More Details From My Trip: pt. 1

I figure pictures are the best way to tell the story, so be prepared for a loooong post with lots of them. Enjoy~

Washington DC!

So, I took a red eye flight out of SLC to JFK. When I printed out my ticket it only printed out the black, and not the blue, text so when I got to the SLC airport I just looked for a letter/number combo and reasoned that that must be my gate number. I didn't notice another letter/number combo on the ticket... I got right through security and had time to mosey over to gate and there was only one dude there. I admit it did take me a few minutes to realize I was in the wrong spot, and I hadn't realized

 Notice the complete emptiness..

how close to departure I was, so I was sitting there bemused at the lack of people when I realize it was only 5 minutes until my plane was supposed to leave and there was nobody around. I realize my error and after consulting a nearby airport worker established that I was in the entirely wrong wing of the airport and I sprinted (as best one can with a big duffel bag) across the airport. Thankfully at the time the plane was supposed to be leaving it was still boarding the last 50 people, so I just hopped in line and pretended like nothing had happened.

  Once on the plane I was really dumb and plugged in my headphones to the personal entertainment system they have on planes now which resulted in me watching movies and soccer all the way to JFK and not sleeping, at all. Not a big deal, right, I've got a 4 hour bus ride too... ha. Anyway, with the plane leaving late it also arrived late and I had to rush to get to my bus. I met a nice family from Utah who I navigated the complexities of the transit system with until we got to the subway. I saw a sign to Penn Station so I told them bye and hopped on the train. Fortunately for me I made a mistake and took a train instead of the subway. This is good for one reason- I made it to my bus on time. If I had taken the subway it probably would have taken 20 minutes more to get to Penn, which I didn't have. So I meant to take the subway, but God was watching out for me. I got to Penn Station and had no idea where to go. They're seriously lacking in signage in New York it seems. A really nice guy saw me looking at a map and helped me figure out how to to get to the right exit and pointed me in the right direction to where I needed to go. Again I walked as fast as I could with a duffel bag, down the longest block I've ever seen in my life, and got there just a few minutes before departure. The guy in the seat next to me was name Fabien. He's a German working for Bloomberg's in NY and was headed to a birthday party. We had a good time and talked almost the whole way to DC. He thought it was really funny that I was taking the bus everywhere, and only for a week! So again I didn't sleep when I had anticipated. By the time I got to DC at noon I had slept a grand total of an hour since 6:30 am the day before. And I hadn't eaten more than potato chips and juice (Jet Blue serves potato chips made from blue potatoes! Radtacular to the max!) since dinner Friday either. I got food before the auto show, but not sleep. This created for a more happy, but not all together aware Aunt Fuzz, and by the end it was hard to stand up after sitting down in a car. But the auto show was the bomb! It was so much fun, and so many cool cars. A few examples:

 This car was painted super cool all the way around. Amazing artwork.

The coolest car in the expo. Just look at those doors! And it had screens built into the headrests of the front seats for the people in back. They were so seamlessly integrated into the seat Christine and Marriner didn't even notice them. They had some really cool music they'd turn on when they'd open the doors, and it attracted a big crowd. Good publicity work. And just look how cool the kiddos look. They were just doing that all on their own. No prompting involved in this wonderful shot.

 When we got back from the expo it took me a whoppin 2 minutes to fall asleep on the couch. Lillian was really funny. She decided I needed a blanket, so she found one and tucked me in while I was on the couch. Then when we were playing downstairs she informed me that my place was in the basket couch and she again tucked me in and we "took naps". Sunday was really nice for catching up on my sleep after church too. Christine and I watched a movie in Tagalog and relaxed. When we went to Teeny's for dinner Chris and Marriner let me drive their car. It was great. Driving in DC wasn't too bad either. I think it helped that I had navigators. I don't think it would've been as nice if I was on my own.
  Monday, while Lige was at school and Marriner at work, we decided to go see a few cool things I hadn't seen before downtown. We started with the Fredrick Douglas house then drove downtown to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial and then walked around the tidal basin to the Jefferson memorial. Lillian and Ellis did a really great job of walking all over the place. They were sure tired by the end! Pictures-

In front of the Fredrick Douglas house. He had good style.

The bushes were blooming! It's only the beginning of Feb! But they were quite lovely.

It was so nice that we took a minute to sit on the edge of the river and finish our lunch. Of course we removed our shoes so they wouldn't accidentally fall in the river.

They love walking on the little ledges all around the many flowerbeds at the MLK Jr. Memorial. Also you get a nice view of the controversial quote from this side. I imagine it'll be really lovely in the spring.

A very cool branch on the walk around the tidal basin. Ellis was so scared of falling off, she didn't want me to let go, but then she put on this big cheesy smile so I snapped a picture really quick, before she lost her ability to put on a smile for the camera. Turns out she was more stable up there than she thought and she was actually smiling cuz she was having a good time up there. Guess I could've taken another pic that was a little more in focus...

Lige seemed to think that "duck & cover" was a good pose
for this picture. He originally wanted to be on the ground,
earthquake drill style, but we told him that was a bad idea
for pictures. I still ended up having to hoist him into the
picture cuz he kept covering his head and ducking...

 After that we had to hustle back to pick up Lige from school, then we drove of to Gravely point. It's a park right next to the runway of Regan Airport. The planes fly right over your head every couple of minutes. Today they were coming in for landing over our heads. We played a little soccer-ish game. Apparently it was me and Lill vs. Lige and Ellis. The winner of the game is in dispute though, Lige didn't count a lot of things as goals... We had a good time though.
After a yummy dinner we had FHE. I had demonstrated my lovely piano playing Sunday and it was requested that I demonstrate again as the talent portion of FHE. I was pleased to play the only song I know, Follow the Prophet. We had a lovely lesson by Ellis and played the Scripture Mastery Game, where I learned that I don't know my references as well as I thought.
  Alas, the time was spent and early Tuesday morning I was taken back to Union Station and proceeded to wait in line for quite a while to board my bus to NYC. The chilly garage waiting paid off and I got a really good seat- front row of the top deck. Extra leg room and nothing but window in front of me = )
Ah, DC is such a good time. I enjoyed it so much. I wish I'd taken 2 weeks off so I could've spent more time there. Thanks to the Merrills for their hospitality! And to Lige, Ellis, and Lillian all I have to say is "You guys are SILLY!" and I love yer guts!

Stay tuned for part 2, "Albany"...