C's trip day 5: And I'm Lovin Every Minute

had lunch at a deli today before heading to Downtown Denver. TK and I ran into a bit of a problem as we didn't realize that streets would be shut down for a festival called A Taste of Denver that was going on all weekend. we finally found a place to park and headed for the art museum, we walked through the festival to get there. the museum was really cool. ( i will have to wait to add pictures because only TK had her camera) i had a great time walking around, i am sad we didn't make it over to the second building but we had to be back in time for dinner with the fam.

we got back to the house just in time as the fam was going to show up "any minute". there was 17 of us for dinner tonight. R picked up pizza for everyone. it was so good to see grandpa (AZ) again and all of the aunts and uncles. i had a nice time talking to wanda after dinner and there was an amazing lighting show for our viewing pleasure.

when we finally got back to the hotel TK needed to work on the scrapbook for a couple more hours putting on the finishing touches. then it was time for bed.

C's trip day 4:

TK and I took our time this morning waking up and getting going since we went to bed so late. mid morning we headed out to Golden, CO and had lunch at Anthony's pizza and pasta which was yummy but had big portions. we walked back a couple blocks to Coors brewery where we took the tour and enjoyed some free beers.

before we went to Golden we had dropped Mom off at a scrapbook store so she could use the whole day to work on Dad's book. So once we were done at the brewery we headed over to the house to see what chores needed to be done and call Mom to see if she needed any help. Mom said there was some stuff at the house she needed, we took it over to her and ended up staying 5 hours helping her do some pages for the scrapbook.

after the scrapbook store closed TK and I grabbed some Wendy's and took Mom home. then surprise, surprise we headed out to the movies. :) this time we saw No Reservations. and then it was back to the hotel to hang out for a bit before bedtime.

C's trip day 3: Good Morning Baltimore

TK had to work for a few hours today so we got up and headed over to meet her mom at Starbucks, so that she could get to work and I could go to Costco with Mom since she doesn't have a membership. we picked up some items for the retirement party and headed back to the house.

once we were at the house we asked Dad if he thought a trip to the storage unit was doable since it was raining he said it should be fine so we picked up TK's truck from work and got some wood and things that needed to be dumped and a few items that needed to be added to the storage unit. Mom then decided to get some gas for the truck and a car wash. then we took the truck back to TK's work but had to park it in a different spot since there was a car in the original spot it was parked in.

it was time to head back to the house where i helped Mom move the furniture back into the living room since the carpets had been cleaned that day, we did a few other odds and ins around the house and then it was time for dinner with the family. we made up a plate and took it to TK at work, then Mom took me back to the hotel.

once TK got off work we headed out to the movies again one of our favorite past times. back when we were in H.S. we used to go to the movies all the time. we stayed up way to late talking.

C's Trip Day 2: Eye of the Tiger

woke up this morning about 9am. TK was getting ready for work as she had to go in for a couple hours. i got up and decided to get a work out in. i went down the hall and checked out the exercise room, it consists of a bike, treadmill and cross trainer. i used them each for 10 minutes. then i thought it is a nice day outside, why am i walking inside so i headed out for a jog/walk. i went about a mile from our hotel and found myself at a bookstore, so i looked around for a bit, then decided to get an air freshner because there is a weird smell in the room and finally found something for lunch, then headed back to the hotel to take a leisurely shower, use the Internet, read my book and watch Judge Hattchett (a favorite pasttime).

once TK got home from work we headed over to Hooters for dinner. Arlynda came over with the kids after they had dinner and while TK and R worked on some scrapbook pages for Dad's Navy book the kids hung out on the bed and watch some cartoons.

R and the kids then headed home and TK and I headed over to Boondocks, since it closed in an hour we decided not to mini golf and instead used the batting cages. it didn't take me long to get into the swing of things. and made me miss playing so much more, but we had a great time.

after the batting cages we found a theatre and caught a movie.

C's Trip Day 1: Airplane flies high

today i headed for the mile high state. i was lucky enough to have a direct flight in the early afternoon. the fight was nice, it wasn't a full flight and in fact my row only had two people in it. unfortunately the other woman felt it necessary to sit next to me in the MIDDLE seat. yes people that's right she left the aisle seat open and decided to sit as close as possible to me brushing the back of my arm constantly with her jacket sleeve. ugh! other than that it was a smooth flight, we got in 10 minutes early and i waited a mere 10 minutes for the parents (TK's) to pick me up from the airport.

we had a lovely drive back to the house even though it decided to start raining for about 5 minutes while we were on the freeway. then Mom took me over to the hotel to check in before heading back to the house to hang out for awhile. as we were driving up the Texas g-parents were also pulling up with dinner. we waited a few more minutes till TK was off work and then just the 10 of us sat down for the BBQ dinner the g-parents picked up. after dinner TK and i headed downstairs to clean off her desk and pack up her stuff. a couple hours later we headed for the hotel and a much needed vacation... more to come later.

Trip Day 10: California, Here I Come

After the ball game last night we got a whole 3 hours of sleep before having to be downstairs waiting for our shuttle to take us back to the airport. The driver was dang scary and we were the first ones to get picked up. Oy. We made it to the airport got on the plane and Cyndi was OUT. She was so wipped out. Paul also took a nap on the plane but didn't get as much sleep as Cyndi did. We made it home and Dad picked us up and took us to the house. We picked up our car and drove home. Once home we crashed waking up in the early evening so that we wouldnt wake in the middle of the night. We did not stay awake for long though, just enough time to get some dinner and go through our mail and e-mail before heading to bed again.

Trip Day 9:Take me out to the ball game

This morning we had a reservation to take a tour of the White House. If you have never done this I would suggest you try to fit it in next time you are in DC. This was followed up by nap time for Paul. For the afternoon we were able to score tickets to get into the Bueru of Engraving and Printing, it is incredible how much time and effort goes into making money. Next stop was Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House. While we were walking back to the subway we happened upon a mailbox painted like R2-D2 (we keep forgetting to take a photo with the one in SD) so we just had to stop and take the photo op.

We wrapped up the evening with a Nationals/Phillies game.

Trip Day 8:

After our "fun" day in Atlantic City we woke up early the next morning had a continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed west to Philly. Where we took a tour of Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's grave, Betsy Ross' house, ate cheese steaks (of course), went to the US mint, and the Rocky Statue.

Trip Day 7: On The Boardwalk

This morning we rented a Hyundai Elantra with XM radio and drove through Maryland, Delaware and small town Jersey up to Atlantic City. We looked around the city for the hotel we were staying at, checked in and headed for the Boardwalk.

We walked up and down looking at all the shops and different casinos. It would have been more pleasant if there werent so many birds flying overhead that we had to avoid. After looking at the shops we headed down to the water and one of the piers. We were goofing around and Paul almost got hit by a wave since he wasnt paying attention to the water.

Then we headed inside to play some slots. Cyndi immediately went up $20 on a machine so she cashed it out and we played on that twenty and the one she originally put in. By the end of the evening we were down about 3 bucks. Paul heard there was an awesome light and water show in Ceaser's shopping area so we headed down to see that. It was the lowest budget light and water show we have ever seen.

Trip Day 6: Lazy Sunday

We had advance tickets to go to the Washington Monument this morning. Here is the view from the top.

We then walked over to the Vietnam Memorial.

Cyndi wanted to go see the Pentagon next so we got back on the subway and headed to Pentagon City, we walked around the mall for a short while, ate lunch and then took it one more stop over to the Pentagon as it was Sunday nothing was open but we were able to walk around the outside of the building.

We talked to Bradley and he could not believe we had not been to a place called 5 guys yet. He told us it was THE place to go eat while we were out there. So back on the subway and over to Chinatown we went. They were some tasty burgers.

Trip Day 5: City of Blinding Lights

We decided to sleep in today since it was our 6th anniversary. Once we got going we headed across the street to the Postal Museum where we were educated about the history of the Post Office, saw how postal inspectors catch bad guys (Cyndi did great at figuring out who the bad guys was by looking at mug shots, fingerprints and the clues.) After that we crossed the street again over to Union Station where we stopped for a bite to eat.

Next it was time to head over to Arlington National Cemetary. They had a deal that you could take a tram around to all of the major locations. We hopped on that and walked around a bit at each stop.
After Arlington it was time for dinner so we grabbed some Sabarro. As we were walking back through Union Station we stopped to ask about the Twilight Tour of all the Monuments. They told us what time to come back and where to get our tickets so we went and showered and changed and headed back to catch the 7 o'clock bus.


The WWII Memorial was special for us to go see as all of our grandpa's served as well as my grandma Dougherty. We were able to find Grandpa Hutchins in the database but none of the others.

Trip Day 4: Bonus Picture for Job Tate!

Behold! Cal Ripkin's jersey statue outside Camden Yards,

all decked out in some spiffy Red Sox gear!

Trip Day 4: The Boys of Summer

Our adventures with transportation continued today as we figured out a way to get from Union Station to Camden Yards. Actually, we knew how to get there, but we needed to guarantee we'd make it back to DC at night and not get stuck wandering in Baltimore. We heard rumors of a bus that would take us back to Union Station 20 minutes after the Orioles/Red Sox game ended. After questioning lots of people, we were able to buy our tickets and head out to Baltimore.

We got to the stadium a little after noon. We looked around a bit, then went next door to the Maryland Sports Museum. Most of it was Orioles related though it was cool to see a Super Bowl trophy up close. Part of our ticket was a tour of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum 3 blocks away. I forgot that Babe Ruth was a coach for the Dodgers, so it was neat to see his Dodgers and Red Sox jerseys on display.

We walked down to the harbor and got a late lunch at ESPN Zone. The place was packed with Red Sox fans so our hats and shirts fit in nicely. We made it back in time for batting practice and watched Big Papi hit 6 straight homeruns, one to every section in order from right field to left. Amazing! The crowd was about 95% Sox fans which had to be embarrassing for an Orioles home game.

The game was low scoring until the end when the Sox rallied and put up a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately Eric Gagne blew it in the 9th and allowed the Orioles to win 6-5 in the 10th. Lame! We hopped on the bus and made it back to the hotel.

Trip Day 3: Happy Birthday

We started off Cyndi's 27th birthday with a trip over to our Congresswoman's office to get a tour of the Capitol building. Sadly, our favorite former Congressional intern had left the city 2 weeks ago, so we had to settle for a guy from North Carolina who had only given one tour before and didn't seem to know much. It was still very interesting to see all the history and art in the place. We learned that each state gets to place 2 statues in the Capitol. We only found one from California (Junipero Serra), but were told that a statue of Ronald Reagan is in the works. The gallery where the State of the Union address takes place seemed a lot smaller in person than on tv.

We had lunch at a very crowded Fuddruckers and then took the metro back over to the Mall. As we were walking to the monuments, it began to rain. We weren't really prepared for that, but it did feel great. We took shelter at the closest building, the National Holocaust Museum. It was sad, but a beautiful building.

It stopped raining by the time we left. Next came Cyndi's least favorite part of our trip. We ended up walking from the Holocaust Museum over to our tour at the Kennedy Center (over 2 miles away we figure) even though our feet were already hurting. We found out later there is a shuttle to and from one of the metro stations so at least we didn't have to walk back.

It was odd to me that over 60 nations had donated materials or even whole rooms to help build the Kennedy Center. There is a free concert there 365 days a year. The day we were there it was some folk/hiphop combo band. I wasn't too impressed until they played Biz Markie's "Just a Friend" as their soundcheck song. It made me want to stay, but we were both tired from all the walking so we decided to get food and crash instead.

We had dinner at Capitol City Brewery which was by our hotel. I tried the Prohibition Porter which I loved, though Cyndi thought it was as nasty as any other beer. We made a quick trip to Chinatown to grab some sodas and snacks for the room, and then settled in to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter and LA Ink.

Trip Day 2: Pictures of You

Since we didn't have any tours scheduled on Wednesday, we decided to start off by going to some of the Smithsonian museums. Our first challenge was figuring out the Metro system. Union Station was a block from our hotel which was nice. Another nice thing is that some of the subway stops are actually named for the nearby attractions. We bought our week passes and were on our way, map in hand at all times.

I was surprised to find that almost all the museums in DC are free. I guess since it's government property they aren't allowed to charge for admission. We started with the Natural History museum. I think the one in LA is better. DC has an elephant in the main hall, LA has battling dinosaur skeletons. No contest there. We went upstairs and saw the Hope diamond and had a chance to pet Madagascar hissing cockroaches, but Cyndi wanted no part of that. Go figure.

We found out that the American History museum with all the pop culture memoribilia was closed until next year, but some of the items were being displayed at the Air and Space museum. We walked around the space exhibits and saw items like the puffy shirt from Seinfeld.

We made a trip through the Modern Art Gallery then rode the metro over to the Portrait Gallery. This was one of our favorite stops. They had the only collection of presedential portraits outside of the White House, and also had lots of interesting photos and paintings of both the famous and not so famous.

It was getting late so we went down the street to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We then went back to the hotel and air conditioning until it got dark. In the evening we walked down the street a few blocks to get some shots of the Capitol lit up at night.

Trip Day 1: Party Like a Rockstar

I keep putting off posting about our trip because I know it's going to be a big project. However, I also don't feel like I should be posting anything else until it's done. So here goes nothing. We'll go day by day so keep checking back. Day one has no pictures, but the rest should be a bit more lively....

On Tueday August 7, we got picked up at 9am for our trip to Washington DC and beyond. The SuperShuttle driver who was supposed to get us had a family emergency that morning, which meant that instead of riding to the airport in one of those big blue shared vans,we got a private ride in a Lincoln Towncar complete with free bottled water and magazines in English and French. All we needed was some Crystal and we'd be right up there with all the rockstars.

After we got to the airport and checked in, we still had an hour to kill. During that time, our Congresswoman's aide finally decided to use the cell phone number I kept giving him during phone tag. He set us up for a private tour of the Capitol, and the Kennedy Center, as well as one of the few White House tours while we were there. Since you can only tour the White House and the Capitol through your representative, we had figured we wouldn't get a chance to see them. Right after that call, a friend called with another bit of unexpected good news. Things were getting off to a great start.

The plane ride to DC was pretty uneventful. We had an hour and a half layover in Salt Lake City. Shrek the Third was the movie during the second leg. We both skipped it and watched movies on the ipod instead.

We got to Dulles Airport at 11:30 at night and found that there weren't many options at that time to get to our hotel 30 miles away in the city. We paid for SuperShuttle again because it was slightly cheaper than the rest. The only other guy in the van was a Vietnam vet from Compton who was there for his brother in law's funeral at Arlington the next day. He told us stories about him, his two brothers, and the brother in law all making it back from Vietnam unharmed for several tours. Crazy stuff. As we got into the city, we could see some of the monuments lit up around us. It was very surreal seeing them so huge, and right there in front of us. It reminded me why I've wanted to visit again since I was last there 16 years ago for my 8th grade trip.

We got to the hotel a little before 1am. Even though no one was on the road, the driver kept to the highway speed limit of 45. What's up with that? The hotel was very nice, within a few blocks of the Capitol, and had a Irish theme to it too. We hadn't eaten all day so we asked the front desk about food and found out about a place that delivered pizza until 4:30am. After we ate, we watched a little tv and went to bed.

The Other Side

We are back from vacation. It has been a very VERY long day and now the time for a nap has finally come as we are back at the apt. I am sure later tonight we will begin to get some photos and blogs up for your viewing pleasure. Stay tuned...

Checking In

We are half way through our trip and having lots of fun. Legs and feet are tired but we have seen so many sights. Tomorrow we will be taking a short trip from DC to go visit Philly, and Atlantic City. More to come once we get home in 5 days.

We will miss you Aunt Robin

If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry.
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye.
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me.
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams.
Oh, I'll be with you, Oh

but if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry.
And if I'm gone when you wake up, don't ask why.
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me.
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams.

Oh Oh
don't cry, I'm with you.
Don't cry, I'm by your side.
Don't cry, I'm with you.
Don't cry, I'm by your side.

And though my flesh is gone, whoa
I'll still be with you at all times.
And though my body's gone, whoa
I'll be there to comfort you at all times.
Oh, oh.

But if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry.
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye.
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me
'Cause I'll be with you,
Oh...
I'll be with you

I don't want you to cry and weep. Oh, oh.
I want you to go on living your life.
I'm not sleeping an endless sleep. Oh, oh.
It's in your heart you'll have all of our good times.
Oh,oh, all of our good times, Oh, oh..... you have.

Cuz if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry.
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye.
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me.
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams.
Oh
I'll be with you in your dreams...

For Fun

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

You Are An Intro-Extrovert!

Sometimes you're social - sometimes you're shy You've got a bit of an Introvert / Extrovert split going on You enjoy all sorts of situations. Parties, small groups, and alone time. Too much of one, and you'll long for the other. You need variety! Chances are, you've got both serious and fun friends - and they don't get along.

Are You An Extroverted or Introverted Girl?

Your IQ Is 125

Your Logical Intelligence is Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

You Should Own a Beagle

Low maintenance, very friendly, and sturdy.

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated. At work and school, you do best when you're organizing. When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic. Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management. You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

You Really Know Your State Capitols

You Got 20 State Capitols Correct You're either a geography buff... or you have an excellent memory.

Do You Know Your State Capitols?