Washington, DC Visit

Wednesday, May 15

Ensconced in Linda's Aunt Doris's apartment, we finally experienced nice weather for the whole day. Although it was breezy (but not so breezy as we have experienced) it was sunny and in the mid 70's. We didn't really do a lot, but Lili was acting very restless, so we took her for a decent walk – the first good exercise she has had in days. We walked down Connecticut Avenue past the National Zoo and back. In part, I think, because it was the first really nice day here as well as where we have been traveling, there many people out on the streets enjoying themselves.

I often play a game when I am in the big eastern cities. I try to make eye contact with people, as many do on the west coast, just to see if they will make eye contact with me. Once when I was in Washington, several years ago, I walked for two days before I finally got someone to make eye contact with me. Only after enjoying the success did I realize that that person was wearing a University of Oregon sweat shirt. In any event, this game does not work the same when you are walking a dog – especially something like a "wiener dog" that people, and most notably, children all love. As a result, we not only made eye contact but even held many short conversations. When we walked by the entrance to the zoo, there are many families coming out, and they have just spent the day experiencing animals. Having a dog like Lili around makes it possible for them to continue that experience for just a little longer.

Independent of the specifics of the traveling, today I completed a prescription from my neurologist. In March, on the vernal equinox, I had experienced a very minor stroke. After many tests and consultations, the doctors pronounced me to have recovered. When I asked the neurologist if I would be able to undertake this trip, and told him that we were going to try taking the dog with us for the first time, he left only the instruction that I should read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. It is a great story, and there are both many differences and many similarities with our journey to date. Most significant in the differences is Steinbeck's ability to both recognize and describe not only the scenery but also the people that he encountered. Many of his observations about the actual work of travel – the frustrations and the pleasures - correspond with ours. It was a good book to read on this trip.

Thursday, May 16

We woke up to another great weather day and decided to head out for a day trip to Charlottesville, VA and a visit to Monticello. The four of us – Me, Linda, Aunt Doris, and (as always) Lili headed south into Virginia. We probably should have left Lili at a doggie day care in Washington, but we didn't think of that until we were well on our way.

In any event, it was a great day, and the (about) 2 hour ride down through the Virginia piedmont area was beautiful. On the way down, we saw signs for the "Plough and Hearth Country Store," one of the many catalogues that we get at home. We stopped there for a few minutes while Linda and Doris shopped and I exercised the dog for a few minutes.

Then, the bad news was that I got ourselves a little bit lost going into Charlottesville and looking for Monticello and coming out of Charlottesville, looking for the highway to Washington. The good news was that in this little extra tour we first encountered a Krispy Kreme donut store. This is one of the American icons that we don't have in the Portland area, and that Linda was insistent that we try while on this trip. Now we have that out of the way. (Incidentally, the donuts are very good, but I'm not sure I would go a long way out of my way, or even wait in a long line to get them.) The second result of the extraneous tour was that we got to see some of the University of Virginia campus. This school was founded by Thomas Jefferson and has many elegant looking buildings that were either designed by him or in the same style as his designs.

We did get to Monticello after some fuss. It is worth the trouble. The grounds, the view, the house, the gardens – all of it is beautiful. The tour of the house is great (but no photos allowed). What made it even more interesting was that we have both recently read Undaunted Courage (including discussions of Jefferson's relationship to the Lewis and Clark expedition), John Adams (including a lot of discussion about Adams' relationship with Jefferson), and a not particularly good mystery that takes place at Monticello in contemporary times. All of these enhanced our appreciation of the whole area. As it turns out, pets are allowed on the grounds, just not in the house. As a result, we toured the grounds together, I toured the house while Linda and Aunt Doris watched Lili, and then Linda and Doris toured the house while I watched her. It resulted in a lot of waiting, and a longer day than it might otherwise have been. On the positive side, however, is that we have the time to wait, and furthermore, it meant that we didn't get back into Washington until the rush hour was pretty well over, instead of getting caught in the middle of it.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day.