click on the pictures to see them bigger- especially the flower pictures!!

Friday afternoon I went with the D.C. Ombudsman office to a nursing home site visit. The visit was very touching to me, and heartbreaking. The things going on there and way residents were sitting around was horrible. And I say this from my own perspective as we walked through the building, not the Ombudsman's opinions. I could see things clear as day. It really makes me appreciate the facilities I work with at home and the care that is given there. On a lighter side, I don't think I have ever been to this large of nursing home- 296 beds!! The place was huge!

After the site visit, I met up with Courtney (my freshman roomie) and her family for dinner in Chinatown. Then we went to the White House since Courtney didn't get to go there on the tour they were on earlier....haha...long story short we got there and took a couple of pictures and then the secret service was swarming and kicked us off Pennsylvania Avenue and the park behind it. Sirens were screeching and as we stood across the street from the park they began blocking the road....5 or 6 firetrucks, EMS supply trucks, Ambulances, and TONS of police cars just shut things down. Oh ya, and we can't forget about the huge group of roller bladers who went by and a police SUV literally was inches from hitting one guy...he had to catch himself on the hood of the SUV so he didn't completely fall down. Now THAT was a close call! We stood there for about 50 minutes watching and waiting for someone to come in or go out but nothing ever happened. The firemen were even all out of the trucks in their full gear for some reason. Then randomly after 50 minutes it was like "Ok, you can go back in now to the park...
"

After the White House we said our goodbyes and I headed home. I traveled through Dupont Circle and stopped to listen to the musicians playing for a bit. Later that evening Holly and I went out for a couple of drinks in Adam's Morgan...then main reason I wanted to go was for the JUMBO slices of pizza!



Saturday was somewhat of a lazy day. I slept in and did laundry for the most part. I also did a lot of computer updating work for various things, and a little research for an project at work. Then around 4pm we headed out to the Nationals Game at RFK Stadium. It was a very slow moving game, plus the Nationals were losing. A lot of us left after about 5 innings.

In this first picture, the sky looked so fake...can you say "Truman Show??". I seriously had to stop and think if we were in a dome or if it was real!



Rachel and I...



The stadium....pre-game (nobody is even here yet!)



The best for last......me and Geico the Gecko. :)


After we got home a few of us headed down to Georgetown. We ended up at Mr. Smith's...an awesome bar that had a live piano man. He was taking tips and requests of songs that had the entire bar singing! Fun times. After awhile I ended up in the courtyard of the apartments talking with some others from the program. It was such a nice night out...night that soon turned to morning.

The girls and I on our way out...



Sunday morning a few of us went to brunch at Martin's Tavern....yes, the place that JFK proposed to Jackie. We didn't sit in the same booth though because we wanted the outdoor seating. After brunch I headed down to explore the National Mall area and check a few more things off of my list of things to accomplish. I went to the Sculpture Gardens, Botanical Park and the Botanical Gardens (indoor), as well as various other little gardens hidden through the Mall. I also went to the US Navy Memorial. It was a nice afternoon. Below are various pictures of me with the pretty flowers, and just the pretty flowers. YES- I took all the photos of the flowers...I am so proud how well they turned out!









look at the bee...



I love this fountain...



Sculpture Garden



Pretty...


Outside the Native American History Museum (I think)



One of my favorites...the colors were amazing...



Weird catcus.


Couldn't find the sign for these, but I am almost sure it is the same flower I have pictures of from St. Kitts a couple years ago.


Another bee....



Daisy...



Cool....Purple..my FAVORITE!


Wiith all the Catcus plants!



I swear...this is my Sadie dog! She must have lost the weight mom wants her to and she is filthy (because she just spent an entire week at the lake for the 4th of July) :)


Alright that's all folks. It is 12:30am and I have to work in the morning at 8:30. Not to mention that I have to leave for Maryland at 4pm for a family council meeting/trainng in the evening...BUT...I get to ride in a real car again! A friend is picking me up at the metro in Maryland and driving me to the meeting. :)

Until next time....

Stephanie