Lost

I think we took a wrong tuen somewhere. Travelled two days. Tired. Not sure if the Garmin (that's Garmin, not Carmen, although I do catch myself telling it "yes, dear.") is working. Looking for a place to spend the night. Hey, this place looks interesting.

Headed Home

The ocean to ocean journey has begun. So far I have crossed Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and we had to stop in Savannah, Georgia in time to watch the world series. Right now that may not have been a very good idea. The giants are down by three.

I'm what? Going the wrong way to go home? Oh, I'm taking the southern route!

Civil Battlegrounds of Fredericksburg, VA

Huge retail malls skirt historic battlefields and some have even been built on the battlefields. Today there are fierce retail wars as retailers fight it out over your hard earned dollar!

On The Road Again

It's too dark for pictures. But Henry is packed and ready to go. Next stop...Fredericksburg for breakfast.

Historic Mount Vernon

Did you know that George Washington evaded paying higher taxes by building his Mount Vernon home out of wood instead of brick and mortar to avoid paying a higher tax? He then had his carpenters carve grooves into the wood and then painted the wood with a paint and sand mixture so the exterior would look as though it was built of stone. This saved taxes since brick and stone houses were taxed at a higher rate than wood homes.

Pandas

If you look closely you will see a Panda behind me. The last time I was at the zoo some 34 years ago our bus drove straight into the Panda Exhibit before the zoo opened for the day and all we saw were the pandas. Today it rained so hard about all we saw were the pandas. In fact it rained so hard the gift shops were selling those spray misters with dry air in the bottle so you could spray yourself with dry air to try and stay dry.

The National Zoo

It's raining.

Flying

The mighty Mississippi! It was a very nice flight with picture perfect landing at Dulles. It gets dark early here, and light late. It is raining today so have to decide what to do. It is 8:30 here but still 5:30 my time. And I have been up already for two hours. Maybe I'll go back to bed.

LAX

As the good captain said: The good news is we got in 20 minutes early. The bad news is we have to wait 20 minutes for the gate to open up. Then it is a half mile walk and two hour layover.

Full Body Scan

I don't know what all the fuss about a full body scan at the airport is all about. I mean, I don't have to look at it. I feel sorry for the poor TSA guy that has to look at it...first thing in the morning...there goes breakfast!

Welcome to FAT

The locals call it FYI or Fresno Yosemite international airport. But it is officially called Fresno Air Terminal. If you lived in Fresno, what would you call it?

They have made the lobby look like Sequoia National Park so you feel like you are in the mountains and in the woods. They say first impressions are most important. I guess they are hoping this is what you remember of Fresno since it is the first and last thing you see.

Packing

The first challenge is getting three weeks of clothes and supplies into a carry-on bag. I don't want to spend time doing laundry on the road and I don't want to pay $25 to check my bag.

Behind the Scenes

Postcards From My Cell Phone

Have you ever tried taking self portrait pictures with an i-phone.  It's not easy.  At least with the 3GS.  It is easier with the newer versions but I don't have the newer version.  Besides, I like a challenge.

Anyway, you can't see what you are doing.  You basically stretch out your arm with the cell phone as far as you can reach and then try to guesstimate your framing since you can't see the picture.  As you have been able to see, it is not an exact science.  But it's what I go through in order to bring you interesting facts about interesting places.  Check out the behind the scenes photos from the Washington DC trip.

Be sure to follow me on my next trip as I attempt to produce new Postcards from my cell phone live!  Starting Tuesday only on the Bob Blog! 

A Test

This Is A Test...

This is a test.  This is nothing but a test.  If this had been a real emergency you would have been given instructions on where to tune for further information.  (This announcement excludes any worms)

Postcards From My Cell Phone

The Return of the Mysterious Stranger

National Gallery of Art

June 2010

There is a story that is passed down from one generation of guards to the next generation of guards at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.  The tale talks of a stranger that paid a visit on a cold winter's night in February of 1976 at the beginning of the nations 200th celebration.  It was a quiet Sunday night and a light snow was falling.  A string quartet was playing festive, but mellow music in the rotunda, a feature of the bicentennial.  Normally the museum is closed at this time of night.  But not tonight.  And because of the snow, most people stayed home to stay warm by the fires in the comfort of their homes rather than brave the cold to spend the evening in an old stone rotunda to enjoy the arts of the masters and the sounds of the orchestra.  It was going to be a long night.

But then the stranger came.  A dapper young man decked out in all the fineries of the land.  Long coat tails, top hat, white gloves and a cane.  And he was accompanied by no less than a dozen people that followed him everywhere and did his bidding.  The guards were used to seeing strange things, but as the stranger went from gallery to gallery reverencing the masters, the guards felt this was a scene right out of a rogues gallery.  Especially on a night like tonight.  And it proved to be to much...

Laughter began to ring out through the stone halls.  Belly laughs, and raucous laughs.  Soon the laughter drowned out the orchestra.  No-one could believe that this stranger had come tonight of all nights.  Finally, a guard approached one of the followers wanting to meet this stranger.  They met.  It was the highlight of the evening.  Soon, every guard wanted to meet the stranger.  The orchestra gave up and packed their instruments to go home.  The museum was closed. The next hour was spent with each guard getting his or her picture next to the stranger.  The guards reported it was the highlight not only of the evening, but for their now storied careers.

Some 34 years later the stranger returned.  It was in the heat of the day on a June afternoon.  But the stranger appeared as just another arts patron.  The guards never knew.  But if you ask about the stranger...It's amazing what 34 years can do to a story!

  

Rules for Shopping

Here are the rules for shopping at the nursery.

Postcards From My Cell Phone

Me shopping at a nursery in Virginia