Riding the Rails to D.C.

I took a half-day off Wednesday to take Ethan, along with Chris, into D.C. to do something I always love doing--visiting the museums.

The national museums are free--and so the only cost is getting there--a metro ride, which by comparison for the traffic it avoids is really pretty inexpensive.

A five year-old in a museum is an experience.

It is pretty much point and shoot--see something and look at it then move on.

It takes a bit to get into it and then you can really get going. Ethan seemed to like the movies a lot--where he could watch what was being presented. Although he did appreciate the dinosaurs and the animals. He spent some time playing with the ancestors, too.

I've been to the museums so much, I pretty well have the big exhibits memorized--but I still love looking at the airplanes in the Air and Space Museum.

After Ethan bored with the Natural History Museum, we had some ice cream, shopped till he dropped in the museum stores and then it was off to the National Air & Space Museum. Yay!!!!

We were incredibly lucky to miss getting dumped on by the rain which came down in buckets just as we walked into the Air & Space Museum.

Of course, since he was already tired this museum went by much too fast--but that was O.K. because it was his day! I think he enjoyed the Skylab space station the most--although the exploration of the planets was right up there.

And then, except for the ride home--that afternoon was done. Although we had to navigate the rush hour mess--we did O.K.

Well worth the effort and twice the fun.

That was a day to remember.

Dino-riffic

Spending the rainy afternoon in the Museum of Natural History with Chris and Ethan.

Scary.

And then I lost them both, I hope they are together. I'd hate for them to become Dino food.

Rain, Dark, and Cool

I figured out what it is I don't appreciate about August: rainy, dark, cool days.

The rain really dampens my spirits, although I was able to turn off the sprinkler system which kept the gardens alive, barely, during the scorching heat of July. The rain is here and really coming down as the cooler weather bumps against the humid heat we have been experiencing.

The high for today (Wednesday) is only supposed to be 77 degrees. Cool compared to the 99's of jsut a few short weeks ago.

While we were in Ithaca over the weekend, there was a smattering of 50's in the hills and Ieven saw some early signs of autumn in some of the stressed trees and bushes.

And this morning I noticed that it was dark again--no dawn in sight, as I let the dog out for her moning business. I paused for a sad moment to consider what this means. Of course I was also listening to the raindrops splat against the front walk and encouraging the dog to get her feet wet at the same time--so it wasn't much more than a passing thought.

August, at least the last half, seems to segway into September.

I am reminded of a Paul Simon song--April, Come She Will and the last verse being:

August, die she must

The autumn winds blow chilly and cold

September I'll remember

A love once new has now grown old

I feel as if Paul got it right. My love affair with summer--is becoming old and gives way into the autumn.

But the darkness is creeping across the area again. The hours of light are shorter--by almost 3 minutes every day now.

August, then can be reduced to three things--Rain, Dark, and Cool.

Sadly--

Up in the Air

Sometimes, things are not what they seem.

Usually, when a loud noise is heard in the air I can usually correctly identify it as a jet, or a propeller driven airplane, or a helicopter.

When I was a lot younger--I could often even determine the type of aircraft it was--although those were usually military aircraft. The venerable C-5A has a distinctive sound as does the B-52G.

On this day, I could not identify the air vehicle. I was snorkeling about 100 yards off the beach and I looked up to see the Goodyear Blimp. For real, slowly, and almost gracefully flying overhead.

I kind of wished that I could have just stood and watched it, but as I was in about 10 feet of water, that wasn't going to happen. So I snapped a couple of pictures with my now dead camera, to remember the moment and then went back to looking at the fishes.

I had forgotten that a blimp is based in Miami--and so while it was unusual to see one, it was not something highly out of the ordinary for the area.

I was happy to be in the water snorkeling.

But I still think about flying, sometimes.

More government in our lives is not the answer? Really?

I was reading through the blogs and papers yesterday about the economy and the dilemma that we seem to find ourselves in.

I came away from reading some of the articles believing that bigger government is not having the desired impact on the economy..

Hmmmm!

I think I have heard that somewhere before when a new president took the reigns of a crumbling economy--and then he turned it around.

I was reading an article on FoxBusiness.com about another coming stimulus package and had my eyes opened about the current situation. The article was titled "Watch Out, More Government 'Stimulus' is Coming!"

Really--I feel pretty stimulated already. I sure don't have much more to spend, but I am stimulated.

FoxBusiness made the following statement: "The folks in the White House are true believers. They really believed that bigger government could solve our economic problems."

And then they went on to write about how the White House needs a radical solution, but that Fox was proposing a different kind of radical--that in the form of Ronald Reagan. They wrote: "Most of all, Reagan had the same radical view of government that our founders had: That government is the problem, not the solution; that policies should be developed to keep government out of our lives, not give government control over our lives; that the way to turn our economy and our spirits around was to put our faith in the individual, not the state."

Of course, anyone who knows me knows that President Ronald Reagan is one of my heroes. He was a man who could help me see his vision. He had a vision for America, and he had a way of sharing that vision so that common people like me could understand it.

I remember the labels of "voodoo economics" which were slapped on his policies.

But you know what--his policies worked. This country went from double digit inflation, yes, I bought a house once with a mortgage interest rate of 11.75 percent and thought I had received a good deal, to single digit manageable inflation,. Not like the deflation we are experiencing now, but an economic recovery that sustained this country and the entire world for over 20 years.

President Reagan made the following statement in his Second Inaugural Address:
"There are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams."

Fox Business wrote this about Reagan in closing the article:
"That's the kind of radical vision we need now. Not one based on models that failed us in the '30s, but based on the policies that turned our economy and our spirits around in the '80s."

I guess I am not ready to say that economic stimulus has not worked, but it sure seems to have made a few people rich--and those people were the cause of the problems in the first place. And the rest of us are going to be left with higher tax bills to show for the government's intervention into the economy.

It is almost like a dream come true. Oops, sorry, a nightmare.

Monday Musings - August 16, 2010

1. Drove to Ithaca and back for the weekend. Long drive, especially in the rain yesterday. A convertible is just another car on the road in the rain.

2. We let the GPS find the shortest route to my parents house as we were coming in from a different direction and although we knew the roads pretty well we totally forgot--there are still dirt roads in upstate New York.


3. August is a funny month--it was chilly in NY and hot here in MD. We were surprised how cool it was just a couple hours away--even as we were returning yesterday, it was a lot cooler in York, PA than here in MD.

4. Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo. I'm glad some people can still find fun in the attractions that surround us. Jeremy and Lucas sure seemed to be having a good time.

5. Makayla has become a great traveler. She especially likes riding in Cat with the top down and she puts her nose in the air.

6. The pool really got hammered during the storms--it is amazing how much work a few thunderstorms can cause--despite the good they do with the rain which refreshed the land.

7. The O's had a bad weekend--they lost 2 of 3 to the Rays. But they played tough! And they are 9-4 so far for August, which is a winning record.

8. Someone said something about football season. Do people really get excited about preseason scores? Really--come on. Wait a month till the real season begins.

9. Does anything feel better than sleeping in your own bed after a trip?

Butterflies on the Wing

Yesterday as I arrived home, I was greeted by two butterflies dancing in the mid-day sun. Ok it was cloud covered.

They reminded me of the summer and the joys and smells of the heat and the trees baking in the summer sun

As it was the start of the weekend, they really made me take notice and appreciate the fun they were having.

We planted a butterfly bush this year. Maybe we will have even more next year.

Looking Up From My Pool

The other evening, as twilight fell over the house, I went out to the pool to relax for a few minutes after a rough day. I did not even take a glass of wine with me--I just changed into my swim suit and went to the pool to relax.

The air was heavy and humid. That summertime kind of air that lets you know it is there. So heavy it does not even carry the fragrances of the flowers with it.

The pool and the air temperature were nearly the same, yet even so, laying on my floatie it was relaxing and serene.

There was no wind.

I leaned back on my floatie as far as I could and looked up into the darkening sky to see my friends--the bats, maybe as many as 10 of them, maneuvering through the air to reduce the ever growing mosquito population.

I watched the bats dance in the air for a long time--mesmerized by the patterns they flew and awed by the ballet playing out before my eyes.

In summers past, occasionally one of them would swoop down and skim the surface of the pool for a drink of water, but not tonight--the mosquitoes were higher up and that is where these stealthy hunters stayed.

I longed to dance in the air like the bats. It reminded me of when I used to think I wanted to fly jet fighters and scream off into the sky like a modern knight on his steed armed long-range lances slung under each wing.

But, here I was, enjoying their winged dance. Relaxing in my pool--which is one of my favorite places.

And then--in the ever darkening sky--there it was. A solitary point of light that just pushed its way into my vision.

I thought of the saying--

"Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish I wish tonight."

And I could not think of anything to wish for.

Another star poked its way through the ever darkening sky and broke off my thought. I noticed again the bats, and the ever growing number of stars and I began to paddle to the side of the pool because I remembered I had things to accomplish before the night was fully upon me.

But my time alone in the heavy, still summer air watching the bats and noticing the stars is something I will remember for a long time.

Remember? It was Bad!

I was going through my images from winter yesterday and ran across this one. It reminded me of how bad it really was during the middle of the snowpocalypse.

Bad.

Nothing but snow and cold as far as could be seen.

No travel.

No sun.

Nothing except dreaming of a warm beach somewhere.

Thank you for summer!!

I love summer and the beach and the salty air. And the heat.

Bring it on it is so much better.

Washing off at the beach after a morning of fun in the surf and the sun.

Sleeping the afternoon away to get ready for the evening of more beach time and looking for turtles laying their eggs.

Swatting mosquitos and wondering where the dragonflies are.

Really--don't rush summer's ending. The alternative is just too cold to imagine and it will be here soon enough. Coats, gloves, boots and the ever present cold.

Charleston Restaurant: Dinner for a Really Special Anniversary

Chris and I, upon the recommendation of Mike and Nicole, decided to do something really special for our anniversary dinner. Something even a bit over the top for us. We decided to eat at restaurant which earned four of five number 1's in the current Zagat rating--Charleston.

We had a 6:30pm reservation, which is early, but it allowed us to enjoy an unhurried evening which did not end until after 9:00pm at the restaurant.

The restaurant is fabulous and opulent. We were greeted by the valet to park our car and there the experience began. Everything was top notch and first class. We enjoyed some time together in the bar, sipping some champagne to begin our unhurried dining experience. A high point that happened right there, in the bar, was that the staff recognized that Chris was cold and they offered her a wrap to improve her enjoyment of the evening.

From there, we were ushered to our table. There were apologies that our table request could not be accommodated due to a small function in that room, but the table offered in the wine room was more than adequate--and perhaps even better given our early hour.

We chose the "The Season" from the menu and the wine pairings. We were just too overwhelmed on our first visit to try to develop our own unique menu for the evening. What we had provided a good sampling of the menu items. And in our case this was a seafood themed meal which was very well paired with some excellent wines.

The meal--served in courses consisted of:

Rich Lobster Soup with Curry accompanied by Amontillado Viejo, Byass "Del Duque"

Local Heirloom Tomato Salad, Warm Goat’s Cheese Medallion, served with Sportoletti Rosé, Mas de La Dame (Les Baux de Provence) 2009

Jumbo Lump Crabcake, English Peas, Roasted Sweet Corn, Mustard Cream Chardonnay, accompanied by Dehlinger "Un-Filtered" (Russian River Valley) 2006

Pan-Roasted Halibut, Grilled Local Baby Squash, Creole Sauce Valtellina Superiore, with Conti Sertoli Salis "Sassella" (Lombardia) 2006

Stilton – cow’s milk, blue, creamy, rich, mildly spicy (Nottinghamshire, UK) and topped off by being served with Heitz Cellars Port "Ink Grade" (Napa Valley) NV

finally,
Local Blackberries & Madeira Sabayon

Fabulous. Each course was perfectly cooked and expertly served in gourmet style. The portions were just the right size--not too much and not too little. The wine pours were also perfectly matched to the course.

They also added a small pastry platter for dessert and a melon starter that I never really understood exactly what it was composed of--but suffice it to say, it too was awesome.

In the end, I did not want for more--except more of the atmosphere and the ambiance which in the wine room was absolutely perfect. The wait staff led by the Captain, Ryan, were spectacular and attended to our needs before we even realized we had them.

Cost? Well, it is not for the faint of heart. It is well worth it, but I have had complete meals for four for less than what I left as a tip.

Will I return? You bet! I am a definite fan.