This past weekend Russell and I went to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. He has been wanting to visit for a while, probably because he wanted to check out all of the USNews & World Report mentions. With a great tip from our friend Pammy of 1/2 price tickets in the month of January we set aside time from wedding planning and hopped on the metro to check out what the Newseum had to offer.
We enjoyed the many interactive and compelling exhibits the Newseum had to offer. Some of the top sections that we enjoyed were:
Athlete: photos from legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss
The largest glass elevators that take you to the top floor where they have a great view of the US Capitol and the Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace
News History Room where they had over 500 years of newspapers in glass drawers
The Internet, TV and Radio Exhibit
Today’s Front Page Gallery, where they have more than 80 newspapers from across the U.S. and around the World
Russell and I are out on the Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace with a great view of the U.S. Capitol in the background.
I was so amused by these artifacts at the Newseum!
The last thing we did at the museum (except check out the gift shop which is always a highlight) was go to the Interactive Newsroom and I actually had a chance to read a teleprompter and be a television reporter. If you ever have a chance to go to the Newseum, I highly recommend it. When you go you can choose from 6-8 different backdrops ranging in topics from sports, weather and even landing on the moon. I chose a prompt that was about the latest exhibits going on at the Newseum; I felt it was appropriate so I could remember the day. Russell wanted me to give a special shout out at the end, so take a look and see how I did.
In English we have three definitions of we: the regular we meaning you and I, as in “we had dinner togetherâ€; the royal we meaning I, as in “we are not amusedâ€; and the marital we meaning you, as in “we need to take out the garbage.”
—Chris Bovbjerg, Letter to the Editors of the Economist
This weekend Kristina and I traveled with her folks down to south-western Virginia for her cousins wedding. We left early Friday morning and it took about 6 hours to get there from the DC area. Our drive was complete just before the snow started falling as we pulled up to our hotel in Pounding Mill, Virginia. What made this trip out of the ordinary is the fact that the largest winter storm of the decade was making its way towards us.
The wedding was supposed to start at 6 but the snow had been coming down all afternoon making for some slick conditions. The snow might have changed some plans, but it didn’t stop everyone for having a good time. Lindsay and her now-husband Luke went ahead with the ceremony. The ceremony was beautiful and the couple even managed to get some pictures together outside in the snow. Of course this was the end of the night and the snow was a good 6 inches deep.
The next morning we took in the view from the hotel room and started our voyage back home.
We didn’t get too far as the roads were still rough as the storm progressed northward to Maryland. Interstate 81 was backed up for miles and we passed dozens of abandoned cars; some of which were in the middle of the road. After being on the road from 9:30am to shortly before 5pm, we had gone a whopping 121 miles. We pulled off in Salem, Virginia, at a hotel for the night where I’m writing this thanks to the free wifi. Its back on the road tomorrow to complete the rest of our journey. I hear there is 21 inches of snow waiting at home in Glenmont!
The 4-year tradition of spending Thanksgiving at my parent’s house lives on. Every year Russell, his parents and other family members come over and spend thanksgiving at my parent’s house. My mom doesn’t mind as she loves to cook and I help her out as much as I can. Russell helps by eating!
My dad is finishing up bbq-ing some vegetables.
Russell and his mom were the first to dig in. We enjoyed turkey, spare ribs, marinated bison, egg rolls, cole slaw, corn bread, homemade corn tortillas, potato salad, veggies and cranberry sauce. Yum!
And everyone got their fare share of leftovers to take home and enjoy for the following week. It was a great Thanksgiving and I can’t wait until next year.
Kristina and I took a trip back in time when we visited the Maryland Renaissance Festival this past weekend. There were many sights and sounds to take in from the throngs of eager guests decked out in 15th century wear, to the numerous shops selling all kinds of hand made crafts. The festival was littered with performers involved in plays, musical groups, and even a jousting match.
This jester was a hoot doing visual gags with his fingers.
We saw a glass blowing demonstration and these were some of the finished products hanging outside of his shop.
The jousting match was the most exciting part of the event. One of the knights even fell off his horse during one of the routines.
This queen was one of the many different costumes we saw people wearing throughout the day.
The longest line at the Maryland Renaissance Festival was for the ATM though some shops accepted credit cards.
Kristina sure had a fun time! I did too I just couldn’t get a picture of myself enjoying everything.
I can’t believe how far some people get into the renaissance time period but it is fun to experience a bit of history for yourself. And we didn’t have to worry about fighting a dragon and crossing a moat to get back home!
