Sightseeing Day

Last weekend's weather was gorgeous, and we were eager to get out and explore. Our first stop was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We spent almost three hours here, but we could have stayed much longer. This huge, free museum has a three-floor permanent exhibition, plus other rotating collections.

Visitors to the Museum pass under this gate, a cast taken from the original entrance to the Auschwitz death camp, inscribed with the ironic phrase Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes One Free). It is ironic because most people being sent to Auschwitz truly thought it was a work camp, not a death camp.

The museum made powerful impressions on us. It was respectful yet blunt, especially when describing the American response - how there was a lot of talk and not much action by other countries. The most touching part of the museum for me was the room which was completly full of shoes from the victims. It was a faceless yet really personal way to put into perspective the 6 million victims.

Photo Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

We definitely left this museum with much to discuss, there really was so much to see and learn about. I'd love to go back again.

We found it necessary to go for a long walk after leaving the museum, and came across this scene by the Jefferson Memorial. Five minutes and $10 later, we were commandeering our very own paddle boat - what great views of the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument!

The Tidal Basin, a manmade lake, is surrounded by cherry trees. This is also the site of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which celebrates the 1912 gift of trees from the city of Tokyo. We are so excited that my parents are coming for the festival this year, hopefully we'll get some pictures of the trees in bloom!

We felt very safe with our life jackets on!

The most thrilling moment came when the Marine One helicopter flew very low to the ground, right over us, presumably carrying Obama?? Wikipedia tells me that Marine One always flies in groups with identical helicopters, sometimes as many as five. One helicopter carries the president, while the others serve as decoys for would-be assassins on the ground.

Who are we kidding? It was probably just Michelle Obama returning home from a Target run.

We finished the day at the Jefferson Memorial, which honors our nations third president and author of the Declaration of Indepence. It was dedicated in 1943 at the request of admirer Franklin Roosevelt. Metal was being rationed during World War II so the statue was temporarily built of plaster until a replacement bronze statue could be created in 1947.

We returned home with tired legs and tired brains. What an emotionally exhausting but educational day!

Special Delivery

Today we were so excited to receive two items in the mail. The first was a birthday card for Jimmy from Grandpa and Grandma in Mankato.




The second item was a package containing.....what else? A Twins grill cover! Bobby picked this out himself and ordered it using his credit card rewards points as a surprise and it... umm... certainly was a pleasant surprise!

Even with such subtle Twins details, Bobby is pretty excited to show off his MN pride to all of our neighbors. I can't wait until spring when the grill cover comes OFF and we are using the grill every day!

Our House

We decided to live in Silver Spring, Maryland, which is halfway between Baltimore, where Bobby works, and Tyson's Corner, where Laurie works.

Bobby battles the distance, traveling nearly 35 miles each way, while Laurie battles the traffic, traveling on "The Beltway," which circles Washington D.C. and is known for standstill traffic at around the clock. We are surprised at how equally slow our commutes are, so neither one of us can complain to the other.

While this all sounds horrible, we really love our townhouse and are happy to call it home. Here is what our cute neighborhood looks like:

Here are some pictures from our visit in early September when house-hunting. We loved all of the natural light, the crown molding throughout, the large deck, Bobby's baseball room potential, and the two car garage.

We are attempting to become better users of public transit. Our house is a five minute walk to the Metro station. We live along the Red Line train, just two stops away from the location of the horrific Metro train collision in June 2009 which killed nine and injured 80.

We were happy to find the DC Metro system to be clean, safe and easy to navigate. We are just a 15 minute ride to the major sights. **Plug for future visitors: You can get to our house from Reagan by taking a 50 minute ride on the Metro (which is approximately the time it would take Laurie to pick you up, after getting lost twice).

Go Twins!

Sorry to be redundant, but this is another post about ESPNZone, but not to be confused with the Baltimore ESPNZone - we are now discussing the Washington DC ESPNZone. I (Laurie) am somewhat ashamed to admit that Bobby and I have visited 5 of the 7 ESPNZones in existence.

What makes this worse is that these cities have endless dining choices (New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, need we say more) we default to what else? ESPNZone.

Anyway, our love affair may be over after last weekend. While we waited for our cable to be installed at home, our MN sports teams were at an all time high, and Bobby was anxious to watch. We desperately wanted to catch the race for the Central Division, but it was nowhere to be found! We walked around downtown and arrived at old faithful ESPNZone. However, even with their abundant selection of screens, it college football Saturday, meaning there was no room for two crazy MN sports fans...we were denied!

It was a beautiful day so we decided to make the most of it and head to the National Mall.

I stole a shot of Bobby checking the Twins score on his phone...

Needless to say, the Twins swept the Royals and went on to defeat the Tigers and take the central Division crown. Bobby hasn't been this happy since the Twins won the division in 2006!

Jimmy's Birthday!

Today our beloved Jimmy turns 12 years old, it is hard to believe he is a senior. We don't know what we would do without him!




He is still getting used to the sounds of our new place. He is starting to learn not to be afraid of the sound of the garage opening and closing. He currently enjoys running up and down the stairs at a fierce pace.

Moving Day(s)!

On Wednesday, September 23 we left Minnesota for a new chapter in our lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Bobby, along with his dad as navigator, drove the U-Haul towing the Mazda. My dad and I took turns driving our hardy Alero, with our heavily sedated cat Jimmy (thanks Steph!) in the backseat. We are so grateful our dads came along for the ride!

This is what we did the first day:

And here is what we did the second day:

Needless to say we had a lot of time to catch up with our dads and take in all the beautiful scenery. We actually drove through seven of the eleven Big Ten campuses on our journey out east!

Upon arrival we picked up my mom, Bonnie, who decided to fly in for the occasion. After a day of unpacking we decided to have a little fun and headed to Baltimore for a little sea food at the Inner Harbour.

And of course, to make Bobby and his dad happy, what evening would be complete without a stop at the Baltimore ESPNZone to cheer on the Twins! Needless to say, the Twins trounched the Royals on their way to the Central Divison crown! Go Twins!!

Please follow our blog as we keep you updated of our new adventures on the East Coast!!