Broom Hockey

To accept the Grover Challenge, I will regale you with a story involving a broom; Ward Broom Hockey. As youth we were way excited when the Young Men activity on Thursday Night (Yes Thursday. I grew up NEVER seeing Mork & Mindy because it was on when we had Mutual Night!) was Broom Hockey. It was played in the gym, and we didn't have a nice wood floor. We had cement with these tile things. It was hard! We would prepare our brooms; wrapping the lower quarter of the stick with duct tape or black electrical tape (we figured it would toughen up the broom). The puck was always a roll of masking tape and the goal was the where the basketball key lines met the out of bounds line. The goalie usually was on all fours with their broom laying flat to keep the puck out. Shirts vs. Skins, always, and it never failed that some of the more "fleshy" fellas were Skins, always. (Nothing like squirting off some big sweaty dudes shoulder- kinda like pinching a watermelon seed) Well, things would really get going and relatively violent. I remember one time going for the puck and getting checked right through the door, out into the hallway and almost killing one of the young women leaders. Ah, but such was Broom Hockey. One time we videotaped our game. It was hilarious to watch the mayhem, especially in slow motion.

When I was a senior in high school, there was a Young Adult Broom Ball game at the Ice Capades Chalet ice rink. My brother asked me to go, so I pulled on some football pants and we headed over. Wow! We never had injuries like this when we played. Maybe the co-ed game shouldn't be done. A girl named Shiree was coming up to the ball, tried to put on the brakes, lost her footing, and was slammed into the side while both feet were in the air. Brian McGhie took a broom handle shot to the mouth and left some teeth! There were numerous injuries the whole night. The funnest part for me was sliding into the real cocky dudes and taking them out. They were getting mad at me, but hey, it's broom ball! Toughen up, Chump!

Oh, there was this red headed girl, she was probably voted the "Most Athletic" in her high school, well, she kept coming after me, trying to take me out. Sorry, sister. She ended up on the ice a number of times. 

You know, watching Roller Ball so many times actually paid off!

The Anticipation

You know, the week before the 4th of July when we were kids was painful. Not like Christmas or Halloween, but there was a different excitement with the 4th. (What if the Declaration of Independence was signed the day before? The 3rd of July just sounds stupid) 

As kids we would do ANYTHING to get hold of firecrackers. We lived a half hour away from San Francisco, so someone was always making a run up to Chinatown to get illegal fireworks. We would rate firecrackers- Thunderbombs were the best, then Black Cat, and Lady Fingers, well, if you had them, you didn't say anything, you wuss. Packs would sell for 25-50 cents from whoever had them. 

We never just blew off packs of firecrackers at once; we would unwrap the big long fuse that tied them all together and do each one separately. And it usually involved blowing something up- a snail, little green army men, old model airplanes, etc. We would also blow up the glass that covered the water meters. Now if the firecracker didn't go off you didn't just move on; it would be inspected to see if there were any fuse left. If there was, it was always real dicey to try and light it and bail out of the way before the blast. If the fuse was gone, we'd do a "Fizzer" which meant we'd break them , dump out a wee bit of gun powder, and have someone right there as you lit the powder. It would start fizzing then someone would stomp on it and it would pop. 

A couple experiences- Mike Stark lit an M-80 in a pile of doggy-doo and it blew all over the front of his house! His dad, Lowell, whose blood pressure was already at dangerous levels just sitting calmly in a chair drinking a Schlitz, heard the noise, came out front and about had an aneurism! I think that's the first time the four letter word for poop was hurled in the neighborhood at such decibels. 

The other classic was our friend William's big brother was at the school yard one night, in the picnic table area, smoking pot with some of his stoner buddies. It was pitch black. We had some bottle rockets. Well, we fired them in at them. They shot in, bounced all around them and blew up. Those guys were freaking out. I still don't know why they didn't kick the crap out of us.

I just thought about this today as we were driving around. Man, I miss those days.

Sweatin' in the Outfield

I was lucky enough to be asked by Jayton Wakefield to play on not just one softball team, but two softball teams this spring. One is a co-ed team in Orem, the other a men's team in Provo. We pretty much have sucked it up in the co-ed team, but have been respectable in the men's league. 

Back in the day when I was a teenager we played church softball. I have always played in the outfield because, as any Snyder will tell, we hate the infield because of the thought of taking a ball to the chops. We are famous for the mitt down-head turned short hop play. Wusses, perhaps, but our teeth are still intact. Carl did pitch, though, and was very good at it. In church ball we took regions undefeated two years in a row with a perfect regular season. In area championship play, which took in all of the Bay Area in CA we did exceptionally well, too. My shot was always right over the 2nd baseman's head.  

Fast forward a couple decades and I am still in the outfield for the same reasons, though my teeth could use a good knocking out! It has been fun running around and diving for balls; I have even caught a number of them. Last night if I had made the catch on a screaming line drive that was tailing away from me I would have been on the ESPN highlight reel. But it hit the tip of my mitt and bounced out. Crap.

The problem I have is I cannot hit to anywhere but left field now days. I don't know why!?! It is very frustrating. 

Last night's tournament game was fun and we had a good crowd of spouses and friends cheering us on. Thomas Grover, our only lefty, has been the only person on the team to nail the yellow foul pole. He was able to burn around the bases for a home run. It was great. 

But alas, we were ripped off by some extremely crappy calls by an ump who obviously had a great relationship with the other team. (I bet they went and got Slurpees after the game and had a good chuckle!) We ended up losing by 2 runs. We play again tomorrow night for the men's team. Tonight is the co-ed team. We have already lost 1 game, so if we lose tonight we are done. So, I will be sweatin' in the outfield again this evening.

Maybe the Softball Gods will let me hit to center field.

Or not.

They're probably drinking Slurpees and mocking me.

6.2 Miles

So I've been running the 5K races with my brother, and he is ticked because I keep beating him. Well, the 10K is coming up on July 4th for the Freedom Festival. Carl will be running that with his friend. Jayton Wakefield wants me to run it with him, too. The farthest I have run is a wee bit over 4 miles (not including running with my wetsuit on back in high school when I was trying to make weight for a wrestling match!).

Jayton and I ran from the mouth of Provo Canyon up to Nunn's Park and back, which is pretty much 6 miles, in the heat! I was able to do it without dying and my legs are just a little sore today. So, I will have to keep it up for the next couple weeks. I have biked a couple times to work. That helps with the lung capacity.

A side note to the picture from the last posting. Back in the summer of 1999 Tyler brought his hair clippers to work one day. I walked into the waxroom to see one of my co-workers leaning over the garbage can and Tyler buzzing his head! My hair was needing a trim, 

but not a shave. Everyone started giving me crap, so I buckled and had him shave my head, too. Everyone ended up bald that day. It was pretty funny. That's our former business manager with me. We felt like we were in the nut-house, so we acted like it, too. When I got home, my kids didn't know who

 the freak was walking in our front door, and my wife cried. But, she really loved it and begs me to do it again. I don't know if the Stake President will be happy with that.

That's me in front with the sunglasses

Cholesterol, our buddy!

Back in January I had a physical, the first in about 15 years or so, and became acquainted with Dr. Jellyfinger. They took a lot of blood and ran the tests. I got them in the mail about 2 weeks later, telling me that my cholesterol was at 246 and that I needed to change my diet. So, this coincided with a bunch of women at work who were starting their own version of The Biggest Loser, which I automatically win because, well, as my wife will say every now and again... loser! (it's usually when I make an inappropriate comment). 

Anyway, I have made some serious changes in what I eat, and how much of it I do eat. It has been very hard to not eat chips, cake, cookies, brownies, Ho Ho's, Ding Dong's, etc. every day. And cutting out the cheese has been a nightmare! I love cheese, especially pepper jack and of course, Stinking Bishop!

As the months have gone on I actually started losing weight. I started out at 164.8 pounds as of Feb. 1. At the end of the competition at the end of May I weighed in at 150.0 pounds! Pretty sweet. 

This all leads me to Saturday. I had my cholesterol checked again and it came in at..... 171!!! I was pretty surprised. I figured it would be 239 or something like that. So, I wanted to celebrate with a bacon-wrapped steak, but my wife BBQed steak for me for Father's Day.

I guess I'm a LOSER after all.

Father's Day

Though I feel Father's Day is a bit of a sham, I want to honor my dad. He passed away back in December of 1998. It's not until someone is gone that you really realize how much they meant to you. My dad was about 40 when I was born. I'm 41 now and have a daughter ready to start college, so the dynamics of our relationship were a bit different. My dad was from Oak Park, Chicago and grew up in a very different world. I feel bad that we really never knew a whole lot about my dad's past. He moved out to San Francisco while working for United Airlines in the 50's. There he joined the LDS Church, which ostracized him from his family. 

My dad loved to work on cars, especially the stupid Opal Cadet, which, I swear, we were lifting the engine out of, from a jimmy-rigged contraption looped over the rafters in the garage, every summer! My dad was always very entrepreneurial, trying to come up with some new business or idea. He actually had a prototype of the mask thing that's used at the dentist's offices for getting the nitrous oxide. A wee bit of funding and he could have made it big!

My dad worked different jobs to keep us going. 

I think the one thing that is impressive is that my mom got spinal militis back in 1979 and my dad stuck with her and took care of her until he died.

One last memory is my dad telling jokes, usually bad ones, but you'd be laughing so hard because he was laughing and couldn't get them out. 

I miss him and would love to ask him questions about life and where I am at now. I would love to have had him at my graduation last year and at my daughter's graduation. I would love to talk to him about his family history, about my grandfather, about living in Washington DC. Well, my dad wasn't perfect or the Best at one thing, but he set a great example and I am partly what I am because of his mundane but hard working existence. 

On the 7th Day...

We got home in the wee hours of the morning, so I put this off until today. I got up and did the morning rituals. I let the womenfolk sleep in. I cursed my bed one last time! I took the camera and went walking around Pennsylvania Avenue and such. I have put a few random snapshots on. It was still really hot and muggy and I was starting to sweat like a pig, so I came back to the Hotel. 

Teresa was up and going and I got Chantel up at 10:15. We packed and cleaned up a little bit. Chantel and I ran over to see the house where Lincoln died, across from the Ford's Theater, but there were huge amounts of children waiting to go in. So we jumped into a souvenir shop, bought some DC shirts and some magnets and came back. 

We loaded up, said a prayer, and went downstairs to check out. I am calling our room the McCain Memorial because the toilet paper is something they would have at a POW camp and the bed was tortuous!

We walked to the Metro one last time and were off to Union Station. Once there we bought tickets for the Marc then stopped at Sbarros for some pizza and spaghetti. We also bought cookies at a French Bakery. We walked a bit and hung out. I looked through a few shops. Why didn't I buy a Nationals pennant?! Man, I always blow it.

We finally boarded the train, which had no AC

 and was stifling hot. Our train took us to the bus which took us to BWI airport in Baltimore. We got checked in then went to the observation desk to watch for a bit. At the security check there was a mom dealing with her 2 young children and her mother. I figured we'd be seated real close to them.

Our gate was at the furthest part of the terminal and it was packed! There was a Potbelly's there, so I grabbed a shake and cookie for us to all share. The flight was supposed to leave at 5:15 PM EST, but the walkway thing that takes you to the plane was broken. It took them a long time to have us walk out onto the tarmac and up the stairs to the plane. I helped a couple ladies carry their stuff and stick it in the overhead.

And of course the lady with the 2 upset kids was in front of us!

Well, at 5:30 they announced that all flights west were delayed because of severe weather. We waited, they started the movie and passed out snacks, then waited more. We sat on the plane tight there for 3 hours! Then we got in line to take off and waited there for 30 more minutes. When we finally took off everyone clapped. It was funny.

The plane seemed angry as it jetted up and banked hard right.

Well, the flight was re-routed south before heading west. I'll tell you what, I was going nuts what with the screaming kids and the lateness of the hour. Chantel and I watched Seinfeld for an hour and 1/2. We would burst out laughing at some parts, probably ticking other passengers off. The one classic time was when Kramer was talking about the Sitcom that Jerry and George were supposed to be writing being about a circus..."Come on, a guy who's just a head, beeeyyyahhh...". It was the perfect time because we started crying we were laughing so hard!

I started getting the jimmy-legs, and I can't sleep on a plane, so I put on my iPod and cranked it up. We hit a massive turbulence and the plane dropped and people, including myself, freaked out. Ugh. The worst part was when we were still an hour and a 1/2 out. Oye!

Well, we landed 11:00 PM MST, then had to get our bags, then the shuttle to the car and then pay to get out. We stopped and picked up Abby & Madalyn, who were still up, at Carl's house, got some gas and headed home. Chelsea was still up, too. We grabbed a piece of toast and crashed at 1:30 AM!

Overall it was a great trip. I loved the time to spend with my daughter and wife. I think it brought us all a lot closer and made me see Chantel in many different situations. I realize she is beautiful, thoughtful, friendly, has a great sense of humor and is fun...F U N!

DC 6

I was having dreams of flying in very small wooden planes in the front yard of my house that I grew up in, probably from seeing the Air Mail planes. Oh, but then I'm rudely awaken by bedspring number 17 in my kidney! (My wife is right now popping an Ambien, so she'll be rather fun in about 15 minutes) Well, I let them sleep in until 9:30 to 10:15. We got all showered and dressed and then headed out the door, greeted by the already 90 degree weather and high humidity. I only have 2 dark colored shirts left, which doesn't bode well for being out in the sun. I had Teresa take a picture of me and Chantel in front of the FBI building. 

Our first, and main stop, was at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave. It was an expensive

 excursion, but we had a great time. We started off with checking out a couple sections of the Berlin Wall. Then we rode the tallest hydraulic elevators in the world to the 6th floor. We checked out the view and got a couple pictures and read a little history about Pennsylvania Ave. We went to the 5th floor and looked through the big exhibit there. We jumped down to the 3rd floor for a demonstration about a news studio. Some old gentleman kep

t asking rather random questions. You could feel other people cringing every time his hand went up. 

We ran back up to the 5th floor and looked at some more things then watched a

 video on this huge long screen.

The 4th floor had a big 9-11 exhibit and also info on the 1st Amendment. We then got to the 2nd floor and Chantel did a little newscast thing.

 It was pretty funny. We will be able to download it tomorrow off the internet. Maybe we will share the address. Then we went to

 the 1st floor and checked out some stuff and watched a 4-D movie. It was actually pretty cool. The whole experience was pretty cool. I thought it looked familiar from the George Stefanopolous Sunday morning show, and sure enough they shoot it there each week.

We walked out into the blasted heat! We walked up to the Capitol Building. Chantel and I wanted to go do "I'm just a Bill, stuck here on Capitol Hill", but you can't even get close to the steps now days. We walked around to the Library of Congress and went in for a looksee before they booted us all out and closed up. 

So, we walked a couple blocks and boarded the Metro. Of course there had been a train that had jumped it's tracks on the Orange Line. We had to wait an extra 20 minutes, but sitting down there is still better than walking in the heat. We made it back to the beautiful and amenity bare Hotel Harrington so the women folk could take a wee breather. I jumped out to take a few pictures of the hotel and such. 

When they finally got ready to roll, we went to Elephant & Castle for dinner. I got guilted into ordering the Bangers & Mash so that Thomas Grover wouldn't be mad at me. They were tasty, and they came with baked beans and a delicious apple chutney. I also ordered a side salad. They sausages were nothing like the sausages that I ate in New Zealand. We waited forever for our

 waiter to come back, then ordered desert. Chantel and I shared a brownie and ice cream dish called Big Ben Brownie, which we were shocked to see when they brought it out, and Teresa had an apple crisp. Totally bloated! We waited for a long time again for our waiter, got the check, paid and were done. We waddled back here and are laying around doing crossword puzzles, Soduku and this. I can't believe our trip will be done tomorrow! I think our other girls are missing us. We miss them.

My wife is now woozy and can't walk a straight line! Lightweight!

Sunday in DC ( Day 5)

Since it is a day of rest, I got up at 7:30 and let the women sleep in. Chantel got up after 10. Teresa was all looped up on Ambien again, so she needed a couple extra hours to shake it off. The only way to describe my bed is that I fell like I am sleeping in a bowl! We were out of milk and Pop Tarts, so I ran on down to the CVS Drugstore. DC is kind of weird on a Sunday morning with no one around.  The high humidity is still a shock every time you walk out the door. The sad thing was the CVS store was having AC problems and was actually hotter than outside! I touched a bag of Resses Peanut Butter Cups and they were all smooshy. I came back and turned the TV on and was so excited about the Sham-Wow towel. I wanted to order, but Teresa wouldn't let me.

So after we all got up, dressed and ready, we headed out to the National Archives. We got there at 11:45 and had to wait in the blistering sun for 35 minutes. Holy crap it was hot! You know, we watch and see the forecast, which

 cracks us up, because it will

 be record heat until we leave, then it goes back to normal. I understand Utah is in the 60's and rainy, but I'm sure once we get back it will heat up (but it will be a dry heat). I digress. As the line started moving and got within 10 feet of the door we could feel the AC spilling out. Oh, sweet blessed relief! We make our way up to see the documents. It's funny that we thought about National Treasure and how they were having a party right there in that room. The room is not well lit and there's no flash photography. As we made our way to see the Declaration of Independence, there was a lady who was videotaping each document... for a long time. Even her family was getting ticked that she was clogging the lane. It is amazing to see these documents and what they stand for. It's also surprising how faded they are. They even have the Louisiana Purchase document there as well as a few others.

I stepped back to look at the two huge paintings on the wall showing the Declaration and also the Constitution. The legend of the painting depicting the men involved also stated who didn't sign onto these documents. I just thought how they could have and should have been on the right side of history, but ooooh they blew it! Again, why don't the very people who are in Washington get what it's all about? They need to have a tour and refresher course about American History.

After the document room, we wandered around and looked at many of the displays. I looked at the political cartoon display set up. It made me think back to my Illustration class and when I did a lengthy report on Thomas Nast. Chantel was very intrigued with a number of things in there. 

We finally left and went over to the Museum of Art. That place is huge! We stopped for a drink

 of water and a snack outside before going in. We looked at a few rooms then found many rooms full of sculptures. It was pretty cool. We then went looking for and found the Da Vinci painting. Pretty neat. Next we searched for and found the French Impressionists. They had Monet, Manet, Matisse, Renoir, Cassat, and I even found Van Gough's self portrait. It was pretty awesome. We came around to a huge fountain and Chantel & I couldn't resist striking a pose. There is a cafe type place in there, too, but I had to laugh becaus

e we are in no way snooty enough to sip wine, each little delicasies and discuss art.

Our feet were killing us, but we pushed on and out the door into the stifling heat. My brother called and said he was watching the Nationals-Giants game and it was 114 on the field! I am so happy we traded our tickets and went to the night game! We went across the street to the Newseum. Chantel really wants to go to it. We got over there and the lady at the door suggested we come back because it was going to close in an hour and 20 minutes. So we walked to the Metro station and went to Union Station. It's kind of pathetic because we could have walked, but the heat and our feet, no way.

Once there we went to the US Postal Museum. That was kind of quaint and fun. They booted us out at closing time so we skipped, not literally, to Union Station and ate at the American Restaurant. They started with these wonderful little rolls. After we ordered and received our food, I asked our waiter for more rolls. He brought more silverware. I asked again and he brought a small plate. I asked one of the other dudes there for more rolls, he obviously couldn't speak English, so he gave some kind of grunt and moved on. I asked again for more rolls and our waiter brought me more salad dressing! We were cracking up. Finally, another waiter brought us some rolls, said something to our waiter, who then brought us more rolls, too! Oh

 well. The food was fine and we got back onto the Metro and decided to call it a day. Chantel and I tried figuring out a crossword puzzle and Teresa tried Soduku-ing, but we all were mentally challenged by that time and gave up. So, what better way to continue to numb the senses than to watch a DVD! We put National Treasure on the lap top and sat on they bed. We were laughing at the fact of the lighting and party going on in the document room. After the movie, Teresa and Chantel started battling for the cell phone of which Chantel keeps getting texts from the 22 year old. Geeze. 

The 4th Day

Last night my wife took an Ambien again. It was too funny because she was getting all woosy about ten minutes before bed. Chantel and I were cracking up. My bed and I still aren't buddies yet. I got up at 7 local time and did the ritual Fiber Uno, scriptures, shower,

 etc. I did wake up my wife a wee bit after 8 so we could get going before noon! We actually left the hotel before 10! The heat is horrid! The humidity is around 80%. The Race for the Cure was just winding down. I can't believe people were running in the heat! We walked to the Holocaust Museum, got tickets, then went and watched the 13 minute Rise of Nazism down stairs. Pretty interesting. Then we went through the tour. It was very educational. You know, I can see parallels in our own society as was started back then. One main thing was how they started the terror of not being able to speak your point of view for fear of getting on the bad list. I see that happening with the whole political correctness problem we have; 

we can't say what we really think anymore without a huge fear of getting ripped on.

Anyway, walking through the box car was pretty weird and seeing all the shoes made me think that each pair was a person.

We left that museum and went in the oppressive heat to the Smithsonian Castle. That was pretty boring, so we went to the Natural History Museum. That was pretty fun. I was shocked to see how everyone piled in to see the Hope Diamond. Chantel and I laughed as we made like the hippo. While we were there, I called the Nationals so we could see about changing our tickets to go tonight. They said we could, so we left to come back to our hotel. Chantel and I ran up to Potbelly's for some sandwiches and shakes, and I bought a oatmeal chocolat

e chip cookie! Their sandwiches are wonderful. 

We went to the Metro and went to the Navy Yard stop. We went to the ticket window and changed out our tickets. Holy crap it was hot!!! We sat in the shade while waiting for the game to start. Luckily, about 15 minutes before the game started, clouds moved in. We were sitting up from 1st base. I was surprised to see so many Giants fans there. 

The last time I took my wife to a baseball game it was a boring 1-0 pitcher's duel. Well, the game was 0-0 going into the top of the 8th inning. Finally, the Giants broke it open, scored a couple runs, then we saw a grand slam! Classic! There was a pretty major lightening storm starting to happen over DC. Well, the Nationals stunk it up, the game ended 6-0 for the Giants, yeah, and we started herding out like animals. As everyone was walking, there was lots of lightning and thunder and then it rained with huge big drops while we pushed to get into the Metro station. We three held hands so we could stay together. Once in we packed onto the trains. We made a transfer and then came home. That was Chantel's first Major League Baseball game. The Nationals Ball Park is quite nice. For the

 first 7 innings the best part was the presidents race! (that's where the mascots all run from center field. But Teddy Roosevelt came cruising in on a little motorcycle.) There were two women who sat in front of us, one was a Nationals fan with hat and jersey, the other a Giants fan with hat and jersey. They were pretty funny. 

So, here we are, Teresa is all loaded up with Ambien again, actually, she's already out! Chantel just bailed and I am ready, too. It's been a really enjoyable day.

DC 3

Well, here we are on day 3 of our trip. Wow, my bed is bad. I have named each spring that sticks in my back. I got up and going again at around 7-ish. It's funny eating Fiber Uno in a cup in the bathroom. I showered and all, read my scriptures, and waited for Teresa and Chantel to wake up. My wife didn't take an Ambien last night so even though we walked 100 miles, she didn't sleep too well. By the way, the Ambien are left-overs from my European trip last year. I didn't need them. So, they finally got up, showered and dressed, and even had a Pop Tart, then we planned our day. We finally left at 11:45!!!

We caught the Metro at the Federal Triangle stop and headed up to the Arlington Cemetery. Once there we bought the $7 tour. Well worth it. It is interesting to s

ee the Eternal Flame for President Kennedy, and to look down the road where the funeral procession made it's way up. Also, today is the 40th anniversary of R

obert Kennedy's assassination, so there were lots of flowers at his small marker and wooden cross. 

We stopped to see the changing of the guard at the Unknown Soldier Monument. Man, it was hot. The Lord bless those servicemen who participate in that ritual. We jum

ped over to see the mast of the USS Maine that blew up in Havana sparking the Spanish-American War. 

Our final stop on that little tour was the Robert E. Lee House. It was interesting to see the whole place and to hear how Lee quit his post to join the Con

federacy. The thing that many people I know who have been to

 the South say is that the Civil War is still going on. The cemetery was an interesting place to visit and to contemplate our nation's history. I wish everyone had a chance to be here and feel what I am feeling as I learn about our heritage.

We hopped back onto the Metro and stopped at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. We walked all around there and learned a lot of interesting things. We should have started at the Air side and not the Space side. 

After that it was too late and everything was closed. We walked through the National Sculpture Garden where there was a Jazz concert going on. People were laying all around on blankets and drinking adult beverages and eating and such. I was appalled at what is considered "art" and is actually in a National Sculpture Garden! Those artists must have been snickering the whole way to the bank.

We came back to figure out a place to eat and ended up pretty much right across the street at Qdoba's. Chantel had a chicken quesadilla and Teresa and I had salads. It was tasty enough and not too expensive. We came back upstairs for a break then back down to Maggie Moos so Chantel could get an ice cream. The service was horrendous and chaotic, but the ice cream was delicious (I snuck a taste). Then, I got a piece of chocolate cake from Harriet's Restaurant in the lobby. Yes, I ate cake; double chocolate with a cherry! I didn't eat much of the frosting, I'm not much into that, but I like the cake. So, I feel fatter and happier. Hey, Glenn Beck is on! (can you tell we don't have cable at home?) 

DC 2

My bed is a giant piece of hud! It's not just a banana bed, but a squashed, twisted banana bed. You can feel every spring in your back. I woke up at 7:00 local time and got going with a shower and some Fiber Uno! After a long time, Teresa got up and finally Chantel got up after 9. I ran up to Potbelly's for a couple breakfast sandwiches. Man, they were good! (mine had ham, eggs, Swiss, and mushrooms)We figured out a route, loaded up the backpack, (which is pink and I get to carry it) and left the hotel. By the way, the picture of the bathroom is there because it's right when you walk in AND the bathroom door won't close if the toilet seat is down.

We walked out the door and the humidity is like a slug in the gut. Man, it's so blasted hot. We started off to see the White House. We got as close as we could and were told by a police officer there was an event 

going on and it will be about an hour. So we had to walk aroun

d and get pictur

es from far away. I'm

 doing my Clinton "I feel your pain AND I didn't have sexual relations with that woman..."

We headed on over to the Washington

 Monument. I was surprised that it was made

 from marble. Chantel and I got

 a picture of us touching the monument. A

fter that we started over to the World War II Monument. I enjoyed the relief sculptures that showed scenes of life entering and during the war. You know, reading the engraved quotes everywhere makes me frustrated that we as a society just don't get it.

We walked along the Reflecting Pool and slid on over to the Vietnam Memorial. We laughed at an old lady in her Red Cross uniform with the longest cigarette I have ever seen dangling from her lips! We found a couple of Snyder names on the wall. We came back out of the little wall place and had a sit down in the shade. Holy crap it was hot! We went to the Lincoln Memorial and took some pictures. I had the same feeling of why don't people

 realize how awesome the USA really is? I could start a rant right now about Obama and socialism, but I won't. We snuck on into the gift shop, mainly to feel some AC. I looked at a couple books about Lincoln. One was about the conspiracy and Booth's escape and capture. Pretty interesting stuff. Someone should have been watching their children because these two kids knocked down everything they touched. It was like a bad movie.

Next was the Korean War Memorial. I have seen pictures of the sculpture and being that I work at a foundry, I examined the color of the sculptures and am convinced they are painted.

After a short respite in the shade we continued on. We tool a wee stop at the memorial for all the DC residents who died in WWI. We then crossed the road an

d started off for the Jefferson Memorial, walking along the Tidal Basin. Right at the FDR Memorial, Teresa realizes she lost her sunglasses. I ran back but couldn't find them. Oh well. The FDR memorial was frustrating. It has many different parts to it, is quite big, and he is the one who started the welfare entitlement state we are in! Typical DC to celebrate big government.

By the time we got to the Jefferson Memorial we were ready to pass out it was so blooming hot! Chantel and I ran up real quick and got some pictures while Teresa sat on the steps. We then walked over to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We picked up some tickets and Teresa and Chantel had a snack so they wouldn't die, which we ate in the alley. The tour was all right, nothing too major.

We walked back to the hotel, took a break, then headed up to the Hard Rock Cafe. That was my first time in one. Pretty loud and raucous but that was OK. We ate and had a good time then walked out to see the Ford Theater. Of course it is closed until February 2009! We did get a photo of the house where Lincoln died. You know, it's weird how everything has so much history.

We got back and my wife is ticked because her legs are still white after being in the sun all day. I keep telling her she's one of the "Pale Kids" from the cartoon Recess. We did step out for an ice cream cone and a wee stroll to see the Washington Monument all lit up. I think we should sleep easy tonight, well, if the springs don't poke my ribs.

Washington DC Day 1

I am going to document each day of the trip that Chantel, Teresa and I are on to Washington DC. We got up and going at 3:00 AM!!! Got showered and finished packing. We had already dropped of Abby and Madalyn at my brother Carl's house last night, so they were done. We woke Chelsea up to say goodbye to her. We got going in the car to catch our 6:00 flight. We were running late! We parked in the Long-Term lot and got onto the shuttle. I wanted to drive the shuttle myself (the dude was going pretty slow). We ran up to check in our baggage but the lady told us it was too late! By 5 minutes. So we hoofed it upstairs and had to dump all of our toiletries because shaving cream, vaseline, hairspray, and mousse could be used to blow a huge hole in the fuselage. But my wife's scissors managed to make it through with no problem. We ran to our gate, they checked our baggage, and we sat down just in time to take off. The flight was rather boring. The movie was The Spiderwick Chronicles. I didn't really watch the first half, but boredom got the beast of me and I watched the 2nd half. 

We landed in Atlanta at 11:30 and had an hour to wait for our connecting flight to Baltimore. They boarded the plane and we were off again. There was a school group from Bear River, UT that were on the continuing flight with us, sitting right behind us again. I couldn't sleep, again, on the plane. Man, those seats! Who designed them? Obviously they aren't normal shaped- whose head leans so far forward when you try to recline? Ugh. So, we landed in Baltimore, disembarked, and waited for our bags, then waited even longer to catch the shuttle to the train. We bought tickets for the MARC to Union Station. While we were waiting a huge lightning storm came blowing in. It rained real hard for quite a while. We were noting the high humidity with a couple that were waiting with us. Turns out they are from Farmington, UT.

Well, we got into Union Station at 4:30-ish and wow it was busy! The architecture and sculptures are pretty cool. We bought tickets on the Metro and got off at our stop. After taking the long way around the IRS building, we got to our hotel, The Hotel Harrington. We came up to our room. Definitely not too impressive. 

We asked at the front desk where a good sandwich shop was and they pointed us to Pottbelly's. We walked a couple blocks to the shop and went in. Chantel and I both ordered a Wreck, and Teresa got a ham. We also got a, Oreo Shake. The sandwiches were delicious!!! Plus, we were starving, having only eaten cookies and cheese & crackers on the airplane. 

We walked to CVS to replenish our toiletries that we had to chuck. And we got some Apple Jacks! They were on sale. When we were starting back, another lightning storm came in. We ducked into the doorway of a building to wait it out. A lightning bolt hit right by us. You could hear the crackle/buzz then a gigantic KA-BOOM! There was a young lady standing by us who had run under the doorway, too. She got pretty scared from that one. So after 15-20 minutes of some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen, we took off and came back to the hotel. We have been too wasted to go back out. Teresa and I just went outside, but it is still raining, so here we are. Hopefully we will be alright tomorrow, both with the weather and with feeling not so gooey.